Professional Documents
Culture Documents
lere ls clearly at least some attentlon bere to tbe rellablllty or ber data
and concluslons, even lr tbese may not meet tbe requlrements or soclal
sclence. And wblle 8urords eldwork may bave been lnadequate rrom
Armstrongs polnt or vlew, be spent a conslderable amount or tlme wltb
rans ln many locatlons.
ln ract, wbat Armstrong seems to object to most strongly ls 8urords
negatlve evaluatlons or soccer rans. lt ls a central reature or some
qualltatlve researcb tbat an appreclatlve (Matza o) stance ls adopted
towards tbe people belng studled, especlally wben tbey are vllled or
marglnallsed wltbln tbe wlder soclety. Sometlmes tbls ls seen as a matter
or wbose slde are we on:, tbougb ln ract tbe artlcle tbat ramously ralsed
tbls questlon (8ecker o;) does not argue ror sldlng wltb tbe underdog.
katber, lt lnslsts on tbe need to avold evaluatlons or tbe people, actlons,
lnstltutlons, etc belng studled, and on tbe requlrement to document tbe
perspectlves or all partles, wblle taklng tbe valldlty or none or tbese at race
value (lammersley zooo. cb.,). Moreover, lt sbould be sald tbat, ln ract,
an appreclatlve stance ls rarely adopted as a conslstent pollcy by quallta-
tlve researcbers today across all tbe types or people tbey study. lndeed
Armstrong blmselr engages ln evaluatlon, ror example labelllng some press
coverage or rootball vlolence bysterlcal (Armstrong s. ,), and crltlclz-
lng rootball clubs ror mllklng rans ror prot (Armstrong s. ,o).
Anotber dlerence tbat may be beld to dlstlngulsb qualltatlve researcb
rrom journallsm and lmaglnatlve llterature concerns tbe rorm or wrltlng
, le bookseller wbose ramlly Selerstad studled subsequently read tbe book
and mounted a prosecutlon or tbe autbor. See. bttp.}}www.guardlan.co.uk}
tbeguardlan}zoo}jul},}bookseller-or-kabul-lntervlew-asne-selerstad
!8 wnar |s qua||rar|.e researcn?
employed. lus, ln ber study or marrlage and ramlly ln Argbanlstan, 1apper
adopts a ralrly conventlonal soclal sclentlc mode or exposltlon, wbereas
Selerstad descrlbes ber wrltlng as llterary (zoo(. ,), deploylng a story-
telllng style, and one tbat ls addressed to a general readersblp ratber
tban to a more speclallzed soclal sclence one. Mucb tbe same ls true
lr we compare tbe books or 8urord and Armstrong. le rst autbor
concentrates on telllng a story about bls varlous encounters wltb rootball
rans, wbereas Armstrong seeks systematlcally to locate tbe data rrom bls
partlclpant observatlon wltbln a broader plcture or tbe soclal organlzatlon
or soccer clubs, as well as cbanges ln leglslatlon and pollclng ln tbe Unlted
klngdom relatlng to rootball vlolence.
lowever, tbese are dlerences or degree, tbey do not represent a
dlcbotomy, and tbere are ractors worklng to blur any dlerence between
soclal sclence and journallsm ln tbe mode or wrltlng employed. One or
tbese ls tbat ln recent years tbere bas been pressure on soclal sclentlsts
to maxlmlze tbe dlssemlnatlon or tbelr ndlngs, alongslde a growlng
commltment among some or tbem to publlc soclology (8urawoy zoo,)
or clvlc soclology (Wacquant zoo). An eect or tbls bas been to encour-
age a move towards rorms or reportlng tbat are closer ln cbaracter to
tbose or journallsts and non-ctlon wrlters. lndeed, tbere bave been stud-
les by academlc soclal sclentlsts tbat bave deployed a storytelllng mode
or presentatlon tbat ls qulte slmllar to tbat or Selerstad and 8urord. An
example ls venkatesbs (zoos) lnvestlgatlon or Cblcago gangs, ln wblcb be
beglns by recountlng bow be set out rrom tbe campus or tbe Unlverslty
or Cblcago to do researcb ln tbe predomlnantly black and poor commu-
nlty or Woodlawn nearby, stumbllng lnto a bouse tbat was controlled
by one or tbe local drug gangs. Wbere some qualltatlve researcb studles
begln wltb descrlptlve narratlve or tbls klnd, subsequently sblrtlng to a
more academlc mode, or more generally lntersperse narratlve data wltb
soclologlcal analysls (see, ror example, Uunelers :||ms 1ao|e, wblcb ls
set ln more or less tbe same communlty), venkatesbs book contlnues
tbrougbout ln tbe same narratlve mode. lts subtltle, A kogue :oc|o|og|sr
crosses rne L|ne more or less sums up lts content.
Anotber posslble answer to tbe questlon or tbe dlstlnctlveness or
qualltatlve researcb ln tbls context would, or course, be tbat lt ls sclentlc,
wbereas journallsm and (even more obvlously) novel-wrltlng are not.
8ut tbls ralses tbe rraugbt questlon or wbat tbe term sclentlc means
ln tbls context. Moreover, ln recent years many qualltatlve researcbers
!9 uen|ng qua||rar|.e researcn
bave become more uncertaln about wbetber tbey are engaged ln sclence,
and wbat tbls entalls. lndeed, some bave rejected tbls asplratlon, appeal-
lng lnstead to models rrom tbe bumanltles and tbe arts. As part or
tbls, tbe parallels between tbe rbetorlcal styles employed ln qualltatlve
lnqulry and tbose used by botb non-ctlon wrlters and novellsts bave
been noted (Atklnson s, and o, 8rown s). |urtbermore, some
qualltatlve researcbers bave turned to produclng ctlons, poetry, and
drama as researcb reports (see Lllls and 8ocbner o, klcbardson and
St. lerre zoo,, |aulkner zoo). lere bas also been lncreaslng lnterest ln
llre blstory, blograpblcal metbods, and autoetbnograpby, wblcb ln recent
years bave been taken ln dlrectlons tbat bave very close relatlons to llter-
ary rorms or blograpby and autoblograpby (lummer zoo, 8ocbner and
Lllls zooz, Lllls zoo(). A parallel development bas been tbe move among
some qualltatlve researcbers to vlsual or multl-modal metbods, ln some
cases dellberately blurrlng any dlstlnctlon between tbelr researcb and
vlsual art rorms.
6
ln sbort, many qualltatlve researcbers bave eltber aban-
doned tbe model or sclence expllcltly or lmpllcltly or bave sougbt to
relnterpret lt ln mucb broader and more dlverse terms (see Uenzln and
Llncoln zo.o).
8y contrast wltb tbese developments ln tbe qualltatlve tradltlon, quan-
tltatlve researcbers bave generally remalned unequlvocally commltted to
tbe sclentlc model, relylng upon relatlvely tradltlonal lnterpretatlons or
tbls. As a result, tbe sblrt ln orlentatlon among qualltatlve researcbers just
mentloned bas not only made any dlerence barder to dellneate between
tbelr work and non-ctlon wrltlng and journallsm, and even lmaglnatlve
llterature or art, but bas also lncreased tbe dlvergence between qualltatlve
and quantltatlve approacbes.
Summary
ln tbls openlng cbapter l bave outllned tbe dlverslty or qualltatlve researcb,
and tbe dl cultles tbls creates ror produclng a denltlon or lt. lowever,
l oered one tbat llsted some common reatures or tbls klnd or work by
contrast wltb quantltatlve approacbes ln terms or speclc practlces
o |or dlscusslons or tbe development or vlsual metbods, see 8anks (zoo), Lmmlson
and Smltb (zooo), lnk (zoo;), and kose (zoo;). On multl-modal metbods, see Ulcks
(zooo) and lnk (zoo).
z0 wnar |s qua||rar|.e researcn?
relatlng to researcb deslgn and tbe collectlon and analysls or data. l also
noted tbat wblle qualltatlve researcbers bave tradltlonally sougbt to
draw a sbarp dlstlnctlon between tbelr work and tbat or journallsts and
novellsts, ln recent decades some bave stressed tbe slmllarltles lnstead. As
part or tbls, tbey bave rejected or relnterpreted tbe model or sclence, tbus
lncreaslng tbe dlerences between tbelr approacb and tbat or quantltatlve
researcbers. Or course, tbe key questlon ls wn, do qualltatlve researcb-
ers tend to work ln very dlerent ways rrom quantltatlve researcbers:
One answer ls tbat tbe two approacbes bave been sbaped by dlvergent
metbodologlcal pbllosopbles. ln tbe next cbapter, we wlll explore some or
tbese.
z!
2 Methodological philosophies
lls cbapter wlll look at some or tbe pbllosopblcal ldeas tbat bave sbaped
tbe practlce and development or qualltatlve researcb, and tbat contlnue
to do so. lese ldeas, wblcb relate to tbe nature or tbe soclal world
(ontology), bow knowledge or lt ls posslble (eplstemology), and to tbe
purpose(s) or lnqulry (wblcb mlgbt be seen as an aspect or polltlcs), can
be complex and dl cult. lowever, lt ls lmportant to understand tbem.
|ollowlng on rrom tbe prevlous cbapter, a userul startlng polnt ls to
note tbat quantltatlve soclal sclence was, and ln some respects contlnues
to be, strongly lnuenced by one partlcular set or vlews about soclal
researcb metbodology, tbat bave long been rererred to as posltlvlsm. Not
surprlslngly, perbaps, lt ls common to nd qualltatlve researcbers rejectlng
posltlvlsm and contrastlng tbelr own metbodologlcal ldeas wltb lt. artly
as a result, tbe meanlng or tbls term bas become largely negatlve lt ls
used almost excluslvely as a means or dlsmlsslng otber approacbes. lus,
very rew quantltatlve researcbers today would actually call tbemselves
posltlvlsts. le sense or tbe term posltlvlsm bas also become dlsplaced,
as a result or tbe ract tbat, ln many substantlve elds or soclal enqulry, a
sequence or new qualltatlve approacbes bave appeared over tlme, eacb
one denounclng tbelr predecessors as posltlvlst. lus, an lnuentlal
current lnterpretatlon applles tbe term to anyone wbo belleves tbat tbere
are trutbs tbat can be dlscovered about a common reallty. An example
ls lummers (zoo. x) selr-crltlque or tbe tblnly dlsgulsed posltlvlstlc
concern wltb gettlng at tbe trutb tbat cbaracterlzed tbe rst edltlon or bls
own book on llre blstory metbod (lummer s,).
Over tbe past rew decades, tben, tbere bas been a dlverslcatlon or
qualltatlve researcb lnto competlng verslons, ln large part due to tbe lnu-
ence or metbodologlcal pbllosopbles tbat stand opposed to posltlvlsm,
and also as a result or tbe ract tbat tbese alternatlves are ln conlct wltb
one anotber ln lmportant respects. ln tbls cbapter l wlll examlne tbese
pbllosopbles under tbe broad beadlngs or lnterpretlvlsm, crltlcal researcb,
zz wnar |s qua||rar|.e researcn?
and constructlonlsm. lowever, we need to begln at tbe beglnnlng, wltb
posltlvlsm.
!
Positivism
Wblle tbe meanlng or tbe word posltlvlsm bas become contextually
varlable, and almost always negatlve, we can nevertbeless recover some
lmportant elements or lts orlglnal sense, and tbese are wortb remember-
lng. le word was lnvented by tbe |rencb pbllosopber Auguste Comte,
and became tbe rocus ror a major lntellectual lndeed a rellglous move-
ment ln |rance, and to some degree elsewbere (lckerlng ,, Cbarlton
,, Wrlgbt so). |or Comte, wrltlng ln tbe early nlneteentb century,
posltlvlsm was tbe modern sclentlc outlook tbat was ln tbe process or
replaclng prevlously domlnant supernatural ways or tblnklng about tbe
world. And be developed a comprebenslve vlew or tbe nature or sclence,
and or tbe proper relatlonsblps among tbe varlous sclences. lowever,
tbe most lnuentlal verslon or posltlvlsm ror twentletb-century soclal
sclence was a largely separate development ln tbe zos and ,os, wbat
came to be called loglcal posltlvlsm or loglcal emplrlclsm (kolakowskl
;z, lalrpenny sz, 8ryant s,).
z
erbaps tbe most lmportant reature
or posltlvlsm was tbat lt took natural sclence, as developed ln tbe West
rrom tbe seventeentb century onwards, as tbe prlme or only model ror
lnqulry and knowledge. ln tbls respect, lt bullt upon central strands or
elgbteentb-century Lnllgbtenment tbougbt, altbougb tbe sources or tbese
can be traced back even earller (see Olson ,).
lt ls partlcularly slgnlcant tbat loglcal posltlvlsm generally took pbys-
lcs as lts model ror sclence. lls bad several consequences. One was tbat
sclentlc knowledge was seen as general and abstract ln rorm. conslstlng
lere are no beglnnlngs, or course, and lt ls lmportant to remember tbat posltlvlsm
ltselr developed out or a reactlon agalnst earller ldeas, notably tbose relatlng to natural
law, see dLntreves (,(), Slgmund (;), ortls (so), and lammersley (z). le
labels ror alternatlve pbllosopbles l bave used bere, wblle ln common currency, are
by no means tbe only ones avallable. My dlscusslon wlll, bowever, cover most or tbe
lnuentlal pbllosopblcal ldeas tbat bave sbaped qualltatlve researcb.
z lere were a varlety or lnterpretatlons or natural sclence metbod ln tbe nlneteentb
and twentletb centurles, and some or tbese speclcally dlstanced tbemselves rrom
posltlvlsm. ley lnclude, amongst many otbers, tbe crltlcal ratlonallsm or opper (see
Albert s,), and tbe crltlcal reallsm or larre and 8baskar (see keat and Urry s,,
Sayer zooo).
z! Vernodo|og|ca| pn||osopn|es
or laws tbat capture relatlons operatlng across all tlmes and places. le
empbasls, tben, was upon tbe need ror researcb to abstract rrom tbe study
or partlcular sltuatlons to produce sucb general knowledge. As a result,
tbere was a tendency ror blstorlcal cbange and cultural varlatlon to be
treated as mere appearances tbat can be explalned only by an analysls or
underlylng, unlversal causal relatlons.
!
Newtons pbyslcs, wltb lts ldentl-
catlon or a small set or prlnclples tbat govern tbe bebavlour or all pbyslcal
objects, wbetber ln tbe beavens or on eartb, was a key exemplar ln tbls
respect.
Anotber lmpllcatlon tbat rollowed rrom taklng pbyslcs as a model was
tbe requlrement tbat all knowledge must be grounded ln sense experlence
tbat ls subjected to metbodlcal control. lls led many soclal sclentlsts to
lnslst on tbe need ror rlgorous measurement or pbenomena, on tbe model
or tbe measurement or pbyslcal attrlbutes llke lengtb or temperature.
Also empbaslzed was tbe need ror experlmental control or varlables to
test bypotbeses. |urtbermore, tbe notlon or metbod was taken to mean
expllclt procedures, wltb tbe lmpllcatlon tbat tbe concluslons reacbed
would be tbe same wboever carrled out tbe researcb, lrrespectlve or varla-
tlon ln tbelr soclal, cultural, or personal cbaracterlstlcs. a notlon tbat came
to be rererred to as procedural objectlvlty (Llsner z, see also Newell
so).
4
kuled out bere are appeals to lntultlon, or to rorms or expertlse
tbat are unlque to a partlcular person or type or person. kellance upon
expllclt or transparent procedures was also seen as provldlng tbe basls ror
otber researcbers to repllcate an lnltlal study. And repllcatlon was regarded
by many posltlvlsts as essentlal ln order to test wbetber tbe knowledge
produced ls sound, preclsely to sbow tbat lt bad not been aected by tbe
subjectlvlty or tbe researcber.
Central to posltlvlsm was a rerusal to extend knowledge clalms beyond
tbose tbat could be rully supported by evldence or tbls klnd, an attltude
tbat bas sometlmes been glven tbe closely related label emplrlclsm.
lndeed, tbe two words posltlvlsm and emplrlclsm are orten treated
as synonyms. lls klnd or emplrlclsm bad two lmportant lmpllcatlons.
|lrst, lt ruled out tbose areas or lnqulry tbat were seen as oerlng no
prospect or emplrlcal evldence or tbe requlred klnd. lese lncluded not
, lnterestlngly, tbls was at odds wltb tbe outlook or Comte, see Scbar (,).
( |or evldence tbat tbls developed only slowly and by no means stralgbtrorwardly ln
natural sclence see Sbapln (() and Uaston and Carrlson (zoo;).
z4 wnar |s qua||rar|.e researcn?
just tbeology and etblcs,
Criticisms
lls second orlentatlon bas by no means escaped crltlclsm. Aslde rrom
doubts about tbe very posslblllty or understandlng otbers experlence
and perspectlves, tbere bave also been arguments tbat lt relles upon a
derectlve psycbology. le cbarge ls tbat lt ralls to recognlze tbat lnner
experlence ls always soclo-culturally constltuted, ror lnstance, tbat tbe
klnds or talk ellclted tbrougb ln-deptb lntervlews about peoples experl-
ences wlll reect tbe partlcular genres concerned wltb tbougbts, reellngs,
etc. tbat are avallable wltbln tbe culture concerned, and bow tbese bave
been moblllzed on tbe partlcular occaslon ratber tban slmply dlsplaylng
lndlvldual rorms or lnner experlence and beller ln tbemselves. Moreover,
tbese genres wlll dler across socletles and soclal groups. Also cballenged
sometlmes ls tbe ldea tbat people truly understand tbemselves and tbelr
bebavlour. Urawlng on Marxlsm or psycboanalysls, ror example, lt may
be argued tbat tbere are psycbologlcal or soclal rorces tbat lead people
systematlcally to mlsunderstand tbemselves and tbelr world.
ln addltlon, tbere are some etblcal and polltlcal arguments agalnst
tbls orlentatlon. Most obvlously, lt may be seen as lnvadlng prlvacy, and
tbere are assoclated arguments tbat lt reects tbe prevalence or an lndl-
vlduallzlng dlscourse tbrougb wblcb peoples very selves are opened up
to publlc survelllance, or tbat lt transrorms wbat sbould be publlc lssues
lnto a preoccupatlon wltb personalltles (see Atklnson and Sllverman ;,
Cubrlum and lolsteln zoo, 8auman zooo).
Penetrating fronts
le tblrd orlentatlon or style l wlll dlscuss ls concerned wltb ndlng out
wnar acrua||, nappens ln some sltuatlon as agalnst wbat o clal accounts
, |or an lmportant debate about autoetbnograpby, see tbe journa| oj conremporar,
irnnograpn,, vol ,,, lssue (, August zooo.
7 u|.ergenr ana|,r|c sr,|es
say bappens, or dlscoverlng wbat people acrua||, do ratber tban wbat tbey
say tbey do, or documentlng wbat tbey rea||, belleve or reel as agalnst
wbat tbey clalm to belleve or reel. Mltcbells (zoo) study or survlval-
lsts, outllned ln 8ox . provldes an example or tbls sort or approacb.
Underlylng lt ls tbe ldea tbat people, groups, and organlzatlons put up
rronts, wbetber consclously or unconsclously, wbetber routlnely or on
partlcular occaslons, and wbetber ror tbe protectlon or tbemselves and
otbers or to promote sectlonal lnterests (Coman ,, Uouglas ;o).
Wbatever tbe motlve, lt ls assumed tbat tbese rronts obscure or mlsrepre-
sent peoples real lntentlons, attltudes, bellers, goals, and practlces, so tbat
tbe task or tbe researcber ls to get beblnd tbem to dlscover tbe trutb.
lls ls clearly very dlerent rrom tbe second orlentatlon, wblcb treats
people as rellable experts on tbemselves and tbelr own bebavlour. lnstead,
wbat seems to be requlred bere ls wbat bas been rererred to as a berme-
neutlcs or susplclon (Cadamer s(, Lelter zoo,), ln wblcb tbe prlnclple
or cbarlty, wbereby we assume tbat people are bonest and know wbat
tbey clalm to know, ls suspended.
lt ls sometlmes argued tbat tbe creatlon or rronts ls especlally common
among tbose ln powerrul posltlons, and tbat lt ls tbe responslblllty or
soclal sclentlsts to lnvestlgate tbe attltudes and actlons or sucb people and
publlclze wbat tbey nd ln tbe lnterests or openness, accountablllty and
democracy. ln otber words, tbls orlentatlon may be seen as perrormlng an
lmportant polltlcal runctlon, analogous to tbat or tbe lnvestlgatlve jour-
nallst (kalnwater and lttman o;, Cbrlstle ;o, Uouglas ;o, Lundman
and Mc|arlane ;o). ln some respects, tbls rocus ls lnuenced by tbe
crltlcal metbodologlcal pbllosopby we dlscussed ln tbe prevlous cbapter,
but lt ls not restrlcted to tbat tradltlon. At tbe very least, wbat ls assumed
ls tbat soclety ls cbaracterlzed by conlctlng lnterests and endemlc decep-
tlon, at least ln certaln quarters.
Or course, researcb almed at penetratlng rronts need not be dlrected
at tbe most powerrul groups ln a soclety. lt can be argued tbat most or
us use rronts or one sort or anotber, so tbat tbere are many areas or llre
wbere wbat really goes on ls not publlcly known, even wben lt ls wldely
suspected. Lxamples tbat bave been researcbed lnclude wbat goes on ln
massage parlours (Uouglas ;o), wbat bappens ln gay batb bouses (Styles
;), and tbe servlces (lncludlng tbe supply or drugs) provlded by some
bouncers on tbe doors or nlgbt clubs (Calvey zooo).
8 wnar |s qua||rar|.e researcn?
Methods used
kesearcbers employlng tbls orlentatlon orten stress tbe lmportance or
carrylng out observatlons ln natural settlngs, golng to wbere tbe actlon
ls orten beblnd closed doors, and studylng everyday bebavlour tbat
ls unaected, or only mlnlmally aected, by tbe researcb process. As ln
tbe case or Uouglass and Calveys work, tbls may rrequently lnvolve tbe
use or covert strategles. taklng on some role ln order to get access to a
settlng secretly, or lnltratlng a scene by passlng as a member. Arter all,
lt ls unllkely tbat people wlll agree to glve access to a researcber wbo tbey
know ls golng to expose wbat ls really bappenlng, and tbereby undercut
tbelr carerully constructed and asslduously malntalned rronts.
lntervlews may also be used, eltber as tbe maln source or data or as an
lmportant supplement to observatlon. ley can supply evldence about
tbe rronts to be penetrated, but also perbaps provlde access to lnslde
lnrormatlon about wbat goes on beblnd tbem. Wblle ln tbls latter role
lntervlews are sometlmes treated as second-best to dlrect observatlon,
ln many cases tbey wlll be tbe only source or data avallable. lt ls orten
argued tbat tbe selectlon or lnrormants ls cruclal bere. tbat lt ls necessary
to target tbose wbo botb know wbat really goes on and bave a motlve ror
reveallng lt. lls mlgbt lnclude, ror lnstance, people central to a group or
organlzatlon wbo bear a grudge agalnst otbers wltbln lt, tbose wbo are ln
subordlnate posltlons but wbo wltness key declslons (sucb as advlsers or
secretarles), and old-tlmers wbo may reel tbey bave llttle to lose, as well
as people wbo bave recently lert tbe group or organlzatlon, wbo may reel
rreer and more motlvated to talk about wbat goes on wltbln lt tbougb
llke tbe otbers tbey may bave axes to grlnd.
lntervlews ln tbls klnd or researcb wlll orten be ratber dlerent ln cbar-
acter rrom tbose used ror lnvestlgatlng experlence. Wblle galnlng lnslde
lnrormatlon may requlre tbe researcber to bulld trust wltb lntervlewees,
and to provlde a context ln wblcb tbey can relax, at otber tlmes lntervlew
tactlcs wlll need to be cballenglng and even aggresslve almed at rorclng
people to come clean, to race up to contradlctlons and explaln tbem-
selves rully ratber tban oerlng superclal justlcatlons or maklng excuses
(see Uouglas ;o).
kesearcb concerned wltb penetratlng rronts may also sometlmes use
documents. lese can certalnly provlde data about o clal accounts, but
tbey can also sometlmes be used to get beblnd tbese to nd out wbat really
9 u|.ergenr ana|,r|c sr,|es
goes on, especlally wben tbey bave been produced ror prlvate purposes.
lnternal memos or emalls, secret les, etc., generated wltbln organlzatlons
ror lnternal consumptlon may become avallable as a consequence or legal
prosecutlon or uno clal leaks. And tbey may well contradlct tbe o clal
llne presented ln publlcly avallable documents, wbere tbe alm ls usually
to portray tbe organlzatlon ln tbe best publlc llgbt and to promote lts
lnterests. lowever, even o clal documents lntended ror publlcatlon can
sometlmes be lnadvertently reveallng.
ln tbe case or lndlvlduals, prlvate dlarles or letters may or course dlsplay
mucb more about tbelr actual attltudes and bebavlour tban wbat tbey say
ln more publlc rorums. An example, rrom wltbln qualltatlve researcb ltselr,
ls provlded by tbe roundlng ratber or modern antbropology, 8ronlslaw
Mallnowskl (ss((z), wbose publlsbed account or eld-work practlce
blgbllgbted tbe need ror sympatbetlc understandlng or tbe natlve polnt
or vlew. lls account was taken as a klnd or mlsslon statement by many
antbropologlsts. lowever, arter bls deatb, bls personal dlarles datlng rrom
tbe tlme or bls rst plece or eldwork were publlsbed, and tbese revealed
ratber unsympatbetlc, perbaps even raclst, attltudes towards tbe people
be was studylng (see Mallnowskl, o;, Wax, ;z).
Criticisms
le commltment to penetratlng rronts ls probably less common among
qualltatlve researcbers ln most elds today tban lt was ln tbe past,
tbougb lt bas by no means entlrely dlsappeared. le decllne probably
reects concerns about tbe etblcs or tbls klnd or work, tbese no doubt
compounded by tbe rlse or etblcal regulatlon (see lammersley and
1ralanou zoz. cb.). lt may also stem rrom uncertalnty about wbetber
researcb can ever get beblnd appearances to wbat actually occurred or
to wbat people truly belleve. lndeed, as we saw ln Cbapter z, tbere can be
doubts ruelled by constructlonlsm about wbetber tbese pbrases bave
any meanlng at all.
Documenting constitutive practices
lls rourtb orlentatlon wltbln qualltatlve researcb ls strongly lnuenced
by constructlonlsm, or one sort or anotber. lere, tbe rocus ls on tbe constl-
tutlve practlces tbat generate soclal pbenomena. lese practlces can be
conceptuallzed ln a varlety or ways. Wblle, most commonly, tbey relate to
60 wnar |s qua||rar|.e researcn?
dlscourse, tbere bas also been mucb researcb or tbls klnd concerned wltb
lmages, rrom early work on semlotlcs to more recent vlsual antbropology
or soclology (8all and Smltb z, 8lgnell ;, 8anks zoo, lnk zoo;).
|urtbermore, some researcbers argue tbat tbe wbole or buman bebavlour
ls deslgned to be accountable ln tbe sense or belng lntelllglble to otbers
(Carnkel o;, lerltage s(). Lxamples or tbls rourtb orlentatlon clted
ln Cbapter would be tbe studles by MacLure and Walker, Wetberell and
Ldley, and Levltas, all or tbem rocuslng on dlscourse, but employlng ratber
dlerent strategles and types or data rrom one anotber.
Central to mucb dlscourse analysls, as noted earller, ls tbe argument
tbat llngulstlc accounts do not slmply re-present tbe objects to wblcb
tbey rerer but ratber consr|rure tbose objects. ln addltlon, some dlscourse
analysts empbaslze tbat language-use ls not slmply a means or communl-
catlon, lt ls a medlum tbrougb wblcb actlons and actlvltles are perrormed.
lus, dlscurslve strategles are always almed at partlcular audlences, and
are usually deslgned to produce partlcular eects. Lqually lmportant, lt ls
empbaslzed tbat dlscurslve strategles can lead us to belleve tblngs wltbout
questlon. to see tbe world as bavlng some essentlal cbaracter, rullng
out otber posslbllltles as eectlvely untblnkable. |or tbls reason, some
approacbes under tbls beadlng, notably tbose lnuenced by tbe work or
|oucault, empbaslse tbe close relatlonsblp between dlscourse and tbe
exerclse or power.
le emergence or tbls klnd or approacb can be lllustrated by a slgnl-
cant cbange tbat bas taken place amongst soclologlsts studylng tbe ramlly.
|or most or tbe twentletb century, tbe rocus ln tbls eld was typlcally on
bow and wby ramlly structures bave cbanged over tbe course or Western
blstory, ror example rrom predomlnantly extended ramlly rorms to nuclear
ramllles, on bow sucb structures vary across dlerent types or soclety, and
on tbe lmpllcatlons or tbls ror gender roles, care or cblldren, etc. lowever,
many soclologlsts now rocus lnstead on ramlly practlces (Morgan o,
zoa and b), tbls term rererrlng to tbe varlous klnds or actlvlty tbrougb
wblcb people seek to establlsb and malntaln wbat tbey see as tbelr ramlly,
or at least some rorm or ramlly llre. ln some cases, tbls bas resulted ln a
preoccupatlon wltb bow ramlly ls constltuted ln and tbrougb tbe dlscur-
slve practlces ln wblcb people engage, lncludlng ln researcb lntervlews
(see Cubrlum and lolsteln o). |or example, Cubrlum and lolsteln
(,. oo,) declare tbat. |amlly ls enacted wberever lt ls talked about,
descrlbed, cballenged, pralsed, or expllcltly dlsmlssed. Anotber rocus bas
6! u|.ergenr ana|,r|c sr,|es
been on tbe role or artlracts, sucb as pbotograpbs, used to dlsplay ramlly
(|lncb zoo;).
Wltb tbls rourtb orlentatlon, tben, researcbers are lnterested ln bow
tbe accounts tbat people glve (wbetber ln lntervlews, ln ordlnary talk, ln
documents, or vlsually tbrougb pbotograpbs) are constructed, tbereby
representlng tbe world ln one way ratber tban anotber, and}or on bow
tbey runctlon to brlng o, or brlng about, partlcular rorms or actlon or
lnstltutlonal pattern. One aspect or tbls ls explorlng bow storles are struc-
tured and tbe way tbat tbls sbapes bow tbey are read. Sucb narrar|.e ana|-
,s|s draws many or lts tecbnlques rrom earller lnvestlgatlons or lmaglnatlve
llterature, and tbe capaclty or tbls to create bellevable worlds (Atklnson
;, Andrews er a| zooo, Atklnson and Uelamont zoo(, klessman zoos).
A major rocus bas been on tbe narratlves tbat people construct about
tbemselves, and bow tbese rormulate tbelr ldentltles ln some ways ratber
tban otbers.
lere ls also dlscourse analysls concerned wltb conversatlonal and
otber klnds or soclal lnteractlon, rocuslng on tbe dlscurslve resources
and strategles employed (ten lave zoo( and zoo;). lere, very orten, lt
ls argued tbat partlcular practlces generare rne|r own conrexrs. ln otber
words, tbese strategles are seen as reexlvely constltutlng tbe world ln
wblcb tbey occur. ln llne wltb tbls, tbere ls sometlmes an lnslstence tbat
tbere must be mlnlmal rellance by tbe analyst, and by readers, upon any
lnrormatlon about external context. lt ls lnslsted tbat wbat ls relevant
to understandlng any plece or dlscourse ls restrlcted to wbat ls actually
dlsplayed as contextually relevant |n rne dara.
8y contrast, otber researcb on dlscurslve practlces seeks to locate tbese
wltbln a context dened by tbe researcber, eltber tbrougb some tbeoretlcal
account or tbe nature or tbe wlder soclety or vla evldence rrom otber klnds
or researcb. An example or tbls klnd or work would be crltlcal dlscourse
analysls (Caldas-Coultbard and Coultbard o, |alrclougb zoo,). lere lt ls
argued, ror example, tbat lr we are to understand wby members or etbnlc
mlnorltles are descrlbed ln negatlve ways ln tablold newspapers tben we
need to understand tbe ldeologlcal roles tbat sucb mlnorltles play wltbln
capltallst socletles, as well as studylng tbe dlscurslve strategles employed
by tbe mass medla and tbe soclal runctlons tbey perrorm (van Uljk ).
So, researcb rollowlng tbls rourtb orlentatlon can range rrom studles
or bow storles are told or bow partlcular klnds or soclal lnteractlon are
collaboratlvely reallzed, tbrougb to lnvestlgatlons or bow textual strategles
6z wnar |s qua||rar|.e researcn?
ln tbe medla reproduce capltallsm or raclsm, or |oucault-lnsplred analysls
or tbe dlscourses operatlng ln partlcular lnstltutlonal elds wltbln partlcu-
lar blstorlcal perlods.
Methods used
Clven tbe dlverse range or work and ldeas lncluded under tbls beadlng, lt
ls perbaps not surprlslng tbat tbere are conlctlng vlews about wbat sort
or data sbould be employed. |leldnotes produced by tbe researcber are
generally ruled out by dlscourse analysts, or wbatever strlpe, because tbey
depend so beavlly upon wbat tbe researcber bas looked out ror, notlced
and recorded. lnstead, lt ls usually argued tbat observatlonal data must
be recorded electronlcally, ln audlo- or vldeo-rorm, and tben transcrlbed,
perbaps ln sucb a way as to capture not just tbe words but tbe detalls
or language-use sucb as besltatlon, repetltlon, overlap, pauses, and
non-verbal contrlbutlons. Some or tbose engaglng ln tbls klnd or work also
reject tbe use or data rrom researcb lntervlews. because wbat lnrormants
say ln tbose contexts ls beavlly sbaped by tbe researcber. ley lnslst,
lnstead, on tbe excluslve use or naturally occurrlng talk, or or avallable
documents or one klnd or anotber.
So, tbose adoptlng tbls orlentatlon are lnterested ln studylng lnterac-
tlonal, dlscurslve, narratlve, representatlonal, or communlcatlve strategles
or processes. 8y comparlson wltb tbe tblrd orlentatlon (penetratlng
rronts), lt could be sald tbat mucb or tbe researcb under tbls rourtb bead-
lng ls excluslvely lnterested ln bow rronts are constructed and malntalned.
le lmportant dlerence, bowever, ls tbat, generally speaklng, tbls rourtb
orlentatlon does not assume lndeed, lt may speclcally deny tbat
tbere ls any reallty beblnd tbe rronts to be dlsgulsed or obscured. Many
dlscourse analysts (crltlcal dlscourse analysls ls an exceptlon bere) lnslst
tbat tbere are slmply dlerent verslons or tbe world produced tbrougb
dlscurslve strategles all tbat tbere can be beblnd a rront, rrom tbls polnt
or vlew, are tbe practlces tbat generated lt.
Sometlmes, ln tbls klnd or work, tbere ls a reluctance to ascrlbe motlves
to tbose employlng tbe dlscurslve strategles documented, or to see tbese
strategles as belng consclously selected and deployed by buman belngs.
lnstead, tbe rocus ls solely on tbe strategles and bow tbey runctlon. Arter
all, to ascrlbe motlves would requlre researcbers engaglng ln reallty-
constructlon tbemselves, ratber tban slmply descrlblng tbe processes,
procedures or strategles tbrougb wblcb partlcular soclal realltles are
6! u|.ergenr ana|,r|c sr,|es
created and sustalned, partlcular actlvltles brougbt o, or partlcular
rorms or llre constltuted. lt would also assume tbe operatlon or agency
on tbe part or tbose uslng tbe strategles, and tbls ls cballenged by some,
notably tbose lnuenced by post-structurallsm.
Criticisms
lls rourtb approacb bas also been subjected to conslderable crltlclsm.
1o one degree or anotber, lt amounts to a major re-speclcatlon, lndeed
a transrormatlon, or tbe rocus or soclal researcb ln eect, rullng out
many toplcs and metbods as lnapproprlate, lncludlng tbose tbat are
central to tbe rst tbree orlentatlons we bave dlscussed.
6
lere bas orten
been crltlclsm or work concerned wltb tbe detalls or partlcular dlscurslve
practlces, sucb as conversatlon analysls, on tbe grounds tbat lt ls trlvlal
and polntless, ln otber words, tbat lt does not address lssues tbat bave
soclal and polltlcal slgnlcance. 8y contrast, tbose approacbes tbat seek to
locate dlscurslve practlces wltbln a wlder analytlc context supplled by tbe
researcber bave orten been cballenged ror tbe speculatlve cbaracter or tbe
rramework tbey deploy. |lnally, lt may be argued tbat tbese klnds or work
rely upon constructlonlsm but do not recognlze lts radlcal lmpllcatlons ror
any treatment or materlal as data, or ror any clalm to bave documented
practlces operatlng ln tbe world (Asbmore and keed zooo, Asbmore er a|
zoo().
Relationships among the four orientations
1o varylng degrees, and ln dlerent ways, tbese rour styles or qualltatlve
work oer a sbarp contrast wltb quantltatlve researcb, wltb lts alm or
produclng rellable measurement or manlpulated varlables rrom wblcb
wldely generallzable concluslons can be derlved tbrougb bypotbesls-
testlng. At tbe same tlme, lt ls not bard to see tbat tbe rour orlentatlons
are also ln conlct wltb one anotber ln lmportant respects.
le rst orlentatlon, ldentlrylng causes, ls perbaps tbe closest to
quantltatlve researcb. lt ls concerned wltb tbe same sort or task devel-
oplng and testlng explanatory bypotbeses even lr lt approacbes tbls ln a
o lt ls sometlmes argued tbat dlscourse and narratlve analysls can be applled to any
soclal toplc, but tbls ls dlslngenuous slnce tbe appllcatlon transrorms tbe toplc, as
normally understood, lnto one tbat ls amenable to tbls rorm or analysls.
64 wnar |s qua||rar|.e researcn?
dlerent way. lt dlsplays mlnlmal slgns or tbe lnuence or lnterpretlvlsm,
and vlrtually none or constructlonlsm, tbougb lt ls compatlble wltb some
verslons or crltlcal pbllosopby, and wltb a commltment to penetratlng
rronts, and lt does not rule out an lnterest ln explalnlng tbe perspectlves
or lndlvldual actors.
le second orlentatlon, lnvestlgatlng experlence, treats wbat people
say as a wlndow lnto dlstlnctlve personal or cultural worlds, ones tbat,
lt ls assumed, wlll make sense ln tbelr own terms. 8y contrast, tbe tblrd
approacb, penetratlng rronts, adopts a more crltlcal attltude. tbe
researcber ls concerned wltb tbe reallty beblnd tbe rronts tbat people
present, wblcb may only be detectable by lgnorlng wbat tbey say, or at
least treatlng lt wltb great susplclon, and observlng wbat tbey acrua||, do
or wbat tbey say ln unguarded moments. Wbereas tbe second orlentatlon
requlres tbe researcber to accept lndlvlduals own accounts on trust, even
wbere tbese do not lnltlally make mucb sense, ln tbe expectatlon tbat lt ls
ln prlnclple posslble to understand tbem, tbe prevalllng stance ln tbls tblrd
orlentatlon ls to be susplclous or wbat people say even lr lt apparently
makes good sense, slnce lt may slmply be blgbly eectlve ratlonallzatlon.
le rourtb approacb, documentlng constltutlve practlces, ls, ln lts
purer rorms, slgnlcantly at odds wltb all tbe otbers. lt may deny botb tbe
exlstence or causal relatlons and tbe posslblllty or accesslng tbe subjectlve
realltles or otber people bow tbey truly see and reel about tbe world
as well as denylng tbat tbese are tbe well-sprlngs or tbelr actlons. lt may
also questlon tbe exlstence or any objectlve reallty beblnd tbe rronts tbat
people put up. lnstead, tbe rocus ls prlmarlly upon bow soclal pbenomena
are constltuted ln and tbrougb varlous practlces, tbe use or partlcular
cultural resources, and so on.
Uesplte tbe tenslons among tbe rour orlentatlons, many qualltatlve
researcbers ln ract draw on several or tbem, tbougb one or otber ls usually
glven prlmary empbasls. As we saw, tbe second may be used to dlscover
causal processes, and tbe rocus on wbat goes on beblnd rronts may also be
concerned wltb tbls. le second and tblrd may be comblned, sometlmes
even ln tbe same study, one belng applled to tbose people wltb wbom tbe
researcber bas some sympatby, polltlcal or personal, tbe otber to tbose
wltb wbom be or sbe bas none (see lammersley s). lere ls also a
tendency ror researcbers to apply tbe rourtb orlentatlon to accounts tbat
tbey assume to be spurlous, on tbe (mlstaken) assumptlon tbat because
an account can be sbown to be a constructlon lt must tbererore be ralse.
6 u|.ergenr ana|,r|c sr,|es
|urtbermore, as we noted, tbere are less pure rorms or dlscourse analysls
and semlotlc analysls tbat seek to locate tbe study or constltutlve prac-
tlces wltbln broader accounts or tbe world, wblcb mlgbt be supplled by
researcb carrled out under one or more or tbe otber orlentatlons.
ln tbe next cbapter we wlll look at a couple or controversles among
qualltatlve researcbers tbat bave speclcally revolved around tenslons
between tbese approacbes, and tbe metbodologlcal pbllosopbles tbat
underpln tbem.
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67
4 Two methodological disputes
lt wlll perbaps come as no surprlse, glven tbe substantlal dlerences ln
pbllosopblcal assumptlon and practlcal orlentatlon to be round amongst
soclal researcbers today, tbat tbere bave been, and contlnue to be, major
metbodologlcal and tbeoretlcal dlsputes. Moreover, tbese bave occurred
not just across tbe qualltatlve-quantltatlve dlvlde but also very rrequently
among dlerent verslons or qualltatlve researcb. At tbe most rundamental
level, tbese dlsputes relate to wbat sorts or knowledge are posslble and
deslrable, and to tbe nature and goal or tbe researcb enterprlse. lt ls not
posslble to cover all or tbe lssues tbat dlvlde qualltatlve researcbers, but
l wlll rocus on two very dlerent dlsputes eacb or wblcb ralses lmportant
and dl cult metbodologlcal problems. Ulscusslon or tbese ls deslgned
to glve a sense or tbe varlatlons ln underlylng commltment tbat generate
mucb or tbe dlverslty, ln botb rbetorlc and practlce, now to be round ln
qualltatlve researcb.
le rst dlspute centres on tbe legltlmacy or employlng lntervlews as a
source or data, tbougb as we sball see lts lmpllcatlons extend mucb more
wldely to tbe use or observatlonal data and documents as well. le
second dlspute rocuses on recent etbnograpblc work concerned wltb tbe
llves or tbe urban poor ln tbe Unlted States, ralslng cballenglng questlons
about tbe role or tbeory and evldence, and about tbe publlc or polltlcal
responslblllty or researcbers.
Te radical critique of interviews
lntervlews bave long been used by qualltatlve researcbers as a central
source or data, and ln ract studles relylng prlmarlly or entlrely on tbls type
or data bave become lncreaslngly common ln recent decades, a trend tbat
bas attracted crltlclsm (see, ror example, Atklnson and Sllverman ;,
Sllverman zoo;.cb.z). ln Cbapter , we saw tbat lntervlews are orten central
to researcb tbat ls concerned wltb lnvestlgatlng peoples experlence and
68 wnar |s qua||rar|.e researcn?
perspectlves, and tbat tbey may also play an lmportant role ln work almed
at ldentlrylng causal relatlons or penetratlng rronts, and even ln some
researcb tbat seeks to document dlscurslve practlces.
Qualltatlve researcbers bave generally adopted a very dlerent approacb
to lntervlewlng rrom survey researcbers. ley bave used lnrormal as well
as rormal (ln otber words, pre-arranged) lntervlews, and tbelr alm, gener-
ally speaklng, bas been to encourage lnrormants to talk ln tbelr own terms
about matters relevant to tbe researcb toplc. ln otber words, tbey bave
tended to use a relatlvely unstructured approacb. As part or tbls, tbe alm
bas usua||, been to mlnlmlze tbe lmpact or tbe lntervlewer on wbat tbe
lnrormant says (tbls lmpact sometlmes belng rererred to as reactlvlty).
ln addltlon, stress ls placed upon tbe lmportance or llstenlng, on tbe
researcber trylng to suspend ber or bls preconceptlons and prejudlces ln
order to understand tbe perspectlves, reellngs, or accounts or lnrormants.
Uesplte tbese dlstlnctlve reatures, mucb qualltatlve analysls uses lnter-
vlews ror more or less tbe same purposes as otber klnds or soclal sclence.
As a source oj w|rness |njormar|on aoour rne soc|a| wor|d. lere,
lntervlews are treated as supplylng lnrormatlon about lnrormants
blograpbles, about events tbey bave observed, about relevant stable
or varlable reatures or sltuatlons tbey are ramlllar wltb, and}or about
tbe rrequency or one or more types or event ln sucb sltuatlons.
As a source oj parr|c|panr-ana|,s|s. lere, lntervlewees are asked
to reect upon tbelr own bebavlour, attltudes, cbaracter, and}or
personallty, and perbaps also on tbat or otber people tbey know, so
as to supply tbelr own lnterpretatlons. lese are tben used by tbe
researcber subject to crltlcal assessment.
As an |nd|recr source oj e.|dence aoour |njormanrs arr|rudes or
perspecr|.es. lere, tbe analyst uses bow lnrormants respond to
questlons as a basls ror drawlng lnrerences about tbelr cbaracterlstlc
lntentlons, motlves, preoccupatlons, prererences, perspectlves,
attltudes, etc. lt ls rrequently assumed tbat wbat can be detected
bere are stable orlentatlons tbat generate bebavlour beyond tbe
lntervlew settlng, tbougb perbaps ln a contextually varlable manner.
And tbe responses or lnrormants may be treated as typlcal or some
general category or person, or or a larger populatlon.
Mucb analysls or lntervlew data ln qualltatlve researcb ls dlrected at all
tbree or tbese purposes, to varylng degrees, and lt ls not always easy to
69 1wo mernodo|og|ca| d|spures
dlstlngulsb between tbem ln practlce, even tbougb tbey are analytlcally
dlstlnct.
lere bave long been dlscusslons among qualltatlve researcbers
about tbe value and use or lntervlew data, ralslng questlons ror example
about wbetber and bow we can know tbe lnrormant ls telllng tbe trutb
(Uean and Wbyte ,s), about tbe lncompleteness or lntervlew data
as compared wltb tbat rrom partlclpant observatlon (8ecker and Ceer
,;), and about tbe dlerence between wbat people say and wbat tbey
do (Ueutscber ;,). lowever, tbe more recent radlcal crltlque or lnter-
vlews takes a skeptlcal, constructlonlst llne tbat ls at odds not only wltb
mucb current practlce but also wltb tbese earller crltlclsms (Murpby er a|.
s). ln eect, tbe radlcal crltlque rejects tbe use or lntervlew data as a
wlndow on tbe world and}or lnto tbe mlnds or lnrormants (Ulngwall ;,
Sllverman ;, Atklnson and Coey zooz).
As an example or tbls crltlque, l wlll rocus on an artlcle by otter and
lepburn (zoo,) entltled Qualltatlve lntervlews ln psycbology. problems
and posslbllltles. lls artlcle was accompanled by tbree commentarles ln
tbe same journal lssue, to wblcb otter and lepburn tben replled. ln tbelr
lnltlal artlcle tbe autbors outllne tbelr alm as to cballenge tbe taken-ror-
granted posltlon or tbe open-ended lntervlew as tbe metbod or cbolce
ln modern qualltatlve psycbology (otter and lepburn zoo,. zsz). ley
crltlclze, ln partlcular, tbe way ln wblcb lntervlew data are usually reported
and lnterpreted, but wbat tbey say also bas lmpllcatlons ror wben, lr ever,
lntervlews sbould be used.
!
otter and lepburn dlstlngulsb between problems tbat are remedlable
(contlngent), and otbers tbat tbey suggest may be lnberent ln tbe use or
lntervlews (necessary). Under tbe rst beadlng tbey llst tbe rollowlng.
le lntervlewer ls typlcally vlewed by researcbers as slmply ellcltlng
pre-exlstlng attltudes, perspectlves, etc, possessed by tbe lnrormant,
and as a result ber or bls role ls glven llttle attentlon ln tbe analysls.
Lqually lmportant, lnrormatlon about questlons asked ls rarely
lncluded ln tbe transcrlpt excerpts publlsbed ln researcb reports. le
eect or tbls, otter and lepburn suggest, ls to treat wbat lnrormants
say as lr tbey were oerlng abstract pronouncements about matters
Wblle tbelr artlcle ls concerned wltb qualltatlve metbods ln psycbology, tbelr
arguments apply across soclal sclence. |or a slmllar crltlque relatlng to qualltatlve
researcb more generally, see kapley (zoo).
70 wnar |s qua||rar|.e researcn?
ratber tban glvlng a speclc answer to a speclc questlon put by a
speclc lntervlewer (otter and lepburn zoo,.zso).
lere ls a rallure to attend to otber aspects or tbe |nreracr|ona|
cbaracter or lntervlews. otter and lepburn argue tbat tbe rorms or
transcrlptlon generally used by qualltatlve researcbers systematlcally
strlp out mucb tbat ls relevant, ror example besltatlons, overlaps, tbe
tlmlng or pauses, empbasls, etc.
z
Lqually lmportant, researcb reports
quote very sbort extracts rrom transcrlpts tbat glve llttle sense or
surroundlng context.
8ecause tbey use transcrlpts tbat omlt lnteractlonal detall, wben
analyzlng tbelr data most qualltatlve researcbers rall to relate tbelr
clalms to speclc reatures, maklng global statements wbose valldlty
ls dl cult to assess.
lere ls orten llttle lnrormatlon provlded about tbe set-up or tbe
lntervlew. Yet, bow lt was arranged, not least wbat lntervlewees were
told about tbe researcb, and about wby tbey were belng lnvlted
to partlclpate, could bave sbaped tbe data ln lmportant ways. As
a result, readers may bave dl culty assesslng tbe valldlty or tbe
evldence accurately.
A central complalnt bere, tben, concerns tbe rorms or transcrlptlon
used by qualltatlve researcbers and bow tbese aect botb tbe analysls
carrled out and tbe evldence made avallable to readers. On tbe basls or
tbese complalnts, otter and lepburn lay down rour requlrements.
l) 1ranscrlpt extracts ln researcb reports sbould lnclude tbe relevant
lntervlew questlons.
ll) lese extracts sbould be transcrlbed to a level tbat allows lnterac-
tlonal reatures to be appreclated even lr lnteractlonal reatures are
not tbe toplc or tbe study (otter and lepburn zoo,.z).
lll) 1ranscrlpts sbould be presented uslng llne numbers, and sbort llnes,
to allow speclc rererences to reatures wltbln tbem.
lv) kesearcb reports sbould lnclude lnrormatlon about bow partlcl-
pants were approacbed, under wbat categorles, wltb wbat lntervlew
tasks (otter and lepburn zoo,.z).
z |or an example or speclc advlce to exc|ude sucb reatures, see |lnnegan (z.o;)
(quoted ln lummer zoo.,o).
7! 1wo mernodo|og|ca| d|spures
le otber type or problem tbat otter and lepburn ldentlry ln quallta-
tlve researcbers use or lntervlew data, wblcb tbey regard as lntrlnslc and
unavoldable, lncludes tbe rollowlng.
lntervlews tend to be ooded by soclal sclence agendas and
categorles. lls ls not just a matter or researcb questlons belng
expllcltly mentloned to lnrormants, or tecbnlcal soclal sclence terms
lncluded ln lntervlew questlons, but also or tbe more lnexpllclt ways
ln wblcb tbe assumptlons cbaracterlstlc or a partlcular dlsclpllne may
lnruse tbe orlentatlon or tbe researcber and aect tbe lnrormant.
lese assumptlons mlgbt lnclude tbe ldea tbat tbe soclal world ls
cbaracterlzed by tbe operatlon or causal varlables, or tbat people
necessarlly know about tbelr own attltudes and bebavlour (otter
and lepburn zoo,. z). le suggestlon ls tbat tbrougb tbelr
questlons, and ln otber ways, lntervlewers eectlvely coacb [..]
tbe partlclpant ln tbe relevant soclal sclence agenda (otter and
lepburn zoo,. zz), and tbereby subtly sbape wbat be or sbe says.
otter and lepburn summarlse tbls concern as rollows. [] tbese
lssues present us wltb tbe posslblllty tbat a plece or lntervlew researcb
ls cbaslng lts own tall, oerlng up lts own agendas and categorles,
and gettlng tbose same agendas and categorles back ln a rened or
ltered or lnverted rorm (otter and lepburn zoo,.z,).
katber tban partlclpants ln lntervlews slmply speaklng ror
tbemselves, ln ract wbat we nd ls tbat tbey ecbo otber volces,
speak on bebalr or otbers, and so on. lls ls captured, ln part, by tbe
dlstlnctlons drawn by Coman (s) among varlous rootlngs tbat
can be adopted ln talk. ror lnstance between tbe speaker and tbe
composer or tbe spoken talk as lllustrated by a polltlclan readlng
a speecb wrltten by someone else and between tbe speaker and
tbe volce belng represented as wben a spokesperson speaks on
bebalr or a government or otber organlzatlon. otter and lepburn
argue tbat analysts must attend to tbe dlerent rootlngs people
adopt ln lntervlews, and tbey ralse questlons about tbe posslblllty or
abstractlng rrom tbese ln order to make clalms about peoples general
attltudes or perspectlves, as lr tbey always or prlmarlly spoke wltb
slngle volces. More generally, wblle people are usually lntervlewed by
researcbers preclsely because tbey are members or some category
teacbers, soclal workers, polltlclans, etc lt ls clear tbat not all or
7z wnar |s qua||rar|.e researcn?
wbat tbey say ls spoken under tbe ausplces or tbls partlcular ldentlty.
eople always operate wltb a multlpllclty or potentlally relevant
ldentltles, and tbese are more or less sallent at dlerent tlmes, even
wltbln tbe course or tbe same plece or soclal lnteractlon. lere ls also
tbe reverse questlon or to wbom lnrormants are talklng. lt cannot be
assumed tbat tbelr prlmary or only audlence ls tbe lntervlewer, slnce
tbey wlll probably antlclpate tbat otbers are llkely to bear wbat tbey
say, even lr only vla tbe researcb report. Moreover, even lr we take tbe
lntervlewer as tbe audlence, be or sbe wlll bave multlple ldentltles,
and may be orlented to by lnrormants ln terms or dlerent ones at
dlerent tlmes wltbln tbe same lntervlew.
Wben people talk, wbat tbey say ls attuned to tbe stakes tbey bave
ln bow tbey mlgbt be lnterpreted, and tbe potentlal consequences
or tbls. ley are not, tbererore, slmply expresslng tbelr vlews, but
seeklng to posltlon tbemselves ln response to antlclpatlons or bow
tbey mlgbt be posltloned by otbers. lndeed, lt ls unclear wbetber,
aslde rrom tbls, tbey bave some slngle posltlon wblcb underplns
wbat tbey say. le lmpllcatlon or tbe argument bere ls tbat once we
abandon tbe assumptlon tbat wbat ls sald ls tbe slmple expresslon
or lnner, personal tbougbts or reellngs, we can do no more tban
document tbe dlerent attltudes dlsplayed on partlcular occaslons
by speakers and seek to understand tbese dlsplays.
So, wbat concluslon sbould be drawn rrom tbls crltlque: On tbe race
or lt, tbe autbors bedge tbelr bets, oerlng two sllgbtly dlerent ones.
ley wrlte tbat tbelr ultlmate alm ls to lmprove tbe quallty or lntervlews
and tbelr targetlng at partlcular researcb problems. le ldeal would be
mucb less lntervlew researcb, but mucb better lntervlew researcb (otter
and lepburn zoo,. zsz). le lmpllcatlon bere ls tbat tbe ndlngs rrom
studylng lntervlews as lnteractlonal processes can be red back to lmprove
tbe deslgn, conduct and analysls or lntervlews so tbat [tbese] can be
used more eectlvely ln cases wbere [tbey] are tbe most approprlate
data-gatberlng tools (otter and lepburn zoo,. zs). Along tbese llnes,
tbe autbors argue tbat wbatever tbe analytlc perspectlve, lnrerrlng tblngs
approprlately rrom lntervlews lnvolves understandlng wbat ls golng on ln
tbem lnteractlonally, and tbat ln turn lnvolves tbe complex and demand-
lng task or analyzlng tbe development or an lmpllclt researcb agenda,
7! 1wo mernodo|og|ca| d|spures
ldentlrylng rootlng sblrts, expllcatlng orlentatlons to stake and so on
(otter and lepburn zoo,.,oo).
lowever, otter and lepburn also comment tbat. As researcbers wltb
some expertlse ln lnteractlon analysls we would llke to empbaslse tbat tbls
ls a cballenglng analytlc requlrement. Sucb analysls ls rarely done wltb any
degree or serlousness ln current lntervlew researcb, and, wbere lt ls, tbe
analysls orten blgbllgbts just bow mucb tbe lntervlewees talk ls a product
or speclc reatures or tbe lntervlew. (otter and lepburn zoo,.,oo). lls
polnts to a second, ratber dlerent, concluslon. tbat lntervlews are not a
satlsractory source or data, tbat lt would be better to use naturally occur-
rlng data (otter and lepburn zoo,.,o).
!
lt ls strlklng tbat, even ln tbe case or tbls second more radlcal conclu-
slon, otter and lepburn seem to lmply tbat lt derlves rrom metbod-
ologlcal conslderatlons tbat would apply to all klnds or researcb, ratber
tban speclcally rrom a conversatlonal analytlc and dlscurslve psycbo-
loglcal perspectlve (otter and lepburn zoo,. z).
4
lndeed, tbls polnt
about general relevance ls one tbat tbey make at varlous tlmes ln tbelr
artlcle. Larly on tbey comment tbat we expect researcbers wbo work wltb
lntervlews to recognlze [tbe problems we are golng to dlscuss] wltbout
dl culty ( otter and lepburn zoo,. zsz), and suggest tbat tbe polnts
tbey are maklng are lntended to bave a mucb broader relevance tban
speclcally to tbose researcbers wltb a dlscourse or conversatlonal lnter-
est (otter and lepburn zoo,.zsz).
Yet, even tbelr dlscusslon or tbe problems tbey see as remedlable
ls governed by dlstlnctlve assumptlons about tbe nature or tbe soclal
world, and bow we can galn sound knowledge or lt, tbat derlve rrom an
etbnometbodologlcal or conversatlon analytlc polnt or vlew. Wblle otber
researcbers would not deny tbat answers are sbaped by tbe questlons
asked, even ln relatlvely unstructured lntervlews, and tbat wbat ls sald
tbere ls lnuenced by otber aspects or tbe lnteractlonal process, many are
llkely to regard tbe dangers as mucb less serlous a potentlal source or error
tban otter and lepburn clalm. Slmllarly, wblle most would agree tbat
, As otter and lepburn acknowledge (zoo,. ,o), tbere bas been some debate
about tbe posslblllty or naturallstlc data, and about wbetber lt ls essentlal ror tbe
klnd or work tbey propose. see Speer (zooz), otter (zooz), ten lave (zooz), Speer and
lutcbby (zoo,), lammersley (zoo,).
( Coulter () bas questloned tbe llnk between etbnometbodology and dlscurslve
psycbology, see also otter and Ldwards (zoo,), and Coulter (zoo().
74 wnar |s qua||rar|.e researcn?
analytlc lnterpretatlons sbould be tled to evldence ln researcb reports,
tbere are dlerences ln vlew about exactly wbat tbls entalls.
Mucb tbe same can be sald or tbe problems tbat tbe autbors vlew as
unavoldable. ln ract, tbere was a rourtb sucb problem tbey ldentled,
wblcb l bave not yet mentloned, and tbls demonstrates tbe polnt partlcu-
larly clearly. ley call tbls rourtb lssue tbe reproductlon or cognltlvlsm.
lere ls some amblgulty ln wbat tbey say bere. ley reject cognltlvlsm,
wblle at tbe same tlme recognlslng tbat. |or many lntervlew researcbers
some klnd or cognltlve perspectlve wlll be entlrely approprlate. (otter
and lepburn zoo,. z;). ln ract, tbelr arguments are at odds wltb tbe
orlentatlon or most qualltatlve researcbers, and lndeed even wltb tbat or
many otber dlscourse analysts.
otter and lepburn ldentlry two racets or cognltlvlsm tbat are to be
rejected. tbe prlvlleglng or rumlnatlon over actlon and tbe treatment or
cognltlve language as descrlptlve. Wbat becomes clear bere ls tbat otter
and lepburn are, ln eect, denylng tbat lntervlew data can be used ror
any or tbe tbree standard purposes l outllned earller. As regards tbe rst,
tbey complaln tbat ln mucb qualltatlve work tbe lntervlewee ls treated as
a reporter on events, actlons, soclal processes and structures, and cognl-
tlons (otter and lepburn zoo,. zs), wbereas, ln ract, lnrormants are
engaged ln a qulte dlerent mode or actlvlty, wblcb mlgbt be descrlbed as
constructlng and reconstructlng tbemselves and tbelr world tbrougb talk.
ln relatlon to tbe second runctlon or lntervlews, otter and lepburn
expllcltly abandon tbe ldea or uslng peoples own rumlnatlon[s] (otter
and lepburn zoo,.z;) as a source or data. ln part tbls stems rrom tbelr
denlal tbat people bave prlvlleged access to an lnner domaln or experlence
tbat tbey express tbrougb talk, slnce tbey must use common dlscurslve
resources to present s|ruar|ona||, appropr|are accounts or tbemselves.
lndeed, otter and lepburn denounce tbe ldea, taken ror granted ln
mucb researcb concerned wltb lnvestlgatlng experlence, tbat people are
tbe best experts (otter and lepburn zoo,. z) on tbelr own percep-
tlons, oplnlons, bellers, attltudes, etc. Lqually, lt ls clear tbat tbey object to
researcbers acceptlng peoples explanatlons ror wbat bappens ln tbe world,
wbere tbey are, ln eect, treated as proto-soclal sclentlsts (otter and
lepburn zoo,.z;). otter and lepburn blgbllgbt, by wblcb (lt seems to
me) tbey mean cballenge, tbe assumptlon tbat lntervlewees can provlde
lnrormatlon about soclal processes (otter and lepburn zoo,.zs).
7 1wo mernodo|og|ca| d|spures
|lnally, tbey reject tbe use or lntervlews as a means by wblcb attltudes,
perspectlves, etc. can be ldentled because tbey deny tbat actlons are
causal products or sucb attltudes or perspectlves. As we bave seen, tbey
questlon tbe exlstence or all sucb cognltlve objects. lus, tbey wrlte.
Our polnt ls tbat to rully understand tbe qualltatlve lntervlew as
an lnteractlon we wlll need to pay attentlon to tbe practlcal and
lnteractlonal role or cognltlve terms and be very cautlous about
treatlng sucb terms as lr tbey rererred to psycbologlcal objects or
some klnd wltbln lndlvlduals. (otter and lepburn zoo,.z)
Agaln, read ln tbe context or tbe wbole artlcle, lt ls clear tbat cautlon ls a
eupbemlsm bere, wbat tbey mean ls tbat we sbould nor treat tbese terms
as rererrlng to psycbologlcal objects.
So, ln tbls sectlon on cognltlvlsm, otter and lepburn contlnue to pres-
ent tbelr arguments as lr tbey derlved stralgbtrorwardly rrom commonly
recognlsable metbodologlcal problems wltb lntervlews, but ln eect tbey
are cballenglng rundamental assumptlons underlylng mucb qualltatlve
researcb. Wblle tbey clalm tbat tbelr concluslons derlve slmply rrom
recognlslng tbe lnteractlonal nature or lntervlews, ln ract tbe cbaracter and
serlousness or tbese problems bave been and contlnue to be subject to
conlctlng lmpllcatlons and debate.
Okellly ;
Oakley z,
Ollver ;
Olson, L. ;, (, ,,
Olson, k. zz
Osborn zs
Outbwalte zo
almer, k. z;
erkyl z,
lckerlng zz
lnk , oo
lttman ,;
latt o
lummer , z, ,, ,z,, ;o
ollner ,;
opper zz, (,
ortls zz
otter ,o, ,;, oso, so, , z
ound ,z
kagln ,
kal, ,, ,(
kalnwater ,;
kapley o
keason ,z
kead ,s
keed o,
kelnbarz ,(
kestlvo (,
klcbardson
klessman o
klboux ,
!zz wnar |s qua||rar|.e researcn?
koberts ,o
korty zs
kose
Sandelowskl, M. , z
Sanders so
Saussure (
Sayer zz
Scbar z,, ,o
Scbeglo z,
Scbrodt ,
Scbutz zs
Scbwandt (;
Selerstad o, ;, s
Sbapln z,
Sbarrock ,,, ,s
Sleber ,
Slgmund zz
Sllverman , ,o, o;, o
Smltb, C. oo
Smltb, . zs, ;;
Sparks o
Speer ;,
Stouer o
St. lerre
Strauss (
Styles ,;
1apper o, s
1asbakkorl (, ;
1aylor ,;
1eddlle (, ;
ten lave o, ;,
lomson, k. ,,
lomson, W. (Lord kelvln) lx
1lmescapes ,,
1ralanou o, ,
1row ,
1ruzzl zo
1yler (z
Urry zz
van Uljk o
venkatesb s
vogt ,
Wacquant (, s, ,(, soz
Walker ,, ,;, oo
Wax ,
Wetberell ,, ,(, ,o, ,;, oo
Wbyte o
Wleder ;o
Wllson s, sz
Wlttgensteln (,
Wrlgbt, L. O. ,(
Wrlgbt, k. ,o, (
Wrlgbt, 1. zz
7nanleckl (s, (
!z! |ndex
SUBJECT INDEX
Actlon researcb s, (s
Adults understandlng cblldren,
problem or ,,(
Argbanlstan o, ;, s
Appreclatlve stance ;
Armed robbers ,o
Autoblograpby
Autoetbnograpby , ,o
8lograpblcal metbods
8oxlng (
Case study
ln-deptb study or partlcular
cases ,o
Cross-case analysls ,o
Causatlon, see ldentlrylng causes
Cblcago, ,, s, s
Cblcago soclology s
Clvlc soclology s
Cognltlvlsm ;(,
Comprebenslve tbeory (crltlcal
tradltlon) ,z
see a|so leory
Conguratlonal analysls ,
Constltutlve practlces, see
Uocumentlng constltutlve
practlces
Constructlonlsm ,,((, ,oo, o,
Soclal constructlonlsm ,o
Conversatlon analysls o, o,, ;,
Crltlcal dlscourse analysls o, oz
Crltlcal tradltlon z,(,
Cross-case analysls ,o
Crossword puzzle z
Ulalectlcal development ,
Ulscourse analysls z,, ,;, (;s, oo,
o, oz, o,, o,
Ulscurslve psycbology ,o
Uocumentlng constltutlve prac-
tlces ,o,, o(
Uocuments, use or ,,, ,s
Lmplrlclsm z,,
Lplstemology z
Ltbnograpby (;
Ltbnometbodology ;,, ;o
Ltymologlcal denltlon ,
|amlly practlces oo
|emlnlsm ,(
|lctlon
|ootball rans, see Soccer rans
|ootlngs ;
|ronts, see enetratlng rronts
Crounded tbeorlzlng (
lermeneutlcs z;
llerarcby or credlblllty s
ldentlrylng causes (s,, o,(
ldlograpblc rocus z;
lmmanent crltlque ,o
ln-deptb study or partlcular cases
,o
lnternal crltlque ,o
lnterpretlvlsm zo
lntervlews ,(,, ,s, o;so
lnvestlgatlng experlence ,o, o(
lrrltable 8owel Syndrome s
ane |ry (
!z4 wnar |s qua||rar|.e researcn?
ournallsm, contrast wltb quallta-
tlve researcb ,, ss
Llrestyle mlgratlon ;
Marxlsm ,o, ,(, (,
Mascullnlty (
Measurement z,
Mlgrants (to Spaln) ;
Mlxed metbods (, o;
Morallsm s
Multl-modal metbods
Narratlve analysls ,;, o, o,
Natural settlngs ,
Naturallstlc data ;,
New Labour ;s
Newtons pbyslcs z,
Nomotbetlc rocus (or posltlvlsm)
z;
Non-compllance wltb drug reglmes
,z
Observatlon, use or ,,, ,s
Ontology z
aradlgms, kubn on ,s
Qualltatlve and quantltatlve
researcb as ,
arents evenlngs (
artlclpatory pbotograpby s
enetratlng rronts ,o
benomenology z;s
olltlcal rbetorlc ;s
osltlve lolterlng ,(
osltlvlsm z, zzo
ostmodernlsm ,, (z,
ost-structurallsm ,, (z,, o,
overty sz, o
ragmatlsm zs
rocedural objectlvlty z,
publlc soclology s
Qualltatlve analysls
Qualltatlve comparatlve analysls ,
Qualltatlve researcb, denltlons or
, ,, , z(, ,, o
As concerned wltb words
ratber tban numbers , z
As contrasted wltb quantltatlve
metbod (
Quantltatlve researcb , o
kadlcal crltlque or lntervlews
o;so
keactlvlty os
keexlvlty ,,o
kepllcatlon z,
klddle-solvlng , z
Soccer rans o, ;
Soclal class (and Marx) ,,
Soclal constructlonlsm, see
Constructlonlsm
Standpolnt eplstemology ,,
Statlstlcal metbod (s
Structurallsm (z
Subanum o
Subjectlvlty ,
Sulclde notes ;
Survlvallsts o
leory ,z, s,o, ss
1onga ,
1ranscrlptlon ;o, ;;, ;s, ;
1ransparency, see rocedural
objectlvlty
!z |ndex
Underclass, concept or sz
value neutrallty ,z, ss
versteben zo
vlsual metbods
Wbose slde are we on: ;, ss