Despite the popularity of the interview in qualitative research, methodological and theoretical problems remain. In this article, the author critically examines some of these problems for the researcher. He deals with the problems of power and resistance, distinguishing truth from authenticity, the (im)possibility of consent if knowing is a problem for both the interviewer and the interviewee, and the nature and significance of stories and the self. Although it is not always possible to address these problems directly, the author seeks in this article to create a dialogue with all of us for whom the interview is judged to be the appropriate answer to the research question “How can I know...?”
Bauman, Z. (1996). From pilgrim to tourist—Or a short history of identity. In S. Hall & P. du Gay (Eds.), Question of cultural identity (pp. 18-36). London: Sage.
2.
Billig, M. (1997). The dialogic unconscious: Psychoanalysis, discursive psychology and the nature of repression. British Journal of Social Psychology, 36, 1-21.
3.
Bourdieu, P. (1977). Outline for a theory of practice. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
4.
Cain, M. (1993). Foucault, feminism and feelings: What Foucault can and cannot contribute to feminist epistemology. In C. Ramazanoglu (Ed.), Up against Foucault: Explorations of some tensions between Foucault and feminism (pp. 73-96). London: Routledge.
5.
Charmaz, K. (1995). Between positivism and postmodernism: Implications for methods. Studies in Symbolic Interaction, 17, 43-72.
6.
Cutcliffe, J. R., & Ramcharan, P. (2002). Leveling the playing field? Exploring the merit of ethics-as-process approach for judging qualitative research proposals. Qualitative Health Research, 12, 1000-1010.
7.
Douglas, J. D. (1985). Creative interviewing. Beverley Hills, CA: Sage.
8.
Eco, U. (1994). The island of the day before. London: Vintage.
9.
Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and social change. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
10.
Foucault, M. (1980). Discipline and punishment. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin. (Original work published 1977)
11.
Garfinkle, H. (1967). Studies in ethnomethodology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
12.
Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1968). The discovery of grounded theory. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson.
13.
Glesne, C., & Peshkin, A. (1992). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. New York: Longmans.
14.
Holloway, W. (1989). Subjectivity and method in psychology: Gender, meaning and science. London: Sage.
15.
Holstein, J. A., & Gubrium, J. F. (1997). Active interviewing. In D. Silverman (Ed.), Qualitative research: Theory, method and practice (pp. 113-129) London: Sage.
16.
Hutchinson, S., & Wilson, H. (1994). Research and therapeutic interviews: A poststructuralist perspective. In J. M. Moser (Ed.), Critical issues in qualitative research methods (pp. 300-315). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
17.
Oakley, A. (1981). Subject women. London: Fontana.
18.
Schwalbe, M., & Wolkomir, M. (2001). The masculine self as problem and resource in interview studies of men. Men and Masculinities, 4, 90-103.
19.
Seidman, I. (1998). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences. New York: Teachers College Press.
20.
Shotter, J. (1989). Social accountability and the social construction of “you.” In J. Shotter & K. Gergen (Eds.), Texts of identity (pp. 133-151). London: Sage.
21.
Silverman, D. (1993). Interpreting qualitative data: Methods of analysing talk, text and interaction. London: Sage.
22.
Spradley, J. (1979). The ethnographic interview. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
23.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (Eds.). (1991). Grounded theory in practice. London: Sage.
24.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scriber, & E. Souberman, Eds.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
25.
Wood, J. D., Bruner, J. S., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17, 89-100.
26.
Woodhill, G. (1994). The social semiotics of disability. In M. H. Rioux & M. Bach (Eds.), Disability is not measles: New research paradigms in disability (pp. 201-226). North York, Canada: Roeher Institute.
27.
Zizek, S. (1989). The sublime object of ideology. London: Verso.
