This study aims to reflecton qualitative interviewing with a particular emphasis on semi-structuredinterviewing (SSI), with the purpose of guiding students and young scholars ofInternational Relations and Political Science who will use this method in theirresearch. This study begs to differ from both radical post-positivist’s deepscepticism which makes any scientific inquiry almost impossible as well as frompositivism’s unreflective, unproblematized, instrumental approach tointerviewing. It proposes a reflectivist approach to qualitative interviewingthat emphasizes the political nature of the interviewing process with variouspolitical, ethical and even social consequences. The reflectivist approachrequires researchers to be self-critical at all times, in particular concerningtheir role and influence on the interview setting and the interviewee. This article proceeds as follows: It firstaddresses my own research on the nexus between civil society and the Kurdishquestion in Turkey, where SSI has been operationalized as the main researchmethod. It then addresses the positivist and post-positivist debates onqualitative interviewing as well as the reflectivist approach that this studypromotes. The article then engages in SSI in three distinct stages:pre-interview, interview and post-interview phases. Finally, the concludingpart introduces some works utilising interviewing in Turkish IR and wraps upthe theoretical/methodological arguments disseminated throughout the study athand.