Abstract
How Did It Fit Into Your Career Path?
This article originated from my first independent research grant and was one of my first sole-authored peer-reviewed publications. It went on to be a key piece within my portfolio when I submitted for the award of PhD by Publication in 2015. 1 I therefore consider it one of the more significant pieces of writing in my research career to date.
How Did It Impact Your Work?
The methodological project from which the paper originated applied techniques of conversation analysis to the exploratory comparison of face-to-face and telephone interviews in qualitative social research. This was quite groundbreaking at the time and provided me with exciting opportunities to present at national and international conferences, to give seminars, and to write chapters and guides for students and applied social researchers, as well as the study’s more academic outputs.
How Did It Impact the Field?
The paper has been quite widely cited (as evidenced by its inclusion in this special issue), and I also received a number of direct enquiries from students and researchers in relation to the topic area. Along with a companion paper that elaborated on additional findings of the project, this article has been cited in methodological textbooks as well as other scholarly articles across a range of disciplines. However, although there has continued to be a small stream of methodological studies addressing the use of telephone versus face-to-face interviews in qualitative research, my sense is that the more technologically advanced modes of online interviewing, both text-based and video-enabled, are receiving relatively more attention among contemporary scholars.
Were There Any Surprises That Came From This Publication?
I have been quite struck by the wide variety of topic areas against which the paper has been cited, ranging from health sciences to management to leisure studies to law. I suppose this reflects the cross-cutting relevance of qualitative interview methods to social sciences across the board. I have also noticed the ease with which one’s work can be “mis-cited” (i.e. your findings taken out of context and represented in a way that does not fit your original line of argument) and that different scholars have been able to use the study’s findings to support an argument either for or against the use of a particular mode!
What Is the One Thing That You Think Has Changed the Most in This Area Since You Published This Manuscript?
Since the study was conducted, there has been an ongoing rise in the dominance of mobile telephone use. Something that continues to interest me is the influence of the mobile telephone on how in-depth social research interviews are or can be conducted, including the influence of mobile culture on the nature of the research “appointment” and how it is reshaping the interview setting.
