Obtaining insights on the illicit consumption of endangered wildlife products is challenging, especially when the study objects are the super-rich. This research note draws upon my experience interviewing nearly 1,000 rhino horn consumers in Vietnam. Trust is crucial in such interactions. No interviews could have been conducted without good…

Multiple perspective interviews (MPIs) involve interviewing members of a social group separately and triangulating their accounts during analysis to gain insights into the functioning of such groups (e.g. families). So far, there has been little engagement with the specific challenges of MPI research during the analysis, particularly with…

Narrative interviews with young victims of crime can provide information regarding their unique situations and how the victimization has affected their lives. However, the method can be intrusive, and not all young people are able to safeguard their personal integrity. This research note offers reflections on the use of narrative interviews with…

This paper responds to some recent discussions in the Journal about how interview data can be used. While recognising the value of detailed analysis of the discourse employed in interviews to identify its formal features, it is argued that such analysis is not essential for all the purposes for which interview data can be employed in social…

We centrally consider the question of what interview data can be used to 'say' through a dialogue with advocates of the 'radical critique' of interview studies. We propose that while the critique has considerable utility in drawing to 'the social life of interviews' and the pervasiveness of notions of the 'romantic subject', it simultaneously goes…

Qualitative research has been strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the possibilities that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies such as Skype, WhatsApp, and Zoom offer to qualitative scholars. Based on the experience of using such technologies to collect qualitative data for our PhD studies, we present how we dealt…

Much care has been paid to reflexivity, including considering emotional sensitivities?in relation to face-to-face interviews. However, less attention has been paid to the impact of sensitivities on the process of data?analysis and the presentation of research findings. This paper focuses on?what constitutes 'the data' to be analysed, who analyses…

Qualitative data analysis has been criticised for a lack of credibility over recent years when vagueness has been afforded to the reporting of how findings are attained. In response, there has been a growing body of literature emphasising a need to detail methods of qualitative data analysis. This paper adds to this body of knowledge by presenting…

The current situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic has had huge consequences in all aspects of our lives, including the development of research activities. Studies involving face-to-face interaction with people, such as randomized controlled trials, were the first affected. The objective of this article is to present the insights on challenges…

Researchers have become increasingly interested in better understanding the survey data collection process in interviewer-administered surveys. However, tools for analysing paradata capturing information about field processes, also called call record data, are still not yet fully explored. This paper introduces sequence analysis as a simple tool…

In this article, we consider challenges for the existence and practice of qualitative research interviews. We review key features of qualitative interviewing, in particular the debate over the radical critique of interviewing and the nature of the data it generates, to set the scene for our arguments about the current standing and future prognosis…

This paper addresses two interrelated questions concerning what interview data are and how researchers might use them. The first considers the value of a shift from a predominant or exclusive focus upon how data are constructed and produced at interview, and towards how such data might be apprehended through different forms of…

This article focuses on an investigation of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher (de)motivation in Spain which underwent a methodological transformation from mixed methods to a qualitative approach. Unexpected statistical results from the questionnaire in the piloting phase led to the creation of interview prompts, a dynamic data collection…

COVID-19 has changed the way research can be conducted. The present literature review, based on 29 studies (2008-2020), investigates and compiles existing research to identify possibilities and limitations of using digital interviews within social work, sociology and adjacent disciplines. The results show that digital interviews can enhance…

As intersectionality gains more prominence, scholars still face difficulties of incorporating principles of intersectionality into empirical research. Key concepts of intersectionality theory include moving away from additive thinking, relationality, and social constructionism. An important challenge is how to incorporate these concepts into…