`This is an excellent book. It will be required reading on my methods courses' - Nigel Fielding, University of Surrey Students at postgraduate, and increasingly at undergraduate, level are required to undertake research projects and interviewing is the most frequently used research method. This book provides a comprehensive and authoritative introduction to interviewing. It covers all the issues that arise in interview work: theories of interviewing; design; application; and interpretation. Richly illustrated with relevant examples, each chapter includes handy statements of `advantages' and `disadvantages' of the approaches discussed.
What is interviewing and when is this method useful? What does it mean to select rather than sample interviewees? Once the researcher has found people to interview, how does she build a working relationship with her interviewees? What should the dynamics of talking and listening in interviews be? How do researchers begin to analyze the narrative data generated through interviews? Lee Ann Fujii explores the answers to these inquiries in Interviewing in Social Science Research, the latest entry in the Routledge Series on Interpretive Methods. This short, highly readable book explores an interpretive approach to interviewing for purposes of social science research. Using an interpretive methodology, the book examines interviewing as a relational enterprise. As a relational undertaking, interviewing is more akin to a two-way dialogue than a one-way interrogation. Fujii examines the methodological foundations for a relational approach to interviewing, while at the same time covering many of the practical nuts and bolts of relational interviewing. Examples come from the author’s experiences conducting interviews in Bosnia, Rwanda, and the United States, and from relevant literatures across a variety of social scientific disciplines. Appendices to the book contain specific tips and suggestions for relational interviewing in addition to interview excerpts that give readers a sense of how relational interviews unfold. This book will be of great value to graduate students and researchers from across the social sciences who are considering or planning to use interviews in their research, and can be easily used by academics for teaching courses or workshops in social science methods.
This volume introduces a fresh approach to research using a narrator-centred method, which provides a means for researchers to access the often hidden human responses about a situation so that those who make decisions and write policy may become better informed about the true impact of their actions on the individuals involved.
With indispensable advice for students from all social science backgrounds, this handbook provides the core conceptual and practical skills to embark on succesful research. The organization of the book reflects the knowledge that is required in order to become a competent and effective researcher. It follows the life-cycle of the research project: it begins with a discussion of ethical and philosphical issues; presents guides to both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis; provides help on using computers in research; and includes advice on how to write up and present a research project. Based on the UK Economic and Social Research Council advice on the training which students should undertake in preparation for postgraduate research, this book will be invaluable for all beginning researchers.
The new edition of this volume provides guidance for new and experienced interviewers to help them develop, shape and reflect on interviewing as a qualitative research process. It offers e×amples of interviewing techniques as well as a discussion of the complexities of interviewing and its connections with the broader issues of qualitative research.
Qualitative interviewing is among the most widely used methods in the social sciences, but it is arguably the least understood. In The Science and Art of Interviewing, Kathleen Gerson and Sarah Damaske offer clear, theoretically informed and empirically rich strategies for conducting interview studies. They present both a rationale and guide to the science-and art-of in-depth interviewing to take readers through all the steps in the research process, from the initial stage of formulating a question to the final one of presenting the results. Gerson and Damaske show readers how to develop a research design for interviewing, decide on and find an appropriate sample, construct a questionnaire, conduct probing interviews, and analyze the data they collect. At each stage, they also provide practical tips about how to address the ever-present, but rarely discussed challenges that qualitative researchers routinely encounter, particularly emphasizing the relationship between conducting well-crafted research and building powerful social theories. With an engaging, accessible style, The Science and Art of Interviewing targets a wide range of audiences, from upper-level undergraduates and graduate methods courses to students embarking on their dissertations to seasoned researchers at all stages of their careers.
If you want to use interview methods in your research project but are not sure where to start, this book will get you up and running. With hands-on advice for every stage of the social research process, it helps you succeed in every step, from understanding interview research through to designing and conducting your study and working with data. The book: Discusses eight methods of interviewing in-depth, including semi-structured interviews, narrative interviews, focus groups and online interviews. Features over 75 case studies of real interview research from across the globe, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Norway, the Philippines and South Africa. Spotlights strategies for conducting ethical, inclusive research, including indigenous research approaches. Packed not only with learning features - including learning objectives, checklists of questions to ask yourself at every stage of your project, practical exercises to help you put your learning into practice and further reading so you can broaden your knowledge - it is also supported by online resources such as annotated transcripts and videos of mock interviews to empower any social science student to use interview research methods with confidence.
Focusing on the integral role of the researcher, Qualitative Research for the Social Sciences uses a conversational writing style that draws readers into the excitement of the research process. Lichtman offers a balanced and nuanced approach, covering the full range of qualitative methodologies and viewpoints about the field, including coverage of social media as a tool to facilitate research or as a venue for study. After presenting theoretical concepts and a historical overview, Lichtman guides readers, step by step, through the research process, addressing issues of analyzing data, presenting completed research, and evaluating research. Real-world examples from across the social sciences provide both practical and theoretical information, helping readers understand abstract ideas and apply them to their own research.
This book will help you: Understand the importance of talking to others, including listening to feedback from others while conducting research Recognize that there is not only one right way to sculpt your study Learn how to plan the early stages of a project such as designing the study and choosing whom to study See how to navigate the IRB and how to perform practical matters while collecting data Learn how to plan before an interview and how to construct an interview guide Read real-life interviews with notes showing what probes work well and which are less successful A down-to-earth, practical guide for interview and participant observation and analysis. In-depth interviews and close observation are essential to the work of social scientists, but inserting one’s researcher-self into the lives of others can be daunting, especially early on. Esteemed sociologist Annette Lareau is here to help. Lareau’s clear, insightful, and personal guide is not your average methods text. It promises to reduce researcher anxiety while illuminating the best methods for first-rate research practice. As the title of this book suggests, Lareau considers listening to be the core element of interviewing and observation. A researcher must listen to people as she collects data, listen to feedback as she describes what she is learning, listen to the findings of others as they delve into the existing literature on topics, and listen to herself in order to sift and prioritize some aspects of the study over others. By listening in these different ways, researchers will discover connections, reconsider assumptions, catch mistakes, develop and assess new ideas, weigh priorities, ponder new directions, and undertake numerous adjustments—all of which will make their contributions clearer and more valuable. Accessibly written and full of practical, easy-to-follow guidance, this book will help both novice and experienced researchers to do their very best work. Qualitative research is an inherently uncertain project, but with Lareau’s help, you can alleviate anxiety and focus on success.
Expert interviews are today a standard method of qualitative approach in the social sciences. It is surprising that methodological reflections about the expert interview are still lacking. This book gives a comprehensive overview of their theory and practice. The contributors are experienced theorists and practitioners of expert interviews.
