SOC244H1 Chapter : ch 4 in depth interviews.docx
Document Summary
Interviews are a particular kind of conversation, and are probably the most common source of qualitative data for health researchers. Selecting interviews as the method of choice involves considering both the nature of data produced in interviews in general and reflexively accounting for the specific context of the study in terms of how this shapes the data generated. The issue of language is central in all qualitative work and is particularly explicit in cross-cultural settings. The chapter concludes with suggestions for dealing with practical issues interviewers need to consider, including sampling decisions. The interview is the most widely used method of producing data in qualitative health research. In essence, an interview is a conversation that is directed more or less, towards the researcher"s particular needs for data. At one end of such a scale is the structured interview, which schedules the kind of data produced quite tightly.
