Interactive Interview: A Research Note

Authors

  • Simeon Mitropolitski University of Ottawa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-16.1.1963

Keywords:

focus group, individual interview, discursive dynamics, EU integration, post-communism

Abstract

Forming focus groups as a particular technique for gathering information gives excellent results in tracing group discursive dynamics. Compared to individual interviews, however, it has an inherent setback. Expressing opinions without sufficient confidentiality protection makes informants hesitant. Trying to trace group dynamics at any cost may lead to losing important information regarding the research question. This research note proposes a new technique, interactive interviews, that combines the strengths of individual and group formats. In this technique, the researcher reproduces alternative discourses trying to engage informants in discursive dynamics identical to that found in focus groups. The results cover not only the eventual discursive change in informants, but also the discursive tensions that the researcher experiences. This note presents evidence of the testing of this technique on a case dealing with the role of EU integration on post-communist democratization in Bulgaria.

URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs150189

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Author Biography

Simeon Mitropolitski, University of Ottawa

Simeon MITROPOLITSKI is a part-time professor of political science and methodology at University of Ottawa and University of Montreal.

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Published

2014-11-24

How to Cite

Mitropolitski, S. (2014). Interactive Interview: A Research Note. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-16.1.1963

Issue

Section

Single Contributions