Interviews in Qualitative Research Nigel King and Christine Horrocks (2010)
State that interviewing is the most commonly used method of data collection in qualitative research.
State that this has advantages for us as researchers as most participants will have a good idea of the kind of encounter they are agreeing to.
The familiarity can also contain risks – MUST RECOGNISE the special requirements of a qualitative research interview.
• Interview might be too shallow
• Participant may feel the interviewer is being too deferential.
A table is included which demonstrates different Interview characteristics Page 2
Interview Characteristic Investigative journalistic interview Celebrity interview Job interview Qualitative research interview
Style of questioning Interrogative and confrontational Deferential, interviewer seeks to coax the celebrity into sharing their experiences May be challenging but also allows interviewee to present their strengths effectively Emphasises op[en- ended non-leading qu’s, focuses on building rapport with interviewee
Power dynamics Potentially high stakes for interviewee in terms of personal and party reputation.
Interviewer needs to show that can get past the interviewee’s defences. Interviewee likely to have high level of control – might even have given prior approval of qu’s!
Interviewer might want to keep celebrity happy so can interview again in the future Power in hands of interviewerbounded by organisational requirements and legislation e.g equal opps. Interviewer may seen to be the person in the more powerful position.
Balance can be complicated by factors such as age, gender and status of two parties. Interviewee has explicit right to withdraw at any stage.
Visibility Highly public and visible. Any word out of place and could be in headlines Also highly public – celebrity wants to remain very visible Details remain closed to the panel but the outcome about whether person got the job will be public...