The Practice and Importance of Engaging Interview Participants
The Art Of Hearing Data : Actively listening to whats being said,
Ways of knowing.....
The Art of hearing data
Rubin & Rubin (1995, p.1)
" Qualititatve interviewing is a way of finding out what others feel and think about their worlds. Through Qualititative interviews you can understand and reconstruct events in which you did not participate "
Rubin and Rubin talk about the importance of finding out about others feelings and views about their worlds. A qualititave researcher needs to take more than just information. They aim to gain an understanding about the interviewees subject. Actively listening is more than just being attentive, its about understanding, empathising and even a times re-enacting the experiences of ther interviewee.
This approach enriches the experience, ensuring that the information and quality of data gathered is relevant, helps to answer the research question and allows the interviewer to fully understand why the questions have been answered in this way.
The relationship between interviewer and interviewee becomes more about how things are being said, rather than what is being said. Then , the researcher can easily identify themes which are important to the interviewee and ultimately the research question being investigated.
WAYS OF KNOWING
Looking at the ways we interact with and respond to our PArticipants.
SEPARATE KNOWING
- A way of thinking which allows a critical detachment of what is being said. Much like the Positivist Epistemology.
CONNECTED KNOWING
- Another way of thinking which in Qualitative research is likened to be more amenable to doing sensitive work with participants and gaining a rich understanding of their experience called connected knowing.
- Recognises disagreement or disparity among viewpoints, but instead of arguing with the participant, adopts a strategy of imagining how the participant feels, and what it must be like for them.
- An "aligning stance" in viewpoint rather than a critical stance.
- A critical part of "engaginginterviews" as the interviewer gains more rapport and almost an intuitive relationship with the interviewee.