Interview Route Maps

Introduction

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• What is an Interview Route Map (IRMS)?

  Visual Aid: Simple box and line schematics

  Maps Represent topical coverage of relevant questions.

  Words that encompass the elements of a given relevant question

  Example

  

• Background

  • The National Academy of Sciences (2003) provided a negative assessment of polygraph screening.
    • One concern was that screening questions do not address specific or known behaviors.
    • The report indicated that lower accuracy rates could be expected for screening examinations because the questions are more ambiguous for examinees.
    • Such concerns represent considerable challenges, given the extensive application of screening polygraphs.
  • IRMs are used to make Operational Definitions by addressing concerns of ambiguity.
  • Researchers have developed and used visual schematics to assist in encoding and learning information
    • Buzan, 1991; Tolman, 1948.
  • Training protocols that employ unisensory stimulus regimes do not engage multisensory learning mechanisms and might not be optimal for learning
    • Shams & Seitz, 2008.
  • Visual use of diagrams show significant improvements in comprehension and understanding, relative to when only text or verbal approaches are used
    • Butcher, 2004; Carlson, Chandler, & Sweller, 2003; Clarke, Flaherty, & Yankey, 2006.
  • The IRM term was first coined by Milne and Bull (1999) and took the form of a cognitive aid in an investigative interview.
  • Dan Weatherman developed the concept for IRMs in 2007 after reading the book Conversation Management (2007) by Eric Shepherd.
  • IRMs were created to develop a dialogue during counterintelligence screening examinations to move away from a monologue that produced little or no reportable information.
  • The IRMs standardized the process, acted as visual aids (memory cues), and created a dialogue with open-ended questions.
  • This concept of IRMs has expanded to cover both screening and diagnostic testing.

• Expectations

  These visual tools should help define question parameters more clearly.

  A large amount of neural resources are devoted to visual information processing, in comparison to auditory information processing (Grady, 1993).

• Benefits

  Structured presentation of IRMs reduces the likelihood that important aspects of the RQs will be left out.

  IRMs reassure both truthful and deceptive individuals of what is being asked.

  Assists in building rapport because the subject becomes part of the process.

  Increases relevant information disclosure through greater understanding of what is being asked while removing all possible ambiguity.

• Research Study: Witte, Senter, Blalock, 2016

  Initial testing did not include IRMs, but subsequent tests included usage of IRMs.

  	Initial Test	Subsequent Test
  Sample Size	200	200
  Inconclusive	13 (.065)	5 (.025)
  New Information	43 (.215)*	82 (.410)*

  * Note: Statistically significant difference

  IRM's were NOT the only procedural change

• Process

  Introduction and Overview - Foundation

  Suitability / Rights and Consents

  Interview

  Break

  Testing

  • Explanation
  • Acquaintance
  • Question Review - IRM
  • Tests

  Post Test - IRM