All the transcriptions from my spring/ summer 2011 research work are now complete (in part thanks to a very keen new boyfriend, who has learned more about the nature of talk-in-interaction than he thought he ever would, probably!).
It’s been very interesting and the transcripts are currently being useful in the drafting of my report but they have also helped me reflect on some things to do with the nature of interviewing and my developing approach to it, which I intend to detail over a couple of blog posts.
The first is the idea of taking a life history as a general rule of thumb. As I’ve been analysing my transcripts, I’ve realised that, at some point in almost every interview, the participant has said something about a pivotal experience, or key person or situation that has shaped their future and therefore their current present. This seems potentially so valuable that I wonder if it’s a risk, or at least, a little sad, to potentially miss out on finding out about these past experiences that have so shaped participants.
So I’m thinking about taking a life history at the beginning of each interview. I’m not planning on life histories ever being my principal research design but it does feel like they might add a lot to a standard semi-structured interview. Admittedly, they’ll add a lot in terms of transcription too, but perhaps it’ll be worth it.
Contemplations on identity 