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Here are a list of common problems you may encounter in fieldwork interviewing and some ideas for responding to them.
If you do not find answers to your questions on this page, or have suggestions for the FAQ list, please send an e-mail message (by clicking on one of the names) to either Helen Davis or Eli Lieber at UCLA and you will receive a response as soon as possible, AND we will post your FAQ.
Interruptions Interruptions in the interview (from children nearby, phone calls, etc.) are likely to occur from time to time. Ask the participant if you can find another place that will eliminate or minimize the problems. If this is not possible, and the quality of the interview will continue to be affected, AND AS A LAST RESORT, ask if it would be better to reschedule at a time when the problem would not exist. Of course, if you feel it will be very difficult to arrange a new time, do the best you can... and be patient.
Participant Refuses to Answer Although we seek complete data from all participants, show full respect if at any time a participant refuses to answer a question. This is their right and it must be protected. You can explain that you understand answering might be difficult or uncomfortable AND it is their right not to, but having complete data helps us learn as much as possible and you hope that they will choose to answer if they can. Finally, ask if the reluctance is due to the tape and if so offer to turn the tape off. In either case--obtaining a response or not--MOVE ON.
Others in Room Offering Answers to Questions If you find you are conducting an interview in an area that contains people besides you and the participant, the other(s) may be listening and decide to offer responses to the questions. You can politely explain that it is important to get the opinions and ideas from only one person, attempt to move the interview out of range from the ear-shot of the others or, in extreme cases, try to reschedule (as explained in the solution to "Interruptions" above). If moving is not possible and the situation does not warrant rescheduling, do you best to focus your conversation, data recording, and attention on the primary caretaker.
Participant Wants to Talk to Someone About the Project If a participant indicates a desire to talk to someone about the project generally, direct them to the appropriate project contact person and information. These details are available on the informed consent signed by all participants... most likely Jo Ann Farver (in CA) or Chris Lonigan (in FL).
Spanish Dialect (or English phrases) Don't Feel a Good Fit for the Interview Language problems will occur when interviewing the variety of families involved in a study like ours. Whenever the specific form of Spanish (or English) feels awkward or confusing in your conversation with a particular participant, remember that it is the CONTENT of the interview that is critical. Your training should leave you feeling comfortable with the spirit of the interview, the type of information we are seeking, and a set of rules for how to revise language without "leading" responses in a biased way. Thus, you should feel free to adjust the language you are using to make things as comfortable as possible for your style and the characteristics of each participant while being careful to get to the correct meaning of each question and not to bias the possible responses.
Problems with Defining Who is the Secondary Caregiver (SC) It may be difficult to determine who is the secondary caregiver (SC) about whom some of the interview questions are focused. If so, ask the mother (Primary Caretaker) about who she believes is the best choice. Remember, we are looking to identify the SC as the second person in the home with authority to make major decisions about the target child's life. This is not necessarily the person who spends the most time with the child. For example, stepfather and mother's Auntie may also be living in the home. Although Auntie may spend most of the time during the day caring for the child, step-father may still be a more authoritative decision maker about the child's life. In this case, step-father would be the best choice for the SC.
Tape Recorder: Mechanical Problems Before going to a home visit you should be
sure to check to see that your tape recording equipment is working properly, you have
extra batteries, enough blank tapes, and you know how to use the system. The best back-up would be to have a second recorder
with you in case of malfunction. If all else
fails, complete the interview and write a complete set of fieldnotes as soon as you leave
the home (or other interview location). In
this situation, the only record of the interview will be your written notes, so do your
best to write everything you feel is necessary to convey the information provided by the
participant in the context of what we are trying to learn.
Tape Recorder: Participant Requests that Tape Recorder be Turned Off At some point, participants may feel
uncomfortable having their responses to certain questions recorded on tape. If a participant asks that you turn off the tape
recorder in the midst of an interview, do so. Remember,
it is a research participants' right not to respond to any question or not have their
responses recorded on tape if they are uncomfortable. We researchers must respect
and protect this right. Should this occur, and
the participant still responds to the question, you will have to recall as much of the
response as possible and write complete fieldnotes for that question following the
interview. Also, you will want to get the tape
recorder turned back on as soon as the participant is comfortable. So, once the interview has proceeded past the
“sensitive” question, respectfully ask the participant if you can turn the
recorder back on.
Interview Questions Answered Out of Order The check boxes on the interview form are provided so that you can track whether you have elicited answers to all the key questions, not to force you or the participant to respond only in that order. In the course of a good ethnographic interview the participant will speak freely about their experience surrounding the issue you have raised in a question. As they speak, they will often spontaneously provide answers to other questions that you hope to get responses to. This is great, not at all a problem. We want to encourage this "conversational" nature of the interview. This conversational flow is indicative of the comfort and trust you have established with the participant and, the better the rapport, the more likely the participant will provide rich data. As you move through the interview, check off those questions that you have already received answers to and don't bother to ask them again... even if the answers came much earlier. If you are not sure whether you did recieve a response, then double-check with the participant with something like, "Earlier you mentioned something about others who read to TC, I just want to make sure I heard you right. Can you remind me about that?" |
