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

In-depth interviewing
There is a related risk that the interviewer will think they know
what the participant means and impose assumptions on the data
without checking them out with participants. This can especially be
an issue in ‘insider’ research, where researchers may assume shared
understandings between themselves and the participants. Similarly,
participants may be constrained and potentially self-censor what
they say as a result of presumed, but mistaken or incomplete, shared
understandings between them and the researcher. Miller and
Glassner (1997) suggest that too close an identification with one
position in relation to the social phenomenon being investigated
may restrict ‘which cultural stories interviewees may tell and how
these may be told’ (1997, p. 104).
To enable people to tell their stories, in their way, there needs to
be an openness to whatever perspective may emerge. Where differences
between the researcher and those being interviewed are such
that rapport may not be easily established—differences of race,
ethnicity, age, gender, disability, dress or language—and where
resources allow, it is well worth employing interviewers who share
more of the characteristics of the study group than the researcher.
In her study of the experiences, attitudes and values of streetfrequenting
young people of non-English speaking background in
Sydney, Pe-Pua (1996) hired bilingual interviewers from among
street workers, youth workers and street-frequenting young people
and used them to recruit as well as interview young people.
The initial contact
Prior to meeting the researcher, prospective participants have
presumably been sufficiently interested to respond to information
they have received about a study, but have not yet consented to
participate. The initial contact (we prefer a face-to-face meeting) is
their opportunity to find out more about the study, to ask any questions
they may have and, most importantly, to meet the person with
whom they are being asked to talk about themselves. If interviews
are to be taped, it is important that permission is obtained at this
stage. Once discussion about the research process is exhausted, and
the prospective participant indicates they would like to proceed, they
can then be asked to sign a formal consent form. Ideally, this meeting
will take place on a separate day to the interview as this gives the
participant time to follow-up any further questions that may arise for
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