Bobbie Oliver

Different types of interview;Examples of case studies using interviews;

Ways of using oral material in scholarly research;

Interview structure;Using case studies in research.Ethics

Projects that used interviews:

Masters thesis – 18 interviews

Hospice History – 36 interviews

History of conscientious objectors;

History of the ALP in WA.

Midland Railway Workshops project (200 hours of interviews collected over 5 years)

‘Oral history’ – but interviewing is a method used by many disciplines.

Oral history is a ‘record of information, usually on tape, as the result of a planned interview’. The planned interview and the dynamic between two people form the basis of oral history. Its purpose is to enlarge our understanding of a certain period of time. Ruth Park used the phrase, “The past was somebody else’s present”. One of the great joys and part of the magic of oral history is the way people are transported back into that past which was their present, and see things as they saw them then’. [Rosemary Block]

In your discipline, what are some of the reasons for undertaking an interview?

[Oral History] … refers both to what the historians hear (the oral sources) and to what the historians say or write. On a more cogent plane, it refers to what the source and the historian do together at the moment of their encounter in the interview .

Alessandro Portelli

that any interview (in isolation) is just a fragment, a small piece in the mosaic of your research. It can be built upon by subsequent interviews with the same person or different people who are ‘related’ in some way (by means of family ties, work place, skills, time and place, or other common experiences) but it is so subject to change, that it needs careful handling.

concerns the degree of serendipity of choice in selecting which parts of the interview best suit the point you are arguing in your research – although it would appear that logic is the strongest reason for choice.

Return to our earlier list of reasons for interviewing people. Would any of these be ‘life story’ interviews?

What are other reasons for this type of interview?

‘Life story’ interviews.

‘Specialist knowledge’ interviews (e.g. hospice history)

Testing a theory (e.g. Reekie)

What is the ‘truth’?

What is said when you’re NOT recording it.

Why are some people reticent about particular issues?

In small groups discuss:

What do these quotes tell us about the ceremonies themselves?

Is there any conflict in the accounts?

What do they tell us about the people relating them?

Phillip Adams: ‘You don’t want to be floundering around trying to find a point of contact after five minutes. So bang! I impose intimacy on interviewees as quickly as possible, by offering them opportunities to talk about very personal matters…

Caroline Jones: ‘The key is good listening [and] also about researching the story’.

Fran Kelly: ‘You need to be able to identity the issue (quickly) and, if time is limited, to jump 10 points to get to it’.

Phillip Knightley, ‘[The purpose of the investigative interviewer] is to persuade the person I’m interviewing to tell me things that they probably really don’t want to tell me’.

Jana Wendt: Its not about listening to the interviewer. [As an audience] I don’t give a damn what interviewer ‘x’ thinks about subject ‘y’. If I did, it should be an interview with the interviewer’.

Mick Dodson [interviewing members of the Stolen Generations]: ‘Be supportive, don’t express a judgment, don’t be a cross-examiner, just be a listener encouraging people to express themselves’.

Hugh Mackay: ‘I am the interviewer and I am your servant. I’m here to help you establish what your view is on this subject. I take you completely seriously as a person. I want only to learn what you know and to understand how you feel and what you think about it’.

Rosemary Block (oral historian): ‘Feelings come through very powerfully in an oral history interview, the emotions and feelings of the moment.

Kerry O’Brien: You’ve always got to ask yourself whether there is validity in asking a question. What’s your aim, what do you achieve, is it fair? Particularly about people’s private lives, you just have to bring sensible and responsible judgments to bear.

Greig Pickhaver [H.G. Nelson]: No matter how easy or difficult it is for the person to come on the show [Roy and HG]… we want to retain the control, where its going, but with the caveat that we don’t know where it’s going …The best interviews we do have this really weird sort of quality to them. I don’t think I’d recommend this to people who want to learn how to interview .’

Are there any common themes in those comments?

How to begin? How important is being a good listener? What are the issues? Is it ‘persuading people to tell you things that they don’t want to tell you?’

Not about listening to interviewer. Supportive, interested, non-judgmental. Help the interviewee establish what your view is on this subject.

Valid questions? Responsible decisions? Avoid chaos – if you can!

The pre-interview Introduction Issues to discuss (e.g. fact that interview will be recorded)

Location for interview Limiting discussion Equipment

Afterwards: Prepare your equipment Prepare your questions Ethics clearance.

Checklist

Consent form

Timeline (if a chronological interview)

Questions

Recording Equipment

Your name, Interviewee’s full name, interviewee’s date of birth (if they are willing to

provide & if relevant) date and place of interview and

the reason for the interview The interviewee stating that they have read and understand that they are granting permission for you to use the interview in your research and that the interview may be terminated at anytime if they so wish.

  Pause and play back to ensure that everything is

working properly and the microphone is picking up your voice and that of the interviewee equally well.

  Some context.   If s/he begins to tell a story that sounds really

interesting, it may be better to allow that to happen and then return to your previous thread.

Interrupting, arguing a point of view,

Asking questions that are too complex, or too simple (i.e. questions that they can answer with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’).

Saying ‘yes’ as an encouragement to the speaker (it sounds awful on the tape).

Taking too many notes. (makes you lose eye contact)

Be patient, be polite. Jot down interesting points. Draw your interviewee out. Ask why, how, what for? Don’t pre-judge. Try to maintain eye contact. Remember that the interviewer’s opinion counts (not yours).

Use your research. Limit the time of the interview Ensure that you complete permission protocols.

Type 1: The analytical approach.

Type 2: The problem-oriented method.

Would the use of interviews and/or case studies benefit your research project?

Principles of Ethical ConductIntegrity, respect for persons, beneficence and justice

Consent

Research merit and safety

Ethical review and conduct of research