The DOI matches its Crossref record; 32 of the 32 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Researching the researcher-as-instrument: an exercise in interviewer self-reflexivity
Open accessAbstract
Because the researcher is the instrument in semistructured or unstructured qualitative interviews, unique researcher characteristics have the potential to influence the collection of empirical materials. This concept, although widely acknowledged, has garnered little systematic investigation. This article discusses the interviewer characteristics of three different interviewers who are part of a qualitative research team. The researcher/interviewers - and authors of this article - reflect on their own and each other's interviews and explore the ways in which individual interview practices create unique conversational spaces. The results suggest that certain interviewer characteristics may be more effective than others in eliciting detailed narratives from respondents depending on the perceived sensitivity of the topic, but that variation in interviewer characteristics may benefit rather than detract from the goals of team-based qualitative inquiry. The authors call for the inclusion of enhanced self-reflexivity in interviewer training and development activities and argue against standardization of interviewer practices in qualitative research teams.
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“Counter to this, it is arguably essential to the quality and rigour of qualitative research to be transparent about research processes, how they unfold and their inescapable linkage to researcher positionality (Mason, 2002; Pezalla et al., 2012; Rose, 2020).”
From Moving beyond ‘shopping list’ positionality: Using kitchen table reflexivity and in/visible tools to develop reflexive qualitative research (2023) · cites this paper as Pezalla et al., 2012
In the citing paper
“My positionality as a researcher has, unavoidably, directly impacted upon the data that has been created (Pezalla et al., 2012).”
From Moving beyond ‘shopping list’ positionality: Using kitchen table reflexivity and in/visible tools to develop reflexive qualitative research (2023) · cites this paper as Pezalla et al., 2012
In the citing paper
“For the majority of participants in this research, geographical belonging was established, and so being able to situate me as the geographical ' other ' shaped the narratives shared and the techniques used to do so (Pezalla et al., 2012).”
From Moving beyond ‘shopping list’ positionality: Using kitchen table reflexivity and in/visible tools to develop reflexive qualitative research (2023) · cites this paper as Pezalla et al., 2012
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Metadata
- Authors
- Pezalla, A. E., Pettigrew, J., & Miller-Day, M.
- Affiliations
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- Venue
- Qualitative Research
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2012-04
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 165-185
- ISSN
- 1468-7941 (ISSN-L)
- 1741-3109
- PMC
- PMC4539962
- OpenAlex
- W4319307929
- Cited by
- 361
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 35 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 29 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 50.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Qualitative Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA021670)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Focus Groups and Qualitative Methods
- Social Sciences › Education › Qualitative Research Methods and Applications
- Keywords
- interviewer characteristics, qualitative interviews, interviewer training, narrative elicitation
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