Review Essay: What Actually Happens During an Interview? Ethnomethodologically Inspired Research on Qualitative Interview Research

Abstract

Interviews appear to be the qualitative research method of choice but have rarely been the subject of qualitative methodological research. Therefore, it is largely unclear what exactly happens during an interview and how interviews are empirically constituted as communication and interaction situations. This research gap is the focus of ROULSTON's anthology "Interactional Studies of Qualitative Research Interviews," which I discuss in this review essay. Over the course of 12 contributions, the authors present ethnomethodologically inspired (re)analyses of interactional dynamics, social actions, and conversational resources in interviews. The volume is particularly worth reading, and the contributors (once again) demonstrate the utility of an ethnomethodological and conversation analysis-based perspective for understanding interview interactions. This can inspire researchers to examine interactional dynamics in their own projects more intensively. For researchers interested in the methodological discussion on interview research, this book offers not only insights into the state of the art but also suggestions for future research in the field of "social studies of interview studies" (RAPLEY 2012, p.552). If this research field is to be consolidated, I propose more systematic studies of interview research, the consideration of different research traditions, and the intensification of the international exchange on interview research.