A Structure for In-Depth, Phenomenonological Interviewing A Yvonne A Jenny

Open-ended questions ex. Do you think that group discussion can enhance your reading comprehension? (  ) How do you feel that the use of group discussion in your reading comprehension? (  ) Task: build and explore the participants’ responses  participants’ concrete experience & the meaning their experience had Goal: let the participants reconstruct their experience

Three- Interview Series Focused Life History The Details of Experience Reflection on the Meaning

Focused Life History Interviewer asks the participants to tell their past experience in any situations  focus on the participants’ past experiences Let the participants reconstruct their early experiences Avoid asking “why”  ask “How” ex. What's your first experience about using group discussion on your reading?

The Details of Experience Purpose: focus on the concrete details of the participants’ present experience  Know some details ex. What did your teacher teach? or How did your teacher teach in class? Don’t ask the participants’ opinions but the details of their experience →whatever they do now

Reflection on the Meaning Purpose: to reflect on the meaning of the participants’ experience  participants’ attitudes & opinions ex. How do you feel about group discussion on your reading?

Focus on the participants’ understanding of their experience Meaning: the intellectual & emotional connections between the participants’ work & life

Respect the Structure The importance of the series of the three- interviews (Each interview serves a purpose). Advantage: easy to follow Disadvantage: time-consuming Try to maintain the balance between providing enough openness for the participants to tell their stories and enough focus to allow the interview structure to work.

Length of Interviews The 90-minute format (Dolbeare and Schuman) The length of time be decided upon before the interview process begins. (No standard time limitation) To be chronological: beginning, middle, end.

For the vast number of participants, interviewers need to schedule/arrange the interviews so that they can finish one and go on to the next. The participants must know how much time is being asked of them.

The shortcomings of after-the-face conversation: - not be recorded - unravel the interviewer’s purpose - difficult to use

Spacing of Interviews Space each interview from 3 days to a week apart - allow times for the participants to consider the preceding interview - avoid to lose the connection

2 to 3 week period - reduce the impact of possibly idiosyncratic interviews ex: participant has the terrible day; sick; be distracted in such a way as to affect the quality of interview

Develop the relationship between the participants and the interviews positively. - telephone call - letters To confirm the schedules and appointments.

Alternatives to the Structure and Process Miss an interview because of ► unexpected things → conduct interviews one and two on the same day ► leave during the long vacation → conduct interviews one, two, and three on the same day

Whose meaning is it? Validity and Reliability Reliability—whether the participants’ answers are reliable & consistent  Internal consistency:  test in different times by using the same questions  use similar questions in different words to test your participants  External consistency:  record all the words they said (their tone)

Validity—the effectiveness of participants’ responses ex. (p. 18) the syntax, the pauses, the self- effacing laugh

Is it Anybody ’ s Meaning? The advantages of three-interview structure: - incorporate features to enhance the accomplishment of validity - encourage interviewing participants over the course of 1 to 3 weeks to account for idiosyncratic days and to check for the internal consistency of what they said

The advantages of three-interview structure: - place participant’s comments in context - interviewer can connect the participant’s experiences and check the comments of one participant against those of others

The goal of the process: - to understand how our participants understand and make meaning of their experiences

Avoiding a Mechanistic Response Cause by: Cause by: - some advocates of divergent approaches - some advocates of divergent approaches polarize the issue polarize the issue - advocates qualitative approaches as - advocates qualitative approaches as doctrinaire doctrinaire

The solutions: The solutions: - grapple with the validity - grapple with the validity - increase our ways of knowing - increase our ways of knowing - avoid ignorance - avoid ignorance

Experience the Process Yourself The practice project: Team up with a peer  Use the three-interview structure  Arrange the appointments for each interviews  Taped-record

The point of the practice project: - experience interviewing and being interviewing - see whether you connect the possibilities of the process - alert you to how the way you are as a person affects your interviewing - become aware of issues of control and focus