GS2321: In depth/ Unstructured Interviews

Nina Gren, School of Global Studies

Introductory Film
"Growing Pains," a film about an Angolan migrant in Portugal

Literature
- Bryman (2008), Chapter 18
- Creswell, pg. 87-92

Traits of an Effective Interviewer
- Social
- Friendly
- Flexible
- Trustworthy

An unstructured interview in practice: An informal interview in a Palestinian refugee camp
- Nina interviewed a former prisoner about his prison experiences and how he felt after he was set free.
- The interviewee was male, a father, and in his mid- 50s.
- The interviewee had lived abroad and spoke English well. He also had a university degree.
- The interviewee was held in an Israeli prison for fifteen years.
- He was also involved in political resistance and had experience being interviewed by scholars and journalists.

- Advantages of this method in this case: Nina collected a beautiful story in which the informant expressed his ideas and experiences in a very academic way.

- Disadvantages: He was more a less a professional informant delivering a polished narrative.

- In retrospect, Nina wondered if she was a bit too awestruck/ impressed with this particular informant.

What should you do with your field material?
- Transcribe
- Search for themes/ key words
- Index subjects
- Write a preliminary summary of your findings.

Eastmond on Life Stories
- Narratives are subjective/ inter-subjective truth.
> Life as lived.
> Life as experienced.
> Life as told/ narrated as a story.
> Life as text.
> Life as understood by the reader.

- Narratives need context!

- Interviewees often reconstitute themselves in a certain way, for example as a moral person or hero.

Transgressions of Ethical Principles
- Try not to harm the participants.
- Make sure to obtain informed consent. This can be done through verbal or written agreement. This should be viewed as an ongoing negotiation which is revisited throughout the research process.
- Protect your informants privacy by, for example, changing their names in your transcripts.
- Protect your data.
- Anticipate problems such as what you will do when and if people tell you secrets or sensitive information.

Important Questions
- Can a researcher ever be ethical?
- Should a researcher ever hide what he or she knows?
- Can research be used in unintended and/or harmful ways?