Qualitative Interviewing

The 2nd edition of this work has been completely rewritten to add new examples & to better integrate the presentation of topics. Readers will see how the choice of topic influences question wording & how the questions asked influence the analysis.

Whether you are new to interviewing and working toward an undergraduate dissertation or refining your fieldwork as you complete a research project, this book contains everything you need to know for successful qualitative interview data collection. Organised around practical hints, reflexive tasks, bite-sized pieces of information and original case study material, the authors’ candid accounts of their research experiences help you approach qualitative interviewing with transparency, consistency and confidence. It walks you through how to: Decide if interviews are the right tool for your project Turn your research ideas into well-phrased interview questions Navigate ethical review and informed consent Recruit participants Choose an effective interview style Adapt your methods for different populations Transcribe and analyse your data.

First published Open Access under a Creative Commons license as What is Qualitative Interviewing?, this title is now also available as part of the Bloomsbury Research Methods series. This book is a step-by-step guide for new and experienced social science researchers looking to use interviews in their projects. Rosalind Edwards and Janet Holland explain a range of interview types and practices, providing real research examples as informative illustrations of qualitative interviewing in practice, and the use of a range of creative interview tools. This new and expanded edition includes: - recent developments in the radical critique of interviews debate focusing on form and content of interviews; - the strategic shift to online interviewing in response to the Covid-19 pandemic; - discussion of the decolonization of methodology and research, and the growing attention to indigenous methodologies for generating data; - an assessment of the changing landscape for qualitative interviewing. The authors explore the use of new technologies as well as issues around asking and listening, and power dynamics in research. Written in a clear and accessible style, the book concludes with an updated annotated bibliography of key texts and journals in the field.

Qualitative interviewing has become one of the most common research methods across the human and social sciences, if not the most prevalent approach. Qualitative Interviewing, Second Edition help readers conduct, write, represent, understand, and critique qualitative interview research in its many forms as currently practiced. It discusses excellent exemplars of qualitative interview research. The book begins with a theoretically informed introduction to qualitative interviewing by presenting a variegated landscape of how conversations have been used for knowledge producing purposes. Particular attention is given to the complementary positions of experience focused interviewing (phenomenological positions) and language focused interviewing (discourse oriented positions), which concentrate on interview talk as reports (of the experiences of interviewees) and accounts (occasioned by the situation of interviewing) respectively. The second edition has a new chapter on conducting interviews in practice and is updated with new sections on research ethics and the relevance of small-scale studies in a world of "big data", many updated references, recent examples of interview studies, and reflections on similarities and differences between research interviews, journalism, and the arts.

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 has today become one of the most common research methods across the human and social sciences, but it is an approach that comes in different guises. Qualitative Interviewing will help its readers write, represent, understand, and critique qualitative interview research in its many forms as currently practiced. The book begins with a theoretically informed introduction to qualitative interviewing by presenting a variegated landscape of how conversations have been used for knowledge-producing purposes. Particular attention is paid to the complementary positions of experience-focused interviewing (phenomenological positions) and language-focused interviewing (discourse-oriented positions), which focus on interview talk as reports (of the experiences of interviewees) and accounts (occasioned by the situation of interviewing), respectively. The following chapters address various ways of designing qualitative interview studies and a guide to writing up the methodological procedures and results of an interview study. The book concludes with a presentation of the most common errors in interview reports, offering a range of solutions and strategies for evaluating research findings based on qualitative interviews.

Using in-depth qualitative interviews, authors Herbert J. Rubin and Irene S. Rubin have researched topics ranging from community redevelopment programs to the politics of budgeting and been energized by the depth, thoroughness, and credibility of what was revealed. They describe in-depth qualitative interviewing from beginning to end, from its underlying philosophy and assumptions to project design, analysis and write up.

What is Qualitative Interviewing? is an accessible and comprehensive 'what is' and 'how to' methods book. It is distinctive in emphasising the importance of good practice in understanding and undertaking qualitative interviews within the framework of a clear philosophical position. Rosalind Edwards and Janet Holland provide clear and succinct explanations of a range of philosophies and theories of how to know about the social world, and a thorough discussion of how to go about researching it using interviews. A series of short chapters explain and illustrate a range of interview types and practices. Drawing on their own and colleagues' experiences Holland and Edwards provide real research examples as informative illustrations of qualitative interviewing in practice, and the use of a range of creative interview tools. They discuss the use of new technologies as well as tackling enduring issues around asking and listening and power dynamics in research. Written in a clear and accessible style the book concludes with a useful annotated bibliography of key texts and journals in the field. What is Qualitative Interviewing? provides a vital resource for both new and experienced social science researchers across a range of disciplines.