Qualitative Research in Practice : Stories From the Field - Blogs Unpad

Qualitative research in practice
Interviewing the parents first may also alert the interviewer to
any indicators that children may later be exposed to pressure by a
parent to disclose what they said in an interview. This may be especially
so in research on sensitive topics such as separation or
divorce; at times a decision may have to be made as to whether or
not to proceed with a child’s interview.
In a study on contact after divorce in which both parents and at
least one child were interviewed, Trinder, Beek and Connolly (2001)
used separate interviewers for each member of the family. All the
children’s interviews were conducted by a social worker experienced
in working with children and others on the team alternated
between interviewing mothers and fathers. While this approach
would not prevent a parent intent on asking children what they had
said from doing so, it at least established a sense of the importance
of each having their own say, separate from what others might have
said.
Interviewing parents and children together may help deal with
parents’ concerns about what is being asked of children, but may
pose other difficulties. Hood, Kelley and Mayall (1996; see also
Mayall, 1999) found the presence of adults at times altered the
behaviour of all concerned—the interviewer, the child and the
parent. Very often the interviews ended up largely as exchanges
between the adults, even though the child’s perspective was the
major focus of the research. Analysis of transcripts revealed interviewers
deferring to and siding with parents’ views, interviewers
keeping firmly to their own research agenda rather than taking the
time to follow the child’s view, parents interrupting and speaking
for children, children struggling to be heard among the adult voices,
children deferring to adults’ views, and children presenting a united
front, with parents, in relation to any questioning about intergenerational
issues within the family.
The interview
As with any interview situation, the context of an interview with
a child will shape the interaction. Children need an emotionally
supportive environment if they are to feel comfortable enough
to participate in an interview. It is important to take the time to
develop a friendly and informal relationship with the child, and
to make the interview context as child-focused as possible. This can
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