Bibliography
Fujii, Lee Ann. 2018. Interviewing in Social Science Research: A Relational Approach. New York, London: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
Review by Michael Beach
In the discipline of social science, the ability to conduct effective interviews of research subjects is a must. If any sort of validity can be given to research findings then some form of objective data extracted through interviews is one tool. Another is using data from interviews to help drive the direction of research. This book is a how-to from selecting research candidates, building relationships, and strategic approaches in the actual interviews, to how to interpret data.
In particular, the section of ferreting out data patterns I found particularly helpful. There are all sorts of ways to preset questions, but unless one is using a set survey tool, topics will present themselves that were not imagined ahead of time by either party in an interview. Applying an ethical approach to coding the unanticipated information is perhaps more important than information one is specifically seeking. Many a research project has changed course mid-stream as these kind of sociological interviews get conducted by researchers.
At the end of the book there are four sample research approaches that were a part of real research projects. They are diverse. One is about a Rwandan prisoner, another is on a multi-generation resident of Maryland thought of as an ‘old timer’. The third example interview is of a clergyman in Northern Ireland who had lived through the sectarian violence with Britain. Finally, the attitudes of a sex worker attempting rehab in California wraps up the book, and the examples.
Fujii, Lee Ann. 2018. Interviewing in Social Science Research: A Relational Approach. New York, London: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
Review by Michael Beach
In the discipline of social science, the ability to conduct effective interviews of research subjects is a must. If any sort of validity can be given to research findings then some form of objective data extracted through interviews is one tool. Another is using data from interviews to help drive the direction of research. This book is a how-to from selecting research candidates, building relationships, and strategic approaches in the actual interviews, to how to interpret data.
In particular, the section of ferreting out data patterns I found particularly helpful. There are all sorts of ways to preset questions, but unless one is using a set survey tool, topics will present themselves that were not imagined ahead of time by either party in an interview. Applying an ethical approach to coding the unanticipated information is perhaps more important than information one is specifically seeking. Many a research project has changed course mid-stream as these kind of sociological interviews get conducted by researchers.
At the end of the book there are four sample research approaches that were a part of real research projects. They are diverse. One is about a Rwandan prisoner, another is on a multi-generation resident of Maryland thought of as an ‘old timer’. The third example interview is of a clergyman in Northern Ireland who had lived through the sectarian violence with Britain. Finally, the attitudes of a sex worker attempting rehab in California wraps up the book, and the examples.
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