Interview is the most used data collecting method in qualitative research and the way of interviewing is classified under several categories according to underlying philosophical assumptions (e.g. doxastic and epistemic), structuring of interview (e.g., semi-structured, unstructured), the number of person interviewed at the same time (e.g; focus group and individual), interview place and kind of interaction (online, face-to-face). In this paper, Steinar Kvale’s (1996) craftmanship approach is at the center. According to this approach, interviewer focuses on the interview rather than the method. The tool is the researcher her/himself, not the method she/he follows. Hence, the outcome of interview research depends on the abilities, sensitivity, empathy, and similar attributes of the interviewer. And according to Kvale (1996) craftmanship approach links science to the art, and interviewing competence can be gained through apprenticeship by learning and practicing in time.
The problem of this research is the deficiencies of interview research in conducting an art level and craft level interviews, and the present obstacles that prevent researchers to conduct this kind of interview research. The main purpose of this paper is to shed light on “interview as a craft” and examine the stages of Kvale’s approach. For this purpose, a group of doctoral dissertations defined as a sample in the field of management and examined in-depth to determine the quality of interview research in terms of craftmanship approach.
This paper presents a methodological review of 13 doctoral dissertations written in the field of management and in which qualitative interview method was used as a primary data collecting method. The data of the research consist of 13 doctoral dissertations that were chosen as a result of systematic searching conducted on the web page of Council of Higher Education National Thesis Center in Turkey. The keywords used in searching are “interview, “qualitative”, and “management”. A qualitative content analysis method was applied to the data. Evaluation criteria that were defined as a result of literature review were used in analyzing doctoral dissertations. Therefore, it can be said that a deductive-dominant approach was followed during content analysis process. Majority of the criteria based on Steinar Kvale’s “craftmanship approach” and works of the prominent researchers in qualitative research were also utilized. The main criteria were defined as follows (Kvale, 1996): (1) Theme of the research, (2) Research design, (3) Interview process, (4) Organizing data, (5) Analyzing, (6) Verifying, and (7) Reporting.
Findings of this research reveal that dissertations, in general, have some deficiencies in terms of conducting interview research stages. The prominent deficiencies can be listed as follows: Philosophical underlying of methods were generally ignored, methods used in analyzing interview data have some conceptual inconsistency and ambiguity, some authors adhered to just a single reference in conducting analysis method, a lack of adequate definitions about how reliability and validity strategies are implemented were defined in several research, most of the authors adopted a standard approach in presenting research findings. Although a dissertation that fulfill each evaluation criterion, dissertations that fulfill technical requirements and approach to craftmanship approach in some aspects were also defined. Quotes from featured parts of these dissertations are presented in the findings section. Findings of this research offer recommendations to academics that have decision-making authority in universities, to graduate students, and to novice qualitative researchers, and to academics that consider themselves as a lifelong student.
Finally, this research has also had several limitations. The main purpose of this research was not to reach all the research that follows interview method. The scope of the research is limited with 13 doctoral dissertations written in the management field in Turkey. It was preferred to work on a small group of data in order to handle the issue in-depth and detailed. Hence, the findings may be unique to this sample. Using diverse keywords in the management field will enable researchers to reach more extended samples and as a result may reach to different findings. Besides, this paper focuses on Kvale’s “craftsman approach” in conducting interview research and adopted the stages of this approach as evaluation criteria. There are various types of interview research in qualitative research literature. Hence, different criteria can be used to evaluate interview studies in different research fields
Bu makale, yönetim alanında yazılan ve birincil veri toplama yöntemi olarak görüşme yöntemi kullanılan 13 doktora tezinin metodolojik incelemesini sunmaktadır. Ayrıca, görüşme araştırmalarına ilgi duyan araştırmacıların başvurabileceği detaylı bir literatür incelemesi de içermektedir. Araştırmada veri olarak, Yüksek Öğretim Kurumu Ulusal Tez Merkezi’nin web sayfasında yapılan sistematik tarama sonucunda seçilen 13 doktora tezi kullanılmıştır. Tezlerin analizinde literatür incelemesi sonucu belirlenen değerlendirme kriterleri kullanılmış ve nitel içerik analizi uygulanmıştır. İçerik analizi sürecinde ağırlıklı olarak tümdengelimsel bir yaklaşım izlendiği söylenebilir. Kriterlerin çoğu, Steinar Kvale’nin “zanaatkar görüşme yaklaşımı”nı temel almakla birlikte, nitel araştırma alanında önde gelen araştırmacıların eserlerinden de faydalanılmıştır. Araştırma bulguları, görüşme araştırmasının uygulama adımlarında bazı önemli eksikliklerin olduğunu göstermektedir. Öne çıkan eksiklikler, yöntemin felsefi altyapısının ihmal edilmiş olması, görüşme verisinin analizinde izlenen yöntemlerin kavramsal açıdan bazı tutarsızlıklar ve belirsizlikler içermesi, tek kaynaktan faydalanma, araştırmada geçerlilik ve güvenilirlik unsurlarının nasıl sağlandığı ile ilgili yeterli açıklamanın olmaması ve bazı tezlerde bu kriterlerin yalnızca literatür tanımlarının verilmiş olması, bulguların sunumunda standart bir yaklaşımın izlenmesi olarak sıralanabilir. Bu bulguların yanı sıra, değerlendirme kriterlerinin çoğunu sağlayan ve zanaatkar görüşme yaklaşımının bazı özelliklerini taşıyan doktora tezlerinin olduğu da belirlenmiştir. Bulguların sunumunda bu tezlerden alıntılara yer verilmiştir. Araştırmanın bulguları, üniversitelerde karar verici pozisyonlarda olan akademisyenler, lisansüstü öğrencileri ve görüşme yöntemini yeni uygulamaya başlayan araştırmacılar için öneriler içermektedir.
Primary Language | Turkish |
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Subjects | Business Administration |
Journal Section | Research Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | December 31, 2022 |
Published in Issue | Year 2022 |