Sociology Plus
Postmodern Interviewing Definition
Postmodern interviewing represents a methodological shift in qualitative research, moving away from traditional scientific claims about fieldwork and unstructured interviewing. Postmodern informed researchers, such as Marcus and Fischer (1986), focus instead on the reflexive role and influence of the interviewer during interaction with respondents. This approach seeks to minimise or eliminate interviewer influence by prioritising the collection of direct, unfiltered statements, often employing a polyphonic method that incorporates multiple respondent voices with minimal intrusion. Furthermore, postmodern interviewers make the interviewer visible in the reporting process to illuminate potential biases, gendered distortions, and contextual influences inherent in where, when, and by whom the interview occurred.
Approaches to Interviewing
Postmodern interviewing encompasses several distinct approaches, notably gendered interviewing and active interviewing. Gendered interviewing challenges the traditional paternalistic stance of many methods, which historically allowed researchers to grant women ‘temporary male status’ to access certain settings. Postmodern practitioners argue that gender differences are significant in culturally paternalistic societies, advocating for an approach where the interviewer actively dismantles pretences of value neutrality to become an advocate for marginalised groups. This practice is reminiscent of C.W. Mills’s ameliorative sociology, though it raises questions regarding the researcher’s power and the artificiality of perceived sharedness between interviewer and respondent.
Active interviewing, coined by Holstein and Gubrium (1995), frames interviews as actively negotiated accomplishments between participants. This approach stresses that data gathered must be viewed not only in terms of content but also in relation to the context of collection—specifically who, where, how, and under what circumstances the data were obtained. It rejects the notion that researchers merely gather data and then apply refined techniques; instead, the interview itself is understood as a cooperative, negotiated text created through the interaction between individuals.
Reporting Modes
Postmodern interviewers also experiment with new modes of reporting findings, moving beyond the sparse language characteristic of traditional sociology. These reports may take the form of performances, plays, introspective recounting, or poetry. The intention behind these shifts is to offer readers a more immediate and vivid picture of the research, aiming to foster greater empathy and an improved understanding of sociology through the immediacy of the new narrative techniques.
Criticisms
The application of postmodern interviewing has generated significant criticism from traditional researchers. Key concerns revolve around its legitimacy within the discipline: specifically, whether such methods constitute valid sociology, and how they adhere to established criteria like verifiability and replicability. Furthermore, critics question how sociologists can adjudicate the merits of non-traditional reporting forms, such as poetry or performance, without resorting to external literary standards.