Is Verbal Interaction Coding A Reliable Pretesting Technique?

Abstract

The study, reported in this article, shows that the connection between the interviewer’s and/or interviewee’s behaviors, which deviate from the ideal course of standardization, and the interpretative distortions due to badly formulated questions is weak. The behaviorist theoretical thesis, which supports the methodological structure of the verbal interaction coding, has to be revised. To diagnose the questions which make the interpretative problems more frequent in interview, social researcher cannot limit himself/herself to detecting and encoding verbal behaviors. His/her goal is to evaluate the suitability of the interviewer’s and/or interviewee’s behaviors with respect to the meanings mutually exchanged during the interview. This is the way to follow for modifying the verbal interaction coding.