Abstract
This chapter presents a philosophical and methodological background for conducting and evaluating interview and focus group research in applied linguistics. It discusses the strengths and limitations of various approaches and deconstructs ‘commonsense’ assumptions about interviewing by examining the influence of two prevalent perspectives: ‘interview as research instrument’ and ‘interview as social practice’. Emphasizing researcher responsibility, ethical conduct, and reflexivity, Prior also gives attention to issues related to rapport, language choice, interculturality, and ʼnaturalness’ of interview and focus group data. The chapter concludes by considering recent directions in interview research and provides an annotated list of resources for further reading.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | The Palgrave Handbook of Applied Linguistics Research Methodology |
Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan |
Pages | 225-248 |
Number of pages | 24 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781137599001 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781137598998 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2018 |
Keywords
- Focus groups
- Interviews
- Research practice
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Arts and Humanities
- General Social Sciences