The Research Interview as Discourses Crossing Swords

Abstract

This article presents a conception of the qualitative research interview as discourses crossing swords. The article draws on examples showing how the researchers’ view on learning is challenged by the interviewed apprentices. The apprentices do not assume learning in itself to be an important aspect of their lives. They consider the process of becoming a competent professional the main motive of their working lives. In the presented interview situations, these differing assumptions of the researcher and the apprentices become apparent as competing discourses: learning versus professional competence. These discourses cross each other and become the context of a productive negotiation of meaning. In the article it is suggested that in such cases, the qualitative research interview can be understood on the background of a battlefield metaphor highlighting the antagonistic character of conversations in an interview setting aimed at research.