Thanks for the excellent compendium of sources, Stacy. I'll add to your comment about the list: even as someone outside the field of environmental studies/politics/communication, I value gep-ed as one of the very best lists that I subscribe to. Graham ------------------------- Graham Smart Associate Professor Carleton University School of Linguistics & Language Studies 215 Paterson Hall 1125 Colonel By Drive Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1S 5B6 -------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: "VanDeveer, Stacy" <stacy.vandev...@unh.edu> Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 4:44 pm Subject: interviewing resources for students To: gep-ed@listserve1.allegheny.edu
> > Once again, the gep-ed list easily proves itself to be the most useful of any > such list to which I belong. > Below, please find the responses to my recent query about suggested readings > about interview methods and analysis for use with undergraduates. > Many thanks. > --Stacy > INTERVIEWING RESOURCES > (1) At the Institute on Qualitative Research Methods a few years ago, we > used a Symposium published in PS by Beth Leech. I think it is relatively > concise and accessible for undergraduates. It covers most of the basic > issues without getting too methodological. > Link: > http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=134493 > Citation: Leech, B. L. (2002). "Symposium: Interview Methods in Political > Science." PS: Political Science & Politics 35(4): 663-88 > (2) I learned a lot from the following book: > Robert S. Weiss, Learning from Strangers: The Art and Method of Qualitative > Interview Studies (Free Press, 1994). > Also in my notes are: > symposium in PS (2002) on "Interview Methods in Political Science" > David Collier, "Data, Field Work and Extracting New Ideas at Close Range." > APSA-CP Newsletter, Winter 1999, p. 1-6. > Patricia A. Adler and Peter Adler, "The Reluctant Respondent." p. 515-35 > (3) I think a good one remains Rubin and Rubin, "Qualitative Interviewing. > The art of hearing data", Sage, 1995. > -- It's a bit more specific than the broader social research methods texts. > It also speaks directly to how to do an interview. I'm sure there are others > that are equally good, but I think that one is good for students/people > thinking through this. > (4) It may be longer than you want, but my methods "bible" is Bernard's > Research Methods in Anthropology (now in its 4th edition). It covers > unstructured, seminstructured, and structured interviews, focus groups, > research record keeping, sample selection, and bunches of other useful > topics. I have had dozens of students who've done research and who've > successfully used Bernard either in whole or in part. I usually sit down > with them and the book, and I point out the specific sections which would be > useful for them. > (5) For a general overview of social research methods, I like Earl Babbie's > The Practice of Social Research, now in its 12th edition (2009, Wadsworth). > There are a lot of good books specifically on qualitative survey > interviewing. Sage Publications has published many excellent handbooks to > research interviewing over the years. Go to their books department web site > http://www.sagepub.com/books.nav and enter "interviewing" in the search line, > and you'll see about 20 that may be helpful. > (6) On the analysis side, Writing Ethnographic Field Notes can be useful in > giving students a sense of how to draw interpretations from interview > material rather than stick rigidly to preconceived “hypotheses”. Also has > practical tips on how to conduct interviews and participant-observation. > For prepping interviews, I probably tell them the same things that you do: > research the background of their person and the organization thoroughly, > write a list of practice questions— how standardized or open-ended they are > depends on research design— and to always seek to establish some rapport > before leaping into the interview! Also an upfront statement about the goal > of the research, what it will be used for, whether it will be confidential, > etc. Have they done their IRB proposals? Last year all my students doing > interviews were required to do the whole IRB process; I’ve requested an > expedited, shortened process for undergraduate interviews, and so far haven’t > heard much back. I think short interviews should be exempt from IRB > altogether (and just proceed on that notion!) > > (7) I have found Lofland and Lofland's _Analyzing social settings : a guide > to qualitative observation and analysis_ (1995) to be a great reference for > students as they prepare to do qualitative interviews. Both undergraduates > and grad students have found this useful. For more general background, I use > the recent edition of Singleton and Strait's _Approaches to social research_ > (New York: Oxford University Press) in my undergraduate methods course. > (8) We have successfully employed the Meuser & Nagel approach to expert > interviews for the MANUS project. Regrettably, there still appears to be no > English translation. If the German version is of any use to anyone, the > reference is > Meuser, Michael and Ulrike Nagel. 2005 [1991], ExpertInneninterviews - > vielfach erprobt, wenig bedacht. Ein Beitrag zur qualitativen > Methodendiskussion, in: Bogner et al. Das Experteninterview, 2nd edition, VS > Verlag, Wiesbaden. > For easy access, Andreas Witzel's online paper "The problem-centered > interview" might be worth a try: > http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs-texte/1-00/1-00witzel-e.htm > Stacy D. VanDeveer > Associate Professor University of New Hampshire > Dept. of Political Science > Horton SSC > Durham, NH 03824 USA > stacy.vandev...@unh.edu > tel: > fax: > mobile: > Skype ID:(+1) 603-862-0167 > (+1) 603-862-0178 > (+1) 781-321-5880 > stacy.vandeveer > Want to always have my latest info?Want a signature like this? ------------------------------- Graham Smart Associate Professor Carleton University School of Linguistics & Language Studies 215 Paterson Hall 1125 Colonel By Drive Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1S 5B6 ------------------------------
