Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data » (2nd Edition)

Herbert J. Rubin is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Northern Illinois University.  He is the author of Applied Social Research and (with Irene Rubin) three editions of Community Organizing and Development.  He has written articles based on in-depth interviewing that explore rural development in Thailand, suburban land-use fights, cooperative housing and economic and community development.  Both his monograph on Thailand,  The Dynamics of Development in Rural Development and his book on community renewal in the United States,  Renewing Hope within Neighborhoods of Despair: The Community-based Development Model,  are based on participant observation and hundreds of in-depth interviews.  He is currently using open ended in depth interviews to study organizations that advocate for the poor.

The authors (professors emeriti of sociology and public administration at Northern Illinois U.) describe a method of qualitative research they call "responsive" or "depth" interviewing and defend the philosophy behind it. The basic concept of responsive interviewing is that the research selects interviewees for the expansiveness of their knowledge about the research problem, listens carefully to answers, and presenting additional questions based on the answers until the researcher truly understands the question from the interviewee's point of view. They address the standard research project questions, from the design of the project; through structuring the interview, preparing follow-up questions, and analyzing and coding data; to presenting the results. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

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An introduction to the theory and practice of qualitative interviewing a providing researchers with instructions on how to design research based on interview data; stimulate conversation; absorb what is being said; and synthesize, analyze, and accurately describe the data. Paper edition (unseen), $21.95. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)