Open AccessInterviewing the Investigator: Strategies for Addressing Instrumentation and Researcher Bias Concerns in Qualitative Research
Author(s) -
Ronald J. Chenail
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the qualitative report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2160-3715
DOI - 10.46743/2160-3715/2009.2821
Subject(s) - interview , protocol (science) , instrumentation (computer programming) , rigour , qualitative research , psychology , data collection , medical education , research design , applied psychology , population , quality (philosophy) , computer science , medicine , alternative medicine , sociology , epistemology , social science , philosophy , environmental health , pathology , anthropology , operating system
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.