(a) Unstructured, or non-directive:
(b) Semi-structured:
(c) Structured:
(d) Oral history:
(e) Walking/go-along interviews:
“…walking as action establishes connectivity with the environment; the routes selected allows for a mobile and dynamic understanding of places; and walking with others creates a distinctive sociability.” (Warren, 2017, p803)
Case Study:
Different types of interviews can be useful for different purposes and can yield different kinds of information.
In this case study one feminist scholar reflects on the useful qualities of a walking interview.
In her study on the segregation of Muslims in Delhi, Ghazala Jamil reflects on the rich insights she gained from conducting walking interviews with her research participants through localities in Delhi. She explains that walking interviews allowed her to “tap into the tacit knowledge of the participants about the way spaces are organized” (2017, p. 103).
Jamil he explains that the walking interview gave participants a greater say in the direction of the interview:
“These interviews gave me the great starting point of analyzing how people experience outdoor spaces and built environments. It also provided more maneuvering room to the participant in deciding where to take me, in what sequence and from which route. The participant-interviewee had enhanced power to steer the course of the interview compared with other kinds of interviews, including semi-structured ones. In a way, the participants edited my observations as a researcher…” (2017, p. 103).
References:
Anderson, J., 2004. Talking whilst walking: a geographical archaeology of knowledge. Area, 36(3), pp.254-261.
Brinkmann, S., 2014. Unstructured and semi-structured. The Oxford handbook of qualitative research, pp.277-299.
Carpiano, R.M., 2009. Come take a walk with me: The “Go-Along” interview as a novel method for studying the implications of place for health and well-being. Health & place, 15(1), pp.263-272.
Elwood, S.A. and Martin, D.G., 2000. “Placing” interviews: location and scales of power in qualitative research. The professional geographer, 52(4), pp.649-657.
Jamil, G. 2017. Real-life methods: Feminist explorations of segregation in Delhi. In: K Kannabiran and P. Swaminathan eds. Re-Presenting Feminist Methodologies: Interdisciplinary Explorations. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 91-112.
Oakley, A., 1981. Interviewing women: A contradiction in terms? In: Roberts H (ed.) Doing Feminist Research. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, pp.30–61.
Oakley, A., 2016. Interviewing women again: Power, time and the gift. Sociology, 50(1), pp.195-213.
Peake, L. 2018. Presentation at the ‘Workshop in Urban Feminist Research: Ethnographic Research Tools’, Ramallah, Palestine, July 2018.
Tang, N., 2002, Interviewer and interviewee relationships between women. Sociology 36(3), pp. 703–721.
Warren, S., 2017. Pluralising the walking interview: researching (im)mobilities with Muslim women. Social & Cultural Geography, 18(6), pp.786-807.