Doing Interview-based Qualitative Research

Eva Magnusson is Professor Emerita of Psychology and Gender Studies at the University of Umeå, Sweden. Jeanne Marecek is William R. Kenan Professor Emerita of Psychology at Swarthmore College, USA.

'An insightful guide to designing and conducting a very widely used research approach that not only does justice (in multiple senses) to both the transformative commitment inspiring many qualitative researchers but also insists on the theoretical rigour such an interpretive enterprise demands, and correspondingly offers clear worked examples of different approaches to analysis. A particular further merit is the attention to wide geographical and cross disciplinary reach. The authors draw on extensive experience in formulating this accessible guide, which manages to be practical, engaged and informed, without being bogged down by jargon.' Erica Burman, University of Manchester

• 1. Introduction; 2. Some examples of interpretative research; 3. Planning and beginning an interpretative research project; 4. Making decisions about participants; 5. Designing the interview guide; 6. Doing the interview; 7. Preparing for analysis; 8. Finding meanings in people's talk; 9. Analyzing stories in interviews; 10. Analyzing talk as action; 11. Analyzing for implicit cultural meanings; 12. Reporting your project; Epilogue.