Interviewing the Investigator: Strategies for Addressing Instrumentation and Researcher Bias Concerns in Qualitative Research

Authors

Ronald J. Chenail, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow

Abstract

Instrumentation rigor and bias management are major challenges for qualitative researchers employing interviewing as a data generation method in their studies. A usual procedure for testing the quality of an interview protocol and for identifying potential researcher biases is the pilot study in which investigators try out their proposed methods to see if the planned procedures perform as envisioned by the researcher. Sometimes piloting is not practical or possible so an "interviewing the investigator" technique can serve as a useful first step to create interview protocols that help to generate the information proposed and to assess potential researcher biases especially if the investigator has a strong affinity for the participants being studied or is a member of the population itself

Keywords

Interviewing, Instrumentation, Researcher Bias, Qualitative Research

Author Bio(s)

Dr. Ronald J. Chenail is the Co-Editor of The Qualitative Report and The Weekly Qualitative Report at Nova Southeastern University (NSU). He also serves as the Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness and Director of NSU’s Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research. He can be contacted at 3301 College Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314-7796 USA; Telephone: 954.262.5389; Fax: 954.262.3970; E-mail: ron@nova.edu.

Publication Date

1-19-2009

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2009.2821

Recommended APA Citation

Chenail, R. J. (2009). Interviewing the Investigator: Strategies for Addressing Instrumentation and Researcher Bias Concerns in Qualitative Research. The Qualitative Report, 13(4), 14-21. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2009.2821

Comments

Original volume and issue number from The Qualitative Weekly, an offshoot publication of The Qualitative Report which has been folded into the primary journal: Volume 2, Issue 3