Reflective Interviewing
A Guide to Theory and Practice
- Kathryn Roulston - University of Georgia, USA
Qualitative researchers have long made use of many different interview forms. Yet, for novice researchers, making the connections between "theory" and "method" is not always easy. Reflective Interviewing provides a theoretically-informed guide for researchers learning how to interview in the social sciences.
In order to undertake high quality research using qualitative interviews, a researcher must be able to theorize the application of interviews to investigate research problems in social science research. As part of this process, researchers examine their subject positions in relation to participants, and examine their interview interactions systematically to inform research design. This book provides a practical approach to interviewing, helping researchers to learn about themselves as interviewers in ways that will inform the design, conduct, analysis, and representation of interview data.
The author takes the reader through the practicalities of designing and conducting an interview study, and relates various forms of interview to different underlying epistemological assumptions about how knowledge is produced. The book concludes with practical advice and perspectives from experienced researchers who use interviews as a method of data generation.
Reflective Interviewing is written for a multidisciplinary audience of students of qualitative research methods.
another useful but very specific subject area. Useful for the post-graduates and those looking to use this technique as part of their dissertation/PhD
This is a good more specialist book for students doing qualitative research. Would be particularly helpful for those at Masters level. It is clearly written and structured and provides helpful advice to students wanting to improve their approach to interviewing.
This will be part of my reading list for trainee teachers who are doing their research project.
Overall this book provides very useful and practical tips for researchers. The examples provided are excellent and give students clear examples of how interviewing can be conducted. This is also combined with strong theortical underpinnings which add academic rigour. A very useful book for undergradute and post-graduate students that are considering interviews as part of their study.
A good thorough text of value to many researchers who use interview methods in their work - including those who do not necessarily consider their style to be 'reflective' as there are important lessons here for other interview approaches to learn from and, where possible, incorporate.
Doctorate students in health and social care are mainly concerned, although not exclusively, with qualitative methods. These often involve interviewing, requiring advanced skills of reflective practice. This book is an essential text for those wishing to improve their skills and to make a difference to practice
I could use this as a valued supplementary text and have listed it us in my qualitative research syllabus, but it could not serve as a primary text based on my reading of it.
This book is a first point of call for qualitative researchers
This is an excellent book on interviewing practice and its theoretical foundatations. I will require/highly recommend it for advanced UG and PG qualitative research modules It will be supplemental for earlier undergraduate students e.g. it is too narrow in focus to be one of a couple of required texts for a broad-based research methods module for second years.
An carefully nuanced discussion of interviewing as a research practice. I was impressed by the way that Roulston introduced a series of issues that have been hotly debated by qualitative researchers. While not all our students use interviewing as a research method I am recommending it to those who do.
