Interviewing

Interviewing is a research method in which information, opinions, and/or stories are gathered verbally from subjects in person or by remote means such as telephone or e-mail. Although interview data can be quantified, interviews typically are a technique used in qualitative research. Interviews are open-ended, meaning that the researcher has a list of questions with no predetermined range of answers (as one would have in a closed-ended survey) and so listens to and records the subjects' responses. Interviews can be highly structured, where a set list of questions is posed to each respondent, or semistructured, where the researcher follows the questions or themes more loosely, adding spontaneous follow-up questions depending on the responses and the flow of conversation. Indeed, many researchers stress the importance of viewing interviews as conversations with their subjects, rather than merely orally conducted surveys, so that the richness of individuals' experiences and thoughts can be explored. Interviews may involve a one-on-one conversation between the researcher and the subject, or they may be used in a focus group setting (although focus groups have somewhat different dynamics both in practical terms and in terms of research outcomes).

Interviewing is an important skill for qualitative researchers. First, interviewers should be knowledgeable about the topic or themes covered so that they do not waste respondents' time on trivia, yet they should maintain their scholarly curiosity to the extent that appropriate follow-up questions may be constructed spontaneously. Second, interviewers should be well organized, structuring questions with care (e.g., starting with a general question and moving toward greater detail), performing test runs with a small sample of respondents to evaluate the questions and practice asking them smoothly, and testing any recording equipment before the interview. Finally, interviewers should be aware that whereas good social skills will make interviewing more successful, practice does make interviews flow more smoothly and feel more comfortable. Some important things that interviewers should bear in mind are to be open-minded with respondents (even if they disagree with things people are saying), to really listen to what people are saying both to understand them and to construct spontaneous follow-up questions, and to contact respondents later with clarifications or further questions.

Interviews have been used increasingly by geographers during recent decades as qualitative research has experienced a resurgence, and critical perspectives have shaped the practice of geography. Here feminists have been especially important both in incorporating interviewing as a research method and in holding up the technique for critical evaluation. Interviews have been the focus of a great deal of critical discussion by feminists and others, in part because they often involve a power difference (by race, gender, class, age, etc.) between the researcher and the subject; sometimes the researcher has the more powerful social status, and sometimes the[Page 262] subject does. Particularly in research on marginalized social groups, researchers have been increasingly sensitive to ethical questions of exploitation of respondents for research and career gains, to issues of how knowledge produced from interviews can be represented fairly, and to the end result of research in terms of social change, advocacy, and/or empowerment for the subject groups.

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