Cornell University Press
Interview Research in Political Science
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Edited by:
About this book
Interviews are a frequent and important part of empirical research in political science, but graduate programs rarely offer discipline-specific training in selecting interviewees, conducting interviews, and using the data thus collected. Interview Research in Political Science addresses this vital need, offering hard-won advice for both graduate students and faculty members. The contributors to this book have worked in a variety of field locations and settings and have interviewed a wide array of informants, from government officials to members of rebel movements and victims of wartime violence, from lobbyists and corporate executives to workers and trade unionists.
The authors encourage scholars from all subfields of political science to use interviews in their research, and they provide a set of lessons and tools for doing so. The book addresses how to construct a sample of interviewees; how to collect and report interview data; and how to address ethical considerations and the Institutional Review Board process. Other chapters discuss how to link interview-based evidence with causal claims; how to use proxy interviews or an interpreter to improve access; and how to structure interview questions. A useful appendix contains examples of consent documents, semistructured interview prompts, and interview protocols.
Author / Editor information
Layna Mosley is Professor of Political Science at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Global Capital and National Governments and Labor Rights and Multinational Production.
Reviews
Apart from its value for filling a gap in the literature, this book has one additional merit: it reflects the epistemological diversity within the discipline, facilitating a dialogue between the positivist and interpretivist scholars. Overall, the book is a valuable source for understanding the key challenges behind interview-based research—such as ethics, sampling, validity, and reliability—and also contains practical advice for coping with interviews in the different stages of research.
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
v -
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Preface
vii -
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List of Contributors
ix -
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Introduction. “Just Talk to People”? Interviews in Contemporary Political Science
1 - Part 1. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS: RESEARCH DESIGN, ETHICS, AND THE ROLE OF THE RESEARCHER
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1. Aligning Sampling Strategies with Analytic Goals
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2. The Ethical Treatment of Human Subjects and the Institutional Review Board Process
45 -
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3. The Power of the Interviewer
67 -
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4. How to Report Interview Data
84 - Part 2. ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES OF INTERVIEW RESEARCH
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5. Crafting Interviews to Capture Cause and Effect
109 -
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6. Using Proxy Interviewing to Address Sensitive Topics
125 -
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7. Working with Interpreters
144 -
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8. The Problem of Extraterritorial Legality
159 - Part 3. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: THE VARIED USES OF INTERVIEW DATA
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9. Capturing Meaning and Confronting Measurement
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10. Elite Interviewing in Washington, DC
196 -
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11. Lessons from the “Lobbying and Policy Change” Project
209 -
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12. Using Interviews to Understand Racial Group Identity and Political Behavior
225 -
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Appendix: Sample Materials for Interview Research
245 -
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Notes
271 -
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References
281 -
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Index
299
