Making sense of interviewee–interviewer dynamics in narratives about violence in intimate relationships
2004; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 7; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/1364557092000055077
ISSN1464-5300
Autores Tópico(s)Gender, Security, and Conflict
ResumoAbstract This article examines the dynamics between the author and an interviewee called 'Brian'. The article explores how the author's pursuit of a coherent account in a narrative interview reduced Brian's willingness to 'open up'. Brian's case is used to explore the impact of the author/researcher's defensiveness on the interview and the process of analysis. The article demonstrates the importance of theorizing the intersubjective dynamics that enable respondents to tell coherent stories, and, in so doing, draws especially on Hollway and Jefferson's concept of the 'defended subject'. The article concludes by arguing that reflexivity is best achieved when researchers return to their data having relinquished some of their investment in their research projects as they were originally conceived. Acknowledgements The author would like to thank the following people for their constructive criticisms of earlier versions of this article: Ros Edwards, Marion Smith, Margaret Volante, Tom Wengraf, and anonymous reviewers. Notes David Gadd is a Lecturer at the Department of Criminology, Keele University, Staffs ST5 5BG, UK; tel: 01782 583598; e‐mail: d.r.gadd@keele.ac.uk Ordinarily, I would interview on the premises where clients had their counselling. These premises were equipped with 'attack alarms'. Other counsellors were always on hand in case of an emergency. Brian had first been diagnosed with depression when his son was born. Brian dismissed this bout as 'very short‐lived … natural baby blues', although he had evidently endured a longer history of problems with anxiety. Brian's account of the time gap between when he first wrote to Joanna and their marriage did not add up. Brian claimed implausibly, 'It started snowing in the November on the day that she arrived. And it didn't finish snowing to the following June'. I am especially grateful to Margaret Volante for drawing my attention to these issues. At the end of our first interview Brian said there was three things he hoped I could help him with: 1. Ensuring he did not lose his house through financial hardship. 2. Finding someone to befriend him; someone who would be willing to do 'the sort of basic work around the house' his wife used to do. 3. Finding out whether the police had photographic evidence of the injuries his wife claimed he had inflicted on her, and/or whether the police were likely to arrest him (one year after the event). Brian later returned a self‐completion questionnaire I had left him, adding in the 'For your comments' section: 'It is about time the media accepts that women can be as aggressive physically and emotionally … PLEASE IF RESEARCH ACHIEVES ANYTHING MAKE THE MEDIA & CAMPAIGNS SEE THAT WOMAN ARE CAPABLE OF JUST BEING AS AGGRESSIVE'. This practice is rarely advocated in research with men who have been violent. For example, see Cavanagh and Lewis (Citation1996). Additional informationNotes on contributorsDAVID GADD Footnote David Gadd is a Lecturer at the Department of Criminology, Keele University, Staffs ST5 5BG, UK; tel: 01782 583598; e‐mail: d.r.gadd@keele.ac.uk
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