Session 3B from City University London's Researchers' Development Day held on Friday 4th May 2012.

1. Interviewing is a method of data collection.
Transcripts of interviews can be analysed
in a variety of ways depending on the
research question and the status attributed
to the text by the researcher.
Therefore, one and the same transcript can
tell us about a range of different (social
and/or psychological) phenomena.

2. The status of the „text‟
Is determined by what we want the text to
tell us something about.
Eg. an account could tell us something
about the nature of the phenomenon of
interest, about the (psychology of the)
person who is providing the account, or
about the cultural resources and meanings
that are available in relation to the topic.

3. The research question
The research question identifies what it is
that we want to find out whilst the interview
agenda contains questions which (we
hope) will generate the kind of data which
will help us answer the research question.

4. Epistemological position
The research question and the status given
to the text together imply (and are
underpinned by) an epistemological position.
Possible positions include realist,
phenomenological and social constructionist
positions.

5. Positions
Realism (naïve/direct or critical)
Phenomenology (descriptive or
interpretative)
Social constructionism (moderate or radical)

6. The formulation of the research question,
the interview agenda, criteria for recruiting
participants, style of interviewing, choice of
transcription notation, and method of
analysis are all directly informed by the
epistemological position adopted by the
researcher.

7. Research questions
A realist question:
“How do people make decision about
whether or not to donate a kidney ?”
A phenomenological question:
“What is it like to donate a kidney ?”
A social constructionist question:
“How is kidney donation constructed ?”

8. However…
“The interview is a specific form of
conversation where knowledge is produced
through the interaction between an
interviewer and an interviewee” (Kvale,
2007: xvii).
This means that there are some generic
guidelines for conducting productive and
ethical interviews.

9.  Descriptive questions: “What happened ?”
eg. life
histories, anecdotes, activities, events
 Structural questions: “Why ?” “How ?”
organisation of understanding;
categories of meaning, assumptions, and
frameworks for making sense of the world

10.  Contrast questions: “Worst/best ?”
“Difference between ?”
criteria for evaluation, comparisons
 Evaluative questions: “Like/dislike ?”
feelings, responses (eg.
approval/disapproval; preferences)

11. Guidelines for semi-structured interviewing
• Adopt an attitude of non-judgmental
curiosity
• Ensure that the interviewee feels safe and
comfortable
• Use the interviewee‟s own terms
• Aim for conceptual equivalence (rather
than lexical comparability)
• Restate the interviewee‟s comments and
incorporate them into new questions

12. • Express ignorance
• Request examples
• Move from the public to the personal
• Appraise the interview as a communicative
event
• Appraise the effect of the interviewer on
the interviewee

13. Ethics
• Obtain informed consent
• Ensure confidentiality
• Keep data safe and secure
• Do not share data without permission
• Ensure interviewee‟s comfort and safety
• Monitor the interviewee‟s response to
being interviewed
• Discontinue the interview if necessary

14. • Ask permission to record the interview
• Invite interviewee to ask questions at the
end
• Provide opportunity for debriefing
• Refer to relevant sources of support if
necessary