ERI-workshop on conducting interviews I: preparing interviews

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Practical information

Julie Fraser, Erin Jackson and Thomas Riesthuis organised a workshop on preparing interviews, which attracted an enthusiastic audience, including researchers from Utrecht University, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Groningen University, as well as Copenhagen University. UU based ELS research thus has national and international visibility, which will be furthered in the coming years.

The seminar addressed the following topics:

Selecting interviewees and gaining access to them: In the first part of the workshop, the selection of the interviewees was discussed in light of the operationalization of a research project. The role of gatekeepers in gaining access to respondents was also explored.

Planning questions and your interview approach: The presenters considered what style and approach is best in light of an empirical research project. For example, in some cases an informal approach with unstructured interviews may be more appropriate than structured interviews that have a very formal tone.

Ethical considerations and informed consent: Lastly, during the seminars ethical considerations were discussed that should influence how researchers aim to conduct their interviews. Informed consent was explored as one of the central pillars of research ethics in this methodological approach.

The workshop was the first in a series of meetings on conducting interviews. Subsequent workshop meetings will deal with the collection of data (date: 11 November 12-13:30 hr.) and their analysis (tba).