The interview as narrative ethnography: seeking and shaping connections in qualitative research

Hampshire, K.; Blell, M.; Iqbal, N.; Simpson, B.

Abstract

Acts of counter-subjectification in qualitative research are always present but are often submerged in accounts that seek to locate the power of subjectification entirely with the researcher. This is particularly so when talking to people about sensitive issues. Based on an interview-based study of infertility and reproductive disruption among British Pakistanis in Northeast England, we explore how we, as researchers, sought and were drawn into various kinds of connections with the study participants; connections that were actively and performatively constructed through time. The three of us that conducted interviews are all female academics with Ph.Ds in anthropology, but thereafter our backgrounds, life stories and experiences diverge in ways that intersected with those of our informants in complex and shifting ways. We describe how these processes shaped the production of narrative accounts and consider some of the associated analytical and ethical implications.

Citation

Hampshire, K., Blell, M., Iqbal, N., & Simpson, B. (2014). The interview as narrative ethnography: seeking and shaping connections in qualitative research. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 17(3), 215-231. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2012.729405

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 28, 2012
• Online Publication Date: Oct 4, 2012
• Publication Date: May 4, 2014
• Deposit Date: Oct 31, 2012
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 7, 2013
• Journal: International Journal of Social Research Methodology
• Print ISSN: 1364-5579
• Electronic ISSN: 1464-5300
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 215-231
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2012.729405
• Keywords: Qualitative research, Interviewing, Subjectification, IVF, Narrative ethnography, Infertility.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1494412