The advantages of repeat interviews in a study with pregnant schoolgirls and schoolgirl mothers: piecing together the jigsaw

Vincent, K. ORCID: 0000-0003-4982-2788, 2012. The advantages of repeat interviews in a study with pregnant schoolgirls and schoolgirl mothers: piecing together the jigsaw. International Journal of Research and Method in Education, 36 (4), pp. 341-354. ISSN 1743-727X

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Abstract

Qualitative interviewing is a commonly used approach in the social sciences and is generally regarded as an effective way of developing understandings about everyday experiences and the meanings people attach to them. Where fieldwork time-frames are relatively short, a single interview with each participant is common. This paper explores the potential benefits of adopting a repeat-interview design even when research time-frames are short. Illustrative examples from a study of the educational experiences of pregnant schoolgirls and schoolgirl mothers are used to show what additional data were gathered via the use of repeat interviews as well as how this impacted on data quality. The key benefits of repeat interviews relate to the quality of the relationship that developed with participants over time, the opportunities this afforded to develop understandings about multiple identities and shifting realities and the way in which they allowed the researcher to seek clarification or additional information about issues raised in earlier interviews. The paper concludes that repeat interviews provide opportunities not available within a single-interview research design and that such an approach is particularly appropriate for research that deals with vulnerable populations and sensitive issues or research which aims to capture something about events, experiences and perceptions over time.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	International Journal of Research and Method in Education
Creators:	Vincent, K.
Publisher:	Routledge
Date:	2012
Volume:	36
Number:	4
ISSN:	1743-727X
Divisions:	Schools > School of Education
Record created by:	EPrints Services
Date Added:	09 Oct 2015 10:51
Last Modified:	09 Jun 2017 13:42
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/19050

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