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

In-depth interviewing
contact, the ending of each contact, reporting back to participants
and, finally, reaching closure. Underlying all of these stages is the
relationship between researcher and participant. The researcher’s
handling of the interaction and the extent to which they develop a
trusting working relationship with their participants will always
impact on the nature of the data obtained and, in many cases, has
implications for the well-being of the participants. This is particularly
so when the research concerns sensitive issues, as it did in both
of the stories included in this chapter.
We also considered the advantages of in-depth interviews as a
data collection method. These include their high degree of interactivity
and capacity for responsiveness to the research context,
and the capacity to obtain information about things that cannot
otherwise be observed, including thoughts and emotions as well as
past and future events. In the following chapter, on observation, we
consider a form of data collection that can do what interviews
cannot, that is, to allow us to stand aside from events and watch
them as they occur.
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