In this research note, I examine Oakley's treatment of the traditional textbooks' recommendations for interviewing. Oakley criticises these as a basis for data collection `which cannot and does not work in practice' (Oakley 1981:31). An examination of textbook prescriptions for data collection suggests that Oakley's objection to them is a product of her misleading characterisation of them. Her criticism is therefore misplaced, and her proposed alternative rather less original than has been assumed.
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