The exploratory interview is one field method for studying how professionals write as part of their jobs that is also an effective device for preparing composition instructors to teach technical writing. This field research method is a loosely guided discussion in which the technical communicator ranges freely, widely, and in depth about personal experience, atttiudes, and opinions. Interviewing can provide the following specific advantages not found in most practical experience: familiarity with the role and "street knowledge" of the technical professional, awareness of the full rhetorical situation and the larger communication context of the task, simultaneous contact with the process and the products of the professional who must write, and acquaintance with a wide range of professional activity. Although the field work is the preeminent stage, specific operations should precede and follow interviews. The whole sequence includes planning the project to meet specific objectives, selecting and contacting the organizations and respondents, constructing the interview guide, conducting the interviews, and analyzing the recorded responses and observations. (RL)