Interviewing and Qualitative Field Methods: Pragmatism and Practicalities

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Christopher Rathbun
Keyword(s):  
Interview Data ◽  
Field Methods ◽  
Proper Role ◽  
The Status ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Gain Access

This article recommends the use of intensive, in-depth interviews which can help to establish motivations and preferences, even though they must deal with the perils of ‘strategic reconstruction’. The first section of this article makes the pragmatic case for interviewing. The second portion is devoted to assembling in one place the consensus in the literature on the basics of how to undertake interviews, including issues of how to build arguments using interview data, how to structure questionnaires, the proper role to adopt vis-à-vis respondents, and how to gain access to conversation partners. Doubts about the status of interview data and the reliability of respondents must be taken into account but can be addressed. These disadvantages rarely outweigh the unique advantages of interviewing.

scholarly journals Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) medical students – an examination of their journey and experiences as medical students in limbo

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Gillezeau ◽  
Wil Lieberman-Cribbin ◽  
Kristin Bevilacqua ◽  
Julio Ramos ◽  
Naomi Alpert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
First Year ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Student Sample ◽  
Medical Specialties ◽  
Residency Programs ◽  
Deferred Action ◽  
The Status ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract Background Although the value of DACA medical students has been hypothesized, no data are available on their contribution to US healthcare. While the exact number of DACA recipients in medical school is unknown, DACA medical students are projected to represent an increasing proportion of physicians in the future. The current literature on DACA students has not analyzed the experiences of these students. Methods A mixed-methods study on the career intentions and experiences of DACA medical students was performed utilizing survey data and in-depth interviews. The academic performance of a convenience sample of DACA medical students was compared to that of matriculated medical students from corresponding medical schools, national averages, and first-year residents according to specialty. Results Thirty-three DACA medical students completed the survey and five participated in a qualitative interview. The average undergraduate GPA (SD) of the DACA medical student sample was 3.7 (0.3), the same as the national GPA of 2017–2018 matriculated medical students. The most common intended residency programs were Internal Medicine (27.2%), Emergency Medicine (15.2%), and Family Medicine (9.1%). In interviews, DACA students discussed their motivation for pursuing medicine, barriers and facilitators that they faced in attending medical school, their experiences as medical students, and their future plans. Conclusions The intent of this sample to pursue medical specialties in which there is a growing need further exemplifies the unique value of these students. It is vital to protect the status of DACA recipients and realize the contributions that DACA physicians provide to US healthcare.

scholarly journals The Trials and Tribulations of Applied Triangulation: Weighing Different Data Sources

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian G. Kern
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Practical Research ◽  
The Status ◽  
Analytical Strategies ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Illustrative Application

Researchers employ triangulation to increase the validity of inference in qualitative and quantitative research. Leuffen, Shikano, and Walter have presented guidance as to which strategies to use when triangulating data sources. In this article, I explore how their findings can be translated for practical research purposes. I offer an illustrative application concentrating on the political power of traditional political authorities in Uganda and Tanzania. I analyze the status quo of political power and the preferred political power of traditional leaders. To triangulate, I use three sources: (1) constitutional-legal texts, (2) the Afrobarometer survey, and (3) in-depth interviews. I shed light on possible problems and analytical strategies for triangulation in practice, with a specific focus on convergence and divergence of sources.

scholarly journals The Materiality of Memory: Affects, Remembering and Food Decisions

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick J. Fox ◽  
Pam Alldred
Keyword(s):  
Social Production ◽  
Personal Memory ◽  
Collective Memories ◽  
Data Resource ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
Sociological Inquiry ◽  
The Status ◽  
Future Data ◽  
Food Decisions ◽  
Depth Interviews

Sociology has focused predominantly upon ‘collective memories’ and their impact on social continuity and change, while relegating individual memories to the status of an empirical data resource for research on experiences and identity construction or maintenance. This article suggests, however, that sociology has overlooked the part individual memories play in social production. It applies a post-anthropocentric, new materialist ontology, in which bodies, things, social formations, ideas, beliefs and memories can all possess capacities to materially affect and be affected. To explore the part that personal memory can play in producing the present and hence the future, data from in-depth interviews in a study of adults’ food decision-making and practices are reported. Personal memories deriving from earlier events affect current food practices, and these contribute to the materiality of people’s consumption of food stuffs. The article concludes by reflecting on the wider importance of personal memory for sociological inquiry and memory studies.

A failed Roma revolution: Conflict, fragmentation and status quo maintenance in Rome

Ethnicities ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 775-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabella Clough Marinaro ◽  
Ulderico Daniele
Keyword(s):  
Municipal Government ◽  
Initial Period ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Political Opportunity Structure ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Status ◽  
Elected Representatives ◽  
Depth Interviews

This article examines novel spaces for Roma political participation that opened up under a right-wing municipal government in Rome between 2008 and 2013. Three channels were created through which Roma could engage with policy-makers and, in theory, make their voices heard: a ‘Mayor’s Delegate for Roma Issues’; a forum for debate among Roma groups and elected representatives in two official camps. Based on in-depth interviews with protagonists of this key period of mobilisation, we evaluate the successes achieved and obstacles faced. In particular, we highlight the differentiations which emerged among Roma actors, concluding that, following an initial period of enthusiasm and cohesion, most participants withdrew, achieving few of their initial goals. While the analysis demonstrates the heterogeneity of Roma groups and interests in this process, it also underlines the constraints created by the external political opportunity structure which ultimately worked to co-opt activists in order to maintain the status quo.

scholarly journals A Closer Look at Language Learning Strategies

2020 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Joseph Wood
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
Language Learning Strategies ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Depth Interviews

Language learning strategies (LLSs) are made up of the conscious and deliberate actions that language learners take in order to help them learn a language. It would be useful, however, to know which particular LLSs are the most effective so we can in turn focus on them in class and encourage our students to begin using them. To do this, we should ask ourselves, what kinds of LLSs do advanced-level students use in their own language learning? This study examined that question in hopes of learning the most effective strategies to teach our lower-level students to use. An advanced-level class of 18 second-year university students in Japan was surveyed on the effectiveness of LLSs based on a class-generated list. Following this, six students were selected for in-depth interviews. The survey and interview data found that students believed that speaking strategies are the most effective for learning English. 言語学習におけるストラテジー（LLSs）とは、学習者が言語を学びやすくするために起こす意識的かつ計画的な行動により構成されるものである。しかしながら、最も効果的なLLSsは何なのかを知ることは有益である。さらに授業の中でそれらのLLSsに注目し、学生たちがそれらを使い始めるように促すことを可能にするためである。それを知るために、私達は自分自身に次のように問うべきである―上級レベルの学生たちが英語学習の際に使っているのはどんなLLSsだろうか？本研究では、その答えを出し、初級レベルの学生たちにも最も効果的なLLSsを使って学習させるべく調査を展開している。日本のある大学の2年生18人の英語上級者クラスでは、学生たちが自ら作ったリストをもとに、それぞれのLLSsの効果を調査した。また、6人の学生に詳細なインタビューを受けてもらった。これらの調査により、英語上級者の学生たちが考える最も効果的なLLSsはスピーキングであるということがわかった。

Opportunities and Limitations of Socio-economic Adaptation in the Coronavirus Crisis

2021 ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Vladimir Titov
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Economic Behavior ◽  
Economic Adaptation ◽  
The Status ◽  
Market Opportunities ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Depth Interviews

The article reviews the methodological assumptions and results of in-depth interviews held in May 2020. The aim of the article is to identify various aspects of the population’s socio-economic adaptation in the context of the coronavirus pandemic crisis. The author uses the tradition of phenomenological sociology, hermeneutics and narrative analysis as the methodology for the analysis of in-depth interviews contents. The content analysis of the interviews allows to identify certain similarities and differences between two groups of respondents, distinguished by the status of employment (employees and entrepreneurs) in terms of assessment of the crisis’ impact on enterprises and various businesses, specific of the socio-economic behavior, resources, and adaptation practices. A feature of socio-economic behavior common for both categories is the wait-and-see approach to find out possible prospects of the economy and the labour market. However, respondents in the status of employee are generally characterized by a more confident assessment of prospects of job preservation and income level. Active forms of adaptive behavior are particularly noticed among respondents employed in the area of information and communication technologies. Entrepreneurs tend to combine, on the one hand, a negative assessment of the impact the crisis has on their business, and on the other, the desire to look for new market opportunities, realistically assessing the threats and risks, and to rely on themselves. In the context of the ongoing crisis, the specificity of the population’s socio-economic adaptation is associated not only with the status of employment, but also with the industry specifics, an accumulated portfolio of orders, stability of the client base, and social capital.

Jumping to the Head of the Invisible Line: Queuing and Waiting in Electronic Ticket Systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 487-503
Author(s):  
J. Lotus Seeley
Keyword(s):  
Social Organization ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
Active Management ◽  
Wait Times ◽  
High Status ◽  
Organizational Status ◽  
The Status ◽  
It Support ◽  
The Invisible

Research on queuing and waiting has demonstrated how these practices exemplify tacit norms of social organization and how the dynamics of deference embedded in waiting (re)produce the status of the waiting individual and/or the power of individuals in charge of queues. Less attention has been given to the broader effects of the agentic efforts of individuals to decrease their wait times and increase their priority in their original queue, what I term the active management of waiting. Using ethnographic and interview data on IT support workers at a large university, I document how high-status individuals engage in three active management of waiting strategies: trumping the queue, circumventing the queue, and refusing to queue. As I show, these strategies are patterned by organizational status and thus not only (re)produce the status of the waiting individual but also exert a disciplinary effect on servers and help (re)produce organizational status structures as a whole.

scholarly journals Out-of-the-box versus in-house tools: how are they affecting data journalism in Australia?

2020 ◽  
pp. 1329878X2096156
Author(s):  
Mathias-Felipe de-Lima-Santos ◽  
Aljosha Karim Schapals ◽  
Axel Bruns
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Digital Preservation ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
The Status ◽  
Data Journalism ◽  
Depth Interviews

The proliferation of data journalism has enabled newsrooms to deploy technologies for both mundane and more sophisticated workplace tasks. To bypass long-term investment in developing data skills, out-of-the-box software solutions are commonly used. Newsrooms today are partially dependent on third-party platforms to build interactive and visual stories – but the business models of platforms are predisposed to changes, frequently inducing losses of stories. This article combines in-depth interviews and an ancillary survey to study the status quo and identify future challenges in embracing out-of-the-box and in-house tools, and their impact on Australian data journalism. Results indicate a dichotomy between commercial and public service media organisations. Commercial outlets are heavily reliant on out-of-the-box solutions to develop stories, due to a lack of skillsets and a shortage of skilled labour. By contrast, public service media are developing their own in-house solutions, which reflects their desire for the continuous digital preservation of data stories despite the challenges identified.

Engendering Global Capital: How Homoerotic Triangles Facilitate Foreign Investments into Risky Markets

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 547-572
Author(s):  
Kimberly Kay Hoang
Keyword(s):  
Status Quo ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
Women's Bodies ◽  
Foreign Investments ◽  
New Markets ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Global Capital ◽  
The Status ◽  
Eve Sedgwick ◽  
Economic Elites

Engaging with the work of C. Wright Mills and Eve Sedgwick, in this article I theorize how homoerotic relations facilitate the flow of global capital into risky market economies. Drawing on interview data with more than 60 financial professionals managing foreign investments in Vietnam, I examine the co-constitution of gender and global capital by identifying three categories of deal brokers. System maintainers are men and women who accept that women’s bodies are necessary for male homosocial bonding between political and economic elites. System transformers are men and women who disrupt the status quo and develop alternative ways of deal brokering outside of erotic spaces. System defectors are those break the triangle altogether and work to create new markets.

Reframing Gender Narratives Through Transitional Justice in the Maghreb

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris H. Gray ◽  
Terry C. Coonan
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Truth Commission ◽  
Women In It ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Status ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Status Of Women

Chapter 6, by Doris H. Gray and Terry C. Coonan, discusses the role of transitional justice mechanisms in Tunisia in reframing gender narratives. They focus on one mechanism, the national truth commission, and the roles of women in it. Building on in-depth interviews, they identify a range of complex debates regarding the status of women visible in post-revolution Tunisia in the context of debates over Islamism and secularism. They argue that examining transitional justice through the lens of gender is important not only because transitional justice has tended to ignore this dimension, but also because in the case of many abuses which women experience, there is continuity before and after transitions. That is to say, gendered abuses by the state, as well as domestic violence and sexual harassment, are not necessarily altered by political change, or properly addressed by post-transition mechanisms.

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