Qualitative Interviewing

Michelle O’Reilly (BSc [hons], MSc, MA, PhD, PGCAPHE) is an Associate Professor of Communication in Mental Health at the University of Leicester and a Research Consultant for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. Michelle is also a Chartered Psychologist in Health. Michelle has specific interest in child and adolescent mental health and has been investigating the relationship between mental health and social media as part of that work. Michelle has made several media contributions about the research with adolescents, educationalists, and parents, as funded by the Wellcome Trust. Additional to her research interests in mental health and social media, Michelle also undertakes research in self-harm and suicidal behaviour, neurodevelopmental conditions, and child mental health services, such as mental health assessments and family therapy. Michelle recently won the Anselm Strauss Award for Qualitative Family Research for her co-authored contribution on discursive psychology in this area. Michelle has expertise in qualitative methodologies and specialises in discursive psychology and conversation analysis.  Jessica Lester is a Professor of Inquiry Methodology in the School of Education at Indiana University, Bloomington. Having been trained in cultural studies and qualitative research methodology, she takes an interdisciplinary approach to her scholarship, including both the methodological and substantive foci of her research program. In her methodological work, Lester focuses on the study of language-based methods, digital tools in qualitative research, and disability in qualitative inquiry. Her substantive research has focused on examining interactional practices in clinical and educational contexts that involve children and youth. Lester has received numerous awards for her scholarship, among them the 2014 AERA Division D Early Career Award in Measurement and Research Methodology, the 2018 APA Distinguished Early Career Contributions in Qualitative Inquiry Award, and the 2022 American Educational Studies Association Critics’ Choice Book Award. At Indiana University, Lester teaches qualitative methods courses and was recently recognized by the 2022 Gorman Distinguished Teaching Award. Kathryn Roulston is a Professor in the Qualitative Research Program in the Mary Frances Early College of Education at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, where she teaches qualitative research methods. Her research interests include qualitative research methods, qualitative interviewing, and analyses of talk-in-interaction. She is editor of Interactional Studies of Qualitative Interviews (2019), and with Kathleen deMarrais, has co-authored Exploring the Archives: A Beginner’s Guide for Qualitative Researchers (forthcoming). She has contributed chapters to The SAGE Handbook of Interview Research (2012, 2nd edition), The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Data Analysis (2014), The SAGE Handbook of Data Collection (2018), and the forthcoming volume, The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research Design. Her articles have been published in Qualitative Research, Qualitative Inquiry, International Journal of Social Research Methodology, International Journal of Qualitative Methods, and International Review of Qualitative Research among other journals.

Qualitative Interviewing explores a wide range of qualitative interviewing methods, offering practical guidance on planning, conducting, and analyzing interviews. Moreover, the discussion of ethical considerations makes it a valuable resource for both novice and experienced researchers.

• List of BoxesList of TablesList of FiguresAcknowledgementsEditor BiographiesContributor BiographiesPrefaceIntroductionFocus of This BookAimsLanguageAudiencesStructure of The BookConclusionPart 1: Planning A Qualitative Study Using InterviewsChapter 1: Introduction To Qualitative Interview Research - Michelle O’Reilly, Jessica Nina Lester, and Kathryn Roulston IntroductionOverview of The Qualitative InterviewPlanningPractical StepsConclusion And ReflectionReferencesChapter 2: The Importance of Planning The Interview - Jessica Nina Lester, Michelle O’Reilly, and Kathryn Roulston IntroductionEngaging the Literature: Substantive and Methodological FoundationsDeveloping Research QuestionsIdentifying a MethodologyDeveloping Interview Questions and Piloting Interview SchedulesSampling and Recruitment ConsiderationsEthical Considerations in PlanningConclusion and ReflectionReferencesChapter 3: Collecting Data: Researcher Generated Versus Naturally Occurring Interviews - Kathryn Roulston, Michelle O’Reilly, Jessica Nina Lester, and Nikki Kiyimba IntroductionOverview of ApproachMethods of Generating Qualitative DataThe Role of TheoryNaturally Occurring DataPlanningEthical ApprovalAnalytic MethodsConclusion and ReflectionReferencesChapter 4: The Ethics of Conducting Qualitative Interviews - Michelle O’Reilly, Jessica Nina Lester, and Kathryn Roulston IntroductionOverview of Ethics in ResearchThe Role of TheoryPlanningPractical StepsEthics in PracticeResearcher SafetyConclusion and ReflectionReferencesChapter 5: Reflexivity In Interviewing: A Data-Driven Approach To Gaining A Deeper Understanding Of Your Research - Judith Eckert IntroductionOverview of ReflexivityThe Role of TheoryPlanningPractical StepsEthical ConcernsConclusion and ReflectionPart 2: Anchoring Interviews to MethodologyChapter 6: Narrative Interviews - Matthew T. PriorIntroductionOverview of Narrative InterviewingThe Role of TheoryPlanning a Narrative InterviewWriting a Narrative Interview GuidePractical Steps in Conducting Narrative InterviewsAnalyzing Narrative Interview DataEthical ConcernsConclusion and ReflectionReferencesChapter 7: Reflective Interviews - Michelle O’Reilly & Kathryn Roulston IntroductionOverview of Reflective InterviewsThe Role of TheoryPlanning a Reflective InterviewWriting an Interview GuidePractical Steps in Doing Reflective InterviewsAnalyzing Reflective Interview DataEthical ConcernsConclusion and ReflectionReferencesChapter 8: Empathy Interviews: Learning From Experience - Chad R. LochmillerIntroductionOverview of Empathy InterviewsPlanning an Empathy InterviewDeveloping an Interview GuidePractical Steps in Doing Empathy Interviews / ActivitiesAnalyzing Empathy Interview DataEthical ConcernsConclusion and ReflectionReferencesChapter 9: Ethnographic Interviewing - Megan K. Mitchell & Audra Skukauskaite IntroductionOverview of Ethnographic InterviewingTheory in Ethnography and Ethnographic InterviewingKinds of Ethnographic InterviewingPlanning an Ethnographic InterviewWriting an Interview GuidePractical Steps in Doing Ethnographic InterviewsAnalyzing Ethnographic Interview DataEthical ConcernsInterviews Are Not EnoughConclusion and Invitation to ReflectionReferencesChapter 10: Naturally Occurring Interviews - Nikki KiyimbaIntroductionOverview of Naturally Occurring DataThe Theory of Questions and InterviewsResearch Reasons for Accessing Naturally Occurring InterviewsTemporal Differences in Collecting Naturally Occurring InterviewsTalk, Text, and SymbolPractical Steps in Accessing Naturally Occurring InterviewsAnalyzing Naturally Occurring Interview DataEthical ConsiderationsConclusion and ReflectionsReferencesChapter 11: In The Field: Oral History Methods and Oral Tradition with Civil Rights Era Teachers - Trayc D. Freeman & Derrick P. AlridgeIntroductionOral Histories as Organic and Communal SourcesLessons from the FieldConclusion and ReflectionReferencesChapter 12: Feminist Interviews: From Margin to Mainstream - Gabriele Griffin IntroductionOverview of Feminist Interviews and Feminist InterviewingThe Role of TheoryPlanning a Feminist InterviewWriting an Interview GuidePractical Steps in Doing Feminist InterviewsAnalyzing Feminist Interview DataEthical ConcernsConclusion and ReflectionReferencesChapter 13: Psychoanalytically Informed Research Interviews - Massimiliano Sommantico, Philip John Archard, and Amina Adan IntroductionThe Free Association Narrative Interview Method as Psychoanalytically Informed ApproachResearch Participants (and Researchers) as Defended Psychosocial SubjectsPlanning Psychoanalytically Informed InterviewsDoing and Reflecting on Psychoanalytically Informed InterviewsAnalyzing Data Using a Psychoanalytically Informed ApproachEthical ConsiderationsAdditional Considerations in Relation to Psychoanalytically Informed InterviewingConclusion and ReflectionReferencesChapter 14: Phenomenological Interviewing - Mark D. Vagle and Jen ClifdenIntroductionOverview of Phenomenological InterviewingThe Role of Theory in Phenomenological InterviewingPlanning a Phenomenological InterviewPractical Steps in Doing Phenomenological InterviewsAnalyzing Phenomenological Interview DataConclusionReferencesChapter 15: Interviews (That) Transform Lives: Dialoguing For Change - Jennifer R. Wolgemuth and Lorien S. JordanIntroductionOverview of Transformative InterviewsTheorizing the Transformative InterivewPlanning a Transformative InterviewCreating an Interview Guide for Transformative InterviewsConsiderations for Conducting Transformative InterviewsAnalyzing Transformative Interview DataEthical Considerations for Transformative InterviewsConclusion and ReflectionReferencesChapter 16: The Generic Qualitative Inquiry Interview: The Waters Are Still Muddy - Michelle O’Reilly, Jessica Nina Lester, and Kathryn RoulstonIntroductionOverview of the Generic Qualitative Inquiry InterviewThe Role of TheoryPlanning Generic Qualitative Inquiry InterviewsWriting an Interview GuidePractical Steps for Doing Generic Qualitative InterviewsAnalyzing Generic Qualitative Interview DataCritiquesConclusion and ReflectionReferencesPart 3: Supporting Interview Data CollectionChapter 17: Participatory Interviewing - Hayley Trowbridge, Ellen Taylor-Bower, Ioana L. Dobre, Molly Rigby, Laura Shobiye, and Diane T. Levine IntroductionOverview of Participatory InterviewingThe Role of TheoryIntroducing the VignettesPlanning to Carry Out Participatory InterviewsPractical Steps in Conducting Participatory InterviewsEthical Concerns in Participatory InterviewingConclusion and ReflectionReferencesChapter 18: Beyond Elicitation: Considering The Possibilities of Object Interviews in Qualitative Research - Janie CoppleIntroductionOverview of Object InterviewsThe Role of TheoryPlanningPractical TipsAnalysis in Object InterviewsEthical ConcernsConclusion and ReflectionReferencesChapter 19: Graphic Elicitation Interviews - Alison Bravington IntroductionOverview of Graphic ElicitationThe Role of TheoryPlanningPractical StepsEthical ConcernsTranscription and Analysis of Graphic Elicitation InterviewsConclusion and ReflectionReferencesChapter 20: Listening With Your Whole Body: Interviews As Creative, Affective, And Relational Practice - Liv Furman, Priyanka Jayakodi, and Vivek VellankiIntroductionCreating with and Through Stories: A Conversation with Liv FurmanListening with Your Eyes: a Conversation with Priyanka JayakodiWhat Does It Mean to Listen with Our Whole Bodies?ReferencesChapter 21: Seeing The Answer: Visual Interviews Online - Janet SalmonsIntroductionWhat Are Visual Research Methodologies?Multimodal Online Communication and Research InterviewsHow Can We Use These Affordances to Collect Research Data?Whose Images Are Discussed?Prepare for an Online Interview with Visual MethodsPrepare for Multimodal Video Interviews.Conclusion and ReflectionsReferencesChapter 22: Using Artificial Intelligence (Ai) In Qualitative Interview Research - Michelle O’Reilly, Jason Hughes, and Kathryn Roulston IntroductionQualitative Interview Research and Gen AiPlanning to Use Ai in InterviewingPractical StepsCoding and AnalysisEthical ConcernsConclusion and ReflectionReferences