Ethnographic interview tips (flash anthropology 1)
Let me start with some facts
Fact: As I looked at this still blank screen, a wave of panic passed over me.
Fact: That panic came with the question, “Why did I think I could teach interview technique in a week and online, given all the possibilities for awkwardness and discomfort and who knows what else that come with learning to interview Homo sapiens?”
Fact: I am trying really hard to hide how nervous I am about the possibilities within this method module for someone to ask or answer someone else in a way that innocently but sincerely offends.
Fact: I don’t know if I am more nervous that someone might offend-slash-get-offended, or if I am more nervous that following such an incident, I will get a call from our admin (good at troubleshooting, less good at risk-taking) demanding to know why the hell I’m encouraging you to do real research on real humans in art school.
Fact: I am trusting you to trust your instincts (and/or your socialization in shared moralities) when it comes to being ethical and not hurting anybody.
Fact: I cannot possibly teach you everything about interviewing in a week.
And now, one more.
Fact: Every single one of you here has seen interviews, has interviewed, and/or has been interviewed at some point(s) in your life.
Therefore, let’s remind ourselves that we are not starting from zero. Let’s also remind ourselves that we aspire to be good, ethical, fellow-humans. And finally: let’s laugh just a little at how overconfident I sometimes am in my course designs. And with all that behind us, here are:
A few quick, especially key tips I want to impress upon you
When constructing and conducting an interview:
- Make sure your questions are asking what you think they are asking (I test my interview questions on my willing friends and neighbors, for example, just to see how they understand and respond, before using my questions in “real” research);
- Relatedly: get rid of biased questions; get rid of leading questions;
- Borrowing from the famous sociologist Howard Becker: it’s always a good idea to try to reword your “why” questions as “how” questions (“why” questions can sometimes sound accusatory, and anyway, “how” questions are more likely to prompt thorough, concrete answers from your interlocutors);
- Be attentive to the fact that your question form can influence the answers you receive (if you’re not sure what I mean by “question form,” here’s sociologist Allen Barton’s two-page, tongue-in-cheek, published-in-1958 guide to “asking the embarrassing question” — you’re going to lol, promise).
- Be nice (you extra-know this one if you’re a Minnesotan — or Canadian);
- Relatedly: be aware of the contexts in which you are interviewing and respect and accommodate (that means make comfortable, keep comfortable) each person you are interviewing;
- Protect privacy (assure each person you are interviewing that you will protect their/her/his privacy and then do so by using pseudonyms in your writing, modifying non-essential details (especially identity markers) that might give someone away, etc.)
- Listen actively; show sincere interest;
- Take notes (audio recording can be useful, too, when this doesn’t intimidate your interlocutors, though transcription can get pretty painful)
- And finally, as my mom aaaalways says in parting, I leave you with the hyper-generalized, only ever wise in every situation ever: “Make good decisions”
With these, I loose you upon the world. Almost. First, let me introduce you to two interview geniuses whose works make up our science case study for this week…
