Showing papers on "Interview published in 2004"

Qualitative Methods in Public Health: A Field Guide for Applied Research

Abstract: List of Boxes.List of Field Perspectives.Foreword.Preface.Acknowledgments.Chapter 1: Invitation to Explore.Chapter 2: The Language and Logic of Qualitative Research.Chapter 3: Designing the Study.Chapter 4: Collecting Qualitative Data: The Science and the Art.Chapter 5: Logistics in the Field.Chapter 6: Qualitative Data Analysis.Chapter 7: Putting It into Words: Reporting Qualitative Research Results.Chapter 8: Disseminating Qualitative Research.Appendix 1: Samples of Behavioral Frameworks.Appendix 2: Examples of Oral Consent Forms.Appendix 3: Example of a Qualitative-Quantitative Research Design.Appendix 4: Procedural Guidelines for Managing Focus Group Discussions.Appendix 5: Sample Budget Categories for Planning Focus Group Discussions.Appendix 6: Topic Guides for Focus Group Discussions on Reproductive Health.Appendix 7: Sample Interviewer Training Program Agenda.Appendix 8: Common Errors in Moderating Focus Groups.Appendix 9: Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP): Ten Questions to Help You Make Sense of Qualitative Research.Appendix 10: Where to Publish.Appendix 11: Sample Research Brief on the Female Condom.Appendix 12: Who Is an Author?Appendix 13: Sample Brochure to Share Qualitative Study Findings with Participating Communities.Appendix 14: Making Study Findings Accessible to Other Researchers.Suggested Readings and Selected Internet Resources.References.The Authors.The Contributors.Index.

Comparing Telephone and Face-to-Face Qualitative Interviewing: a Research Note

Abstract: This research note reports the results of a comparison of face-to-face interviewing with telephone interviewing in a qualitative study. The study was designed to learn visitors’ and correctional officers’ perceptions of visiting county jail inmates. The original study design called for all face-to-face interviews, but the contingencies of fieldwork required an adaptation and half of the interviews were conducted by phone. Prior literature suggested that the interview modes might yield different results. However, comparison of the interview transcripts revealed no significant differences in the interviews. With some qualifications, we conclude that telephone interviews can be used productively in qualitative research.

An admissions OSCE: the multiple mini-interview.

Abstract: Context Although health sciences programmes continue to value non-cognitive variables such as interpersonal skills and professionalism, it is not clear that current admissions tools like the personal interview are capable of assessing ability in these domains. Hypothesising that many of the problems with the personal interview might be explained, at least in part, by it being yet another measurement tool that is plagued by context specificity, we have attempted to develop a multiple sample approach to the personal interview. Methods A group of 117 applicants to the undergraduate MD programme at McMaster University participated in a multiple mini-interview (MMI), consisting of 10 short objective structured clinical examination (OSCE)-style stations, in which they were presented with scenarios that required them to discuss a health-related issue (e.g. the use of placebos) with an interviewer, interact with a standardised confederate while an examiner observed the interpersonal skills displayed, or answer traditional interview questions. Results The reliability of the MMI was observed to be 0.65. Furthermore, the hypothesis that context specificity might reduce the validity of traditional interviews was supported by the finding that the variance component attributable to candidate–station interaction was greater than that attributable to candidate. Both applicants and examiners were positive about the experience and the potential for this protocol. Discussion The principles used in developing this new admissions instrument, the flexibility inherent in the multiple mini-interview, and its feasibility and cost-effectiveness are discussed.

Rapid Contextual Design: A How-to Guide to Key Techniques for User-Centered Design

Abstract: Is it impossible to schedule enough time to include users in your design process? Is it difficult to incorporate elaborate user-centered design techniques into your own standard design practices? Do the resources needed seem overwhelming? This handbook introduces Rapid CD, a fast-paced, adaptive form of Contextual Design Rapid CD is a hands-on guide for anyone who needs practical guidance on how to use the Contextual Design process and adapt it to tactical projects with tight timelines and resources Rapid Contextual Design provides detailed suggestions on structuring the project and customer interviews, conducting interviews, and running interpretation sessions The handbook walks you step-by-step through organizing the data so you can see your key issues, along with visioning new solutions, storyboarding to work out the details, and paper prototype interviewing to iterate the design-all with as little as a two-person team with only a few weeks to spare! *Includes real project examples with actual customer data that illustrate how a CD project actually works *Covers the entire scope of a project, from deciding on the number and type of interviews, to interview set up and analyzing collected data Sample project schedules are also included for a variety of different types of projects *Provides examples of how-to write affinity notes and affinity labels, build an affinity diagram, and step-by-step instructions for consolidating sequence models *Shows how to use consolidated data to define a design within tight time frames with examples of visions, storyboards, and paper prototypes *Introduces CDTools, the first application designed to support customer-centered design

Improving Accuracy of Transcripts in Qualitative Research

Abstract: Everyone who has worked with qualitative interview data has run into problems with transcription error, even if they do the transcribing themselves. A thoughtful, accurate, reliable, multilingual transcriptionist with a quick turnaround time is worth her or his weight in gold. In this article, the authors examine some transcription circumstances that seem to bring about their own consistent set of problems. Based on their experiences, the authors examine the following issues: use of voice recognition systems; notation choices; processing and active listening versus touch typing; transcriptionist effect; emotionally loaded audiotaped material; class and/or cultural differences among interviewee, interviewer, and transcriptionist; and some errors that arise when working in a second language. The authors offer suggestions for working with transcriptionists as part of the qualitative research team.

An interview with Mary Lyon [interviewed by Nick Campbell].

Abstract: 82 Endovascular Today novEmbEr 2013 When assessing renal and access arteries in consideration for renal denervation (RDN), what anatomical conditions do you classify as treatable versus not treatable? The minimal vessel diameter should be ≥ 4 mm, even if single side branches originate early from the main trunk. Vessel diameters < 4 mm impose a significant risk for severe, very painful spasm. Diffuse atherosclerosis and aneurysm disease is an exclusion criterion.

Qualitative Research: Experiences in Using Semi-Structured Interviews

Abstract: Publisher Summary The chapter discusses “real-life” experiences in using semi-structured interviews in qualitative research. The reasons for using semi-structured interviews, the design and development of the questionnaire used, the process of interviewing and choice of interviewees, and some of the problems encountered and overcome are presented in the chapter. The chapter describes the process of conducting the interviews that includes writing up the interviews and other activities, and explores additional problems in interviewing abroad. The chapter first covers a U.K. study and using it as the foundation, draws some contrasts from an EU study. The chapter concludes that the use of semi-structured interviews provides a valuable means to allow researchers to explore their horizons.

Using interviews as research instruments

Abstract: Research differs in a number of aspects but they do have some commonalities. Many facets are involved in conducting research. One very essential factor is collecting data. Data collection can be gathered from a number of sources, which include documents, the workplace, the Internet surveys, focus groups, field notes, questionnaires and taped social interaction or interviews. This article focuses on interviews as a method of data collection—namely structured interviews, semi-structured interviews, unstructured interviews and non-directive interviews, and some of the ethical issues involved in conducting interviews.

Violent Offenders, Moral Selves: Constructing Identities and Accounts in the Research Interview

Abstract: This article considers the research interview as a site for the construction of identities. In recent decades, identity has been conceptualized as something forged through the telling of life stories. To the extent that storytelling is a situated process, self-identification is as well. Using data from qualitative interviews with men who perpetrated violent crimes, I describe the narrated identities of these men, and clarify ways in which the men assimilated the research interview into their narrated identities. First, the fact and the nature of the interview were used to signify something about the moral self. Second, many of the research participants solicited and/or inferred my evaluation of them. The evaluation provided an outside opinion that was invoked or rejected to make self-claims. Third, the moral self and struggle were enacted during the interview. The men used the interview to exclude themselves from a problematic social group, “violent offenders. ” The research encounter was a venue for doing social problems work and social problems resistance.

Reflecting on the experience of interviewing online: perspectives from the Internet and HIV study in London.

Abstract: This paper considers some of the strengths and weaknesses of conducting synchronous online interviews for qualitative research. It is based on a study among gay/bisexual men that used both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the association between seeking sex through the Internet and HIV transmission risk. Between June 2002 and January 2004, 128 gay/bisexual men living in London were interviewed one-to-one by the first author (MD) about their experience of using the Internet to find sexual partners and negotiating condom use for anal sex. Thirty-five men were interviewed online, while 93 were interviewed face-to-face (i.e. offline). This paper draws on MD's experience of conducting these interviews--both online and face-to-face. Synchronous online interviews have the advantage of being cheap, convenient and attractive to people who do not like face-to-face interviews. However, some of the social conventions and technical limitations of computer-mediated-communication can introduce ambiguity into the online dialogue. To minimize this ambiguity, both interviewer and interviewee have to edit their online interaction. One of the distinctive features of the online interview is that it emerges as a form of textual performance. This raises fundamental questions about the suitability of the synchronous online interview for exploring sensitive topics such as risky sexual behaviour.

The Interviewee and the Research Interview: Analysing a Neglected Dimension in Research*

Abstract: L'entrevue de recherche est generalement examinee du point de vue du chercheur. Contrairement a la recherche activiste, qui accorde beaucoup d'carimportance a l'opinion du participant, les constructivistes ont ajoute une nouvelle perspective en demontrant comment l'entrevue de recherche est a la fois collaborative et generatrice de significations. Notre etude livre une analyse plus explicite de l'entrevue du point de vue de l'interviewe. Selon une etude portant sur les Canadiens qui migrent a l'interieur du pays, la signification pour l'interviewe de l'entrevue qualitative est expliquee plus en detail. Nous discutons la motivation qui pousse a la participation en nous fondant sur les concepts de validation d'carexperiences et sur un processus appele progression reflexive, qui met en lumiere le deroulement d'carune entrevue selon la perspective de l'interviewe. The research interview is usually discussed from the vantage point of the researcher. While activist research has drawn attention to the voice of the participant, constructivists have added a new perspective by showing how the research interview is both collaborative and meaning-making. Our study provides a more explicit analysis of the interview from the perspective of the interviewee. Based on a study of internal migrants in Canada, the meaning of the qualitative interview for the interviewee is more carefully explicated. We discuss motivation for participation using the concepts of event validation and a process called reflexive progression to illuminate what happens in the interview from the interviewee's perspective.

Interviews and the Philosophy of Qualitative Research

Abstract: Interviews and the Philosophy of Qualitative Research Interviewing as Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences, by Irving Seidman (2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press, 1998. InterViews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing, by Steinar Kvale. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1996. Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data, by Herbert J. Rubin and Irene S. Rubin. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1995. Interviewing is key to many forms of qualitative educational research; we interview respondents for oral histories, life histories, ethnographies, and case studies (see Tierney & Dilley, 2002, for an overview of interviewing in education). Despite the primacy of verbal data in qualitative research, basic introductions to qualitative research (including Glesne & Peshkin, 1992; Merriam, 1998; and Rossman & Rallis, 1998) and "how to" guides for conducting qualitative projects (such as Goodall, 2000) include only sections on interviewing. Only within the past decade have book-length explorations of interviewing been produced for an audience of educational researchers (as opposed to, say, anthropologists or sociologists). Of those, three specifically acknowledge the philosophical foundations of interview methodologies. Each examines, in complementary ways, the relationships between philosophy and protocol, epistemology and research, words and meanings. Irving Seidman's Interviewing as Qualitative Research (1998) is grounded in the phenomenological tradition of three distinct, thematic interviews designed to question meanings of experience. I find his work is a good starting point for training new researchers, not because the structure of phenomenological interviewing is better than other forms of qualitative interviewing, but because Seidman ties the core of phenomenology to the qualitative philosophy. "Interviewing," Seidman writes, provides access to the context of people's behavior and thereby provides a way for researchers to understand the meaning of that behavior. A basic assumption in in-depth interviewing research is that the meaning people make of their experience affects the way they carry out that experience .... Interviewing allows us to put behavior in context and provides access to understanding their action. (1998, p. 4) Meaning is not "just the facts," but rather the understandings one has that are specific to the individual (what was said) yet transcendent of the specific (what is the relation between what was said, how it was said, what the listener was attempting to ask or hear, what the speaker was attempting to convey or say). Just as language signifies and is constituted by specifics and abstracts, so too does qualitative research--and interviewing in particular. There are skills--physical, social, mental, communicative--that embody the act of interviewing, but those alone will not determine answers to research questions. For such determinations, budding researchers must learn the skill of comprehension, the complex aptitude and competence of reflection and representation which are perhaps ultimately unteachable by any method than trial and error. As Seidman states, Researchers must ask themselves what they have learned from doing the interviews, studying the transcripts, marking and labeling them, crafting profiles, and organizing categories of excerpts. What connective threads are there among the experiences of the participants they interviewed? How do they understand and explain these connections? What do they understand now that they did not understand before they began the interviews? What surprises have there been? What confirmations of previous instincts? How have their interviews been consistent with the literature? How inconsistent? How have they gone beyond? (Seidman, 1998, pp. 110-111) Those are questions for the interviewer, a continuing conversation with one's self about the nature of how we have learned what we know. …

Interviewer Training in the WHO Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence

Abstract: The importance of a sound research strategy for measuring and understanding violence against women cross-culturally is well recognized. However, the value of specialized interviewer training to attain these data is not always fully appreciated. This article describes interviewer selection and training in the World Health Organization (WHO) Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence and highlights their importance. Such training ensures high-quality data and cross-country comparability, protects the safety of respondents and interviewers, and increases the impact of the study. Moreover, women are not only willing to share experiences with trained and empathetic interviewers but also find the interview a positive experience.

The Homestay Component of Study Abroad: Three Perspectives

Abstract: Although the "homestay" has long been considered a key factor in the study abroad experience, it is one of the least examined components of foreign study. In an effort to explore this issue from various perspectives, this study targeted several programs in Spain and Mexico with interviews of host families, students, and housing directors. Each group's perspective on key issues such as adjustment, common problems, and the "homestay advantage" was probed via on-site interviews and questionnaires. Results showed that the majority of the information reported by one group was normally corroborated by the other two, and all groups felt the homestay enhanced the study abroad experience. Introduction Ask study abroad students to evaluate their programs, and the majority will begin immediately talking about their host families. For these students, the homestay often "makes or breaks" the entire experience. Theoretically, the homestay makes a most desirable housing option, for it provides the students an immediate entree into the cultural and linguistic environment while protecting them in a smaller, "caring" unit. Surprisingly, however, the homestay component is one of the least studied parts of the study abroad experience. This investigation was conducted to explore that experience from several perspectives. Part I of the study (Knight & Schmidt-Rinehart, 2002) focused on information collected from interviews of host families in their homes. Study abroad program sites were chosen in Mexico and Spain because those two countries host the majority of Spanish study-abroad students (HE, 2002). Two cities in each country were selected for interviewing families: Cuernavaca/Guadalajara in Mexico and Segovia/Sevilla in Spain. Because the purpose of this study was descriptive, not comparative (i.e., to find out more about the host family and its role in the study abroad experience rather than to compare various housing options), we used only programs with host families. Using QSR NUD*IST (Qualitative Solutions, 1997)1 to facilitate the organization, retrieval, and analysis of interview transcripts, three main themes emerged: the adjustment period, common problems, and the homestay advantage. For a detailed description of the interview process, the data analysis, and the results of Part I, see Knight and Schmidt-Rinehart (2002). Part II, presented here, expanded the scope to the student and housing director (HD) perspective at the same sites, focusing on the topics derived from the family interview data. Student information was collected from three main sources: (1) a student questionnaire (SQ)2 administered over a two-year period, (2) interviews on-site with students, and (3) student written evaluations of the homestays provided by the programs. The information from the HD perspective came from direct interviews in the country. After providing background data on the informants and placement of students, we will revisit the aforementioned three themes (adjustment, problems, and homestay advantage). Each section will begin with a brief overview of the family perspective and will be followed by the results of the information gathered from the students and HDs. We conclude with a summary of the three perspectives as well as suggestions for further study of this important component of the study abroad experience. Informants Families The 24 families chosen for the interview phase of the study included those who had hosted many U.S. students over the years as well as those who were hosting for the first time. In order to verify that the interview families were indeed representative, we reviewed past student evaluations of all families at each site. Students The majority of the student data came from the SQ that was administered to 90 students from these four sites over a period of two years. Sixty-two of the subjects were female and 28 male. …

A counterintuitive hypothesis about employment interview validity and some supporting evidence.

Abstract: This study found mixed support for the hypothesis that the difference in criterion-related validity between unstructured and structured employment interviews is due solely to the greater reliability of structured interviews. Using data from prior meta-analyses, this hypothesis was tested in 4 data sets by using standard psychometric procedures to remove the effects of measurement error in interview scores from correlations with rated job performance and training performance. In the 1st data set. support was found for this hypothesis. However, in a 2nd data set structured interviews had higher true score correlations with performance ratings, and in 2 other data sets unstructured interviews had higher true score correlations. We also found that averaging across 3 to 4 independent unstructured interviews provides the same level of validity for predicting job performance as a structured interview administered by a single interviewer. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

The Psychoanalytic Research Interview: Preliminary Suggestions

Abstract: Psychoanalytically informed interview techniques and interview analysis can yield useful psychoanalytic insights about a particular research subject within the space of a few interviews. Basic hermeneutic principles, often used to understand the research interview, are not sufficient for understanding unconscious meaning and intrapsychic processes; they pay little attention to the particular theoretical and technical aspects of the interview needed to create the best conditions for understanding unconscious meaning. The portability of psychoanalytic concepts and their applicability outside the therapeutic setting are considered, after which four epistemological principles are outlined, derived mainly from the narrative tradition in psychoanalysis, that can inform interview technique and the analysis of the interview. Careful attention to feeling states, the search for core narratives, and the exploration of identifications and object relations are isolated as key analytic tasks in the interview analysis. ...

An empirical investigation of interviewer-related factors that discourage the use of high structure interviews

Abstract: High structure interviews appear to be less frequently used in personnel management practice than might be expected given their good reliability and validity. Although several authors have speculated on the factors of resistance to high structure interviews, empirical research is very scarce. Two studies are conducted among experienced human resources representatives who frequently conduct employment interviews. The first study provides a fine-grained description of the degree of structure used in interviews, showing that in most interviews constraints are placed only on the topical areas to be covered and that scoring is done only on multiple criteria. The second study tests various hypotheses regarding interviewer-related factors, which may lead to lower levels of structure in interviews. Results show that when interviewers are concerned about establishing an informal contact with interviewees, want to have discretion over interview questions, and want to develop interviews efficiently, they are less inclined to use higher levels of structure in interviews. Conversely, people who participated in interviewing workshops and Conventional types report using significantly higher levels of structure. Implications for improving interviewer motivation to use higher levels of structure in interviews are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Grounded Theory of Leisure Travel

Abstract: This article reviews grounded theory studies available in the literature that deepen understanding of leisure travel decisions and tourism behaviors. The article includes a set of core propositions that are examined empirically. The reported study includes applying the “long interview method” and “theoretical sampling” in completing personal, face-to-face, interviews of travel parties at the moment of just ending their visits to a Canadian Province. The empirical analysis focuses on acquiring process data held in the minds of customers-that is, the analysis illustrates emic-based storytelling of what was planned and what actually happened that led to what specific outcomes. Achieving such holistic, case-based views of leisure travel decisions and tourism behavior provides a rich, deep and nuanced-filled understanding of the causes and consequences of such behaviors.

Misunderstanding Standardized Language in Research Interviews

Abstract: SUMMARY Leaving the interpretation of words up to participants in standardized survey interviews, aptitude tests, and experiment instructions can lead to unintended interpretation; more collaborative interviewing methods can promote uniform understanding. In two laboratory studies (a factorial experiment and a more naturalistic investigation), respondents interpreted ordinary survey concepts like ‘household furniture’ and ‘living in a house’ quite differently than intended in strictly standardized interviews, when the interpretation was left entirely up to them. Comprehension was more accurate when interviewers responded to requests for clarification with non-standardized paraphrased definitions, and most accurate when interviewers also provided clarification whenever they suspected respondents needed it. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Language of Police Interviewing: A Critical Analysis

Abstract: Police interviewing is a critical part of the justice process, and more attention is now being paid to training in interview techniques This new study from Australia uses tools drawn from interactional sociolinguistics and Conversation Analysis for a detailed investigation of some police questioning of adult suspects and work undertaken in the training of police in interviewing children - in which quite different approaches seem to be adopted The study powerfully illustrates the conflicts and contradictions that threaten to undermine the success of criminal proceedings and presents a fresh perspective on the balance between civil liberties and police power Critical Discourse analytic techniques are used in interpreting the outcome Both productive and counterproductive police interview strategies are exposed and the implications for interview training are explored

Assessing mental health in primary care research using standardized scales: can it be carried out over the telephone?

Abstract: Background. Telephone interviewing has economic and logistical advantages but has not been widely used in the UK. Most studies comparing face-to-face and telephone psychiatric assessment have been carried out in the US, often restricted to a population with known psychiatric disorder and involving comparisons between two separate sample groups rather than repeat interviews with the same group. The aim of the present study was to compare face-to-face and telephone administration of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire and the Revised Clinical Interview Schedule in a UK general practice sample. Method. Ninety-eight consecutive attenders at two general practices were assessed twice within 48 h. The order of face-to-face and telephone interviews was alternated. Results. There was no evidence that the mode of administration led to a bias in scores on the CIS-R. For the GHQ, those aged over 60 tended to score higher on the telephone. There was good agreement between face-to-face and telephone scores for both GHQ and CIS-R and good agreement for case definition. Participants had a strong preference for face-to-face interviews. Conclusions. Telephone assessment of mental health using the GHQ and CIS-R is a reasonable method to be used in primary care research in the UK with the limitation that telephone responses from older people might be different from face-to-face assessments for the GHQ. However, telephone interviewing appeared less acceptable and should probably be used in the context of established or ongoing personal contact between researcher and subject.

System, method and software for individuals to experience an interview simulation and to develop career and interview skills

Abstract: The present invention provides a system, method and software for individuals to experience an interview simulation and develop career and interview skills. It allows individuals to experience a full interview simulation, including pre- and post-interview stages. The invention allows individuals to communicate with a computer generated interviewer character. It simulates a discussion by speaking to the individual and asking the individual job-related questions, and displays output on the computer terminal and/or digitizes statements into speech. The individual responds to the statements by typing replies and/or speaking replies into a device such as a microphone, video camera or telephony device that receives and records the responses onto the system. Once the interview is complete, the individual can review all his/her responses via a customized computer interface. The invention allows organizations to screen potential employees by conducting initial screening interviews. It allows individuals to self-screen by seeing which jobs they would be interested in and by submitting pre-screened data to employers. Finally, it allows individuals to train for interviews by going on realistic practice job interviews. The invention is able to provide detailed analysis and recommendations regarding the practice interviews to users, which assists them in developing career and interview skills.

Structured Interviewing for OCB: Construct Validity, Faking, and the Effects of Question Type

Abstract: This study reports the results of an effort to develop a structured interview designed to measure the propensity to engage in organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Results indicated that participants were unable to improve their scores by attempting to fake the interview. Evidence of construct validity was provided in that we observed several meaningful relationships between scores on the interview and theoretically relevant dispositional variables such as positive affect and empathy. Additionally, regression analyses revealed that ratings obtained from the OCB interview significantly related to coworker ratings of OCB. Overall, the results of the study provide evidence that structured interviews have the potential for being a useful tool for predicting who will engage in OCB in the work environment.

Analysing race talk: Multidisciplinary perspectives on the research interview

Abstract: The interview is one of the most important sources of social scientific data yet there has been relatively little exploration of the way interviews are conducted and interpreted. By asking internationally respected scholars from a range of traditions in discourse studies including conversation analysis, discursive psychology, and sociolinguistics to respond to the same material, this exciting new book sheds light on some key differences in methodology and theoretical perspective. Key topics are addressed such as the forms of knowledge produced in interviews, the interview as social interaction and the foundations for the study of talk and texts in qualitative research. The use of interviews exploring attitudes to race further broadens the scope of the book, enabling the contributors to explore sensitive issues around the construction and interpretation of interviews on controversial topics and specifically on issues for race and ethnicity.

Impact of in-depth interviews on the interviewer: roller coaster ride.

Abstract: The authors investigated the experiences of parents with children/adult children in metropolitan Sydney, Australia who were living with, or had recovered from, an eating disorder. During regular team meetings, the research assistant who conducted the interviews had described her reactions which led the research team to investigate her experience in more depth. The aim of the present paper was to explore the impact on the research assistant who conducted 22 in-depth interviews with the parents. One of the members of the research team interviewed the research assistant to elicit her reactions. The interview was content analyzed and the following themes were identified: (i). appreciation of an egalitarian model of research; (ii). the emotions expressed by the research assistant; (iii). making sense of the inexplicable and (iv). reflections and comparison to her own life role. The research team would like to advance the theory that the adoption of a formal debriefing mechanism be integrated into the qualitative research process.

Recording Technologies and the Interview in Sociology, 1920–2000

Abstract: Little is known about the changing techniques and technologies for the recording of unstructured interviews.This article traces the evolution of devices for recording what is said in unstructured interviews, and looks at the impact of technological change on the interview process.

Questioning sequences in canadian police interviews: constructing and confirming the course of events?

Abstract: A content analysis of 19 Canadian police interviews with adult witnesses revealed that several of the interviewing strategies used by officers ran counter to the recommendations in the literature. Specifically, interviewers interrupted the witness more than was necessary, rarely employed any cognitive techniques to enhance memory recall and asked far more closed than open-ended questions. Further, in terms of the sequencing of questions, a pattern emerged across interviews that suggested that officers first “help” the witness construct the event and then, through a rapid sequence of “yes/no” questions, seek to confirm the account. We argue that this pattern of questioning may suggest that officers are pursuing an assumed version of events and that exploring interviews from a sequencing perspective may prove beneficial in identifying possible biased versions of events.

An exploratory study using cameras and Talking Mats to access the views of young people with learning disabilities on their out-of-school activities

Abstract: Summary This paper explores the use of disposable cameras and Talking Mats as research tools to access the views of young people with learning disabilities about their social activities. A pilot study was carried out with nine 16-year-old young people in a special school. They were given a single-use motorized camera. This was used to record the out-of-school activities they participated in, both in the home and community, for 1 week. The young people were asked to sort their photographs using Talking Mats symbols. This was followed by parental interviews to check for validity and reliability. The paper reports on the potential use of photography and Talking Mats as research tools with young people with learning disabilities, and how their use may break down some of the language barriers inherent in traditional interview methods. The author discusses some of the practical and methodological issues arising from the study.

Qualitative data in demography: The sound of silence and other problems

Abstract: Qualitative methods and insights from other disciplines are increasingly integrated into demography’s traditionally quantitative toolkit. Whereas this is not problematic for multi-disciplinary research projects difficulties may arise when quantitatively trained demographers diversify to use less familiar data collection tools. We review the scale of this recent trend and the choice of qualitative methods typically employed by demographic researchers. Using insights from a comparative qualitative study undertaken in Zimbabwe and Senegal we discuss some problems inherent in qualitative data collection and analysis and propose ways in which such data should and should not be used. Focussing in particular on semi-structured in-depth interviews we discuss issues of representativity investigate respondents’ silence on specific topics and the role of interviewer characteristics in influencing the interview subject matter. (authors)