Qualitative Interviewing in Area Studies: Digging out the “Deep Data” (PhD seminar 3 ECTS)

How can qualitative interviewing enrich the study of social and political processes in area studies? Does the interview constitute a “personal sphere” — a realm of inter-subjective exchanges of perceptions, or is it a source that provides more than just situational information? How should information obtained through interviewing be organized and presented in a dissertation, and what is the analytical value of a “text-bite” in a larger body of text?

With Geir Flikke, Associate Professor, ILOS

Please sign up by Friday the 14th December

The PhD seminar “Digging out the Deep Data” will explore these questions and provide solid examples of research processes that involve extensive use of interviews. 


Obligatory work:
Participants are expected to submit examples of interviewing from their own PhD work, or provide examples on how they believe that interviews can be put to better use in future projects. Please submit 2 pages of reflections on your type of material together with 2–3 examples (eg. samples from actual interviews or examples of types of interviews). The deadline for submitting the advance material is Friday 14 December.


Readings: (to be read before the course)

  • Brinkmann, Svend & Steinar Kvale (2015). Interviews. Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing, Sage: London, chapters 1–3, pp. 1–82.
  • Deakin, Hanna & Kelly Wakefield (2013). “Skype Interviewing: Reflections of two PhD Researchers”, Qualitative Research, vol. 15, no. 5, pp. 603–616.
  • Flikke, Geir (2016). “Resurgent Authoritarianism. The Case of Russia’s New NGO Legislation”, Post-Soviet Affairs, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 103–131.
  • Ledeneva, Alena V. (2006). How Russia Really Works. The Informal Practices that Shaped Post-Soviet Politics and Business, Cornell University Press: Cornell, Chapters 1–2, pp. 1–57.

Tentative Course Plan:

09.00 – 09.15:           Presentation of participants/motivational factors

09.15 – 10.00            Qualitative Interviewing: What is it?

10.00 – 10.15            Break

10.15 – 11.00            Qualitative Interviewing: a case with examples

11.00 – 11.15            Break

11.15 – 12.00            Examples/discussions

12.00                         Lunch

 

Organizer

Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages, v/Silje Mosgren
Tags: Area Studies, Research Methods, PhD Seminar
Published Oct. 2, 2018 12:21 PM - Last modified Aug. 4, 2022 2:57 PM