Interviews are a frequent and important part of empirical research in political science, but graduate programs rarely offer discipline-specific training in selecting interviewees, conducting interviews, and using the data thus collected. Interview Research in Political Science addresses this vital need, offering hard-won advice for both graduate students and faculty members. The contributors to this book have worked in a variety of field locations and settings and have interviewed a wide array of informants, from government officials to members of rebel movements and victims of wartime violence, from lobbyists and corporate executives to workers and trade unionists. The authors encourage scholars from all subfields of political science to use interviews in their research, and they provide a set of lessons and tools for doing so. The book addresses how to construct a sample of interviewees; how to collect and report interview data; and how to address ethical considerations and the Institutional Review Board process. Other chapters discuss how to link interview-based evidence with causal claims; how to use proxy interviews or an interpreter to improve access; and how to structure interview questions. A useful appendix contains examples of consent documents, semistructured interview prompts, and interview protocols. Contributors: Frank R. Baumgartner, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Matthew N. Beckmann, University of California, Irvine; Jeffrey M. Berry, Tufts University; Erik Bleich, Middlebury College; Sarah M. Brooks, The Ohio State University; Melani Cammett, Brown University; Lee Ann Fujii, University of Toronto; Mary Gallagher, University of Michigan; Richard L. Hall, University of Michigan; Marie Hojnacki, Pennsylvania State University; David C. Kimball, University of Missouri, St. Louis; Beth L. Leech, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; Julia F. Lynch, University of Pennsylvania; Cathie Jo Martin, Boston University; Lauren Maclean, Indiana University; Layna Mosley, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Robert Pekkanen, University of Washington; William Reno, Northwestern University; Reuel R. Rogers, Northwestern University
Layna Mosley is Professor of Political Science at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Global Capital and National Governments and Labor Rights and Multinational Production.
Introduction. "Just Talk to People"? Interviews in Contemporary Political Science by Layna Mosley Part I. General Considerations: Research Design, Ethics, and the Role of the Researcher 1. Aligning Sampling Strategies with Analytic Goals by Julia Lynch 2. The Ethical Treatment of Human Subjects and the Institutional Review Board Process by Sarah M. Brooks 3. The Power of the Interviewer by Lauren M. MacLean 4. How to Report Interview Data by Erik Bleich and Robert Pekkanen Part II. Addressing the Challenges of Interview Research 5. Crafting Interviews to Capture Cause and Effect by Cathie Jo Martin 6. Using Proxy Interviewing to Address Sensitive Topics by Melani Cammett 7. Working with Interpreters by Lee Ann Fujii 8. The Problem of Extraterritorial Legality by William Reno Part III. Putting It All Together: The Varied Uses of Interview Data 9. Capturing Meaning and Confronting Measurement by Mary Gallagher 10. Elite Interviewing in Washington, D.C. by Matthew N. Beckmann and Richard L. Hall 11. Lessons from the "Lobbying and Policy Change" Project by Beth L. Leech, Frank R. Baumgartner, Jeffrey M. Berry, Marie Hojnacki, and David C. Kimball 12. Using Interviews to Understand Racial Group Identity and Political Behavior by Reuel R. Rogers Appendix: Sample Materials for Interview Research Notes References Index
"Mosley (Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), author of books on labor rights and on global capital, offers an edited volume on methodological aspects of interviews in political science... The content of this volume, in terms of the balance between positivist and interpretative-oriented approaches, mirrors the current state of the discipline, centered at the positivist end of the spectrum. The contributors address challenges associated with interview evidence: gaining access to interview subjects, sampling the right set of respondents, convincing others of the reliability and validity of interview data, and ensuring that research is conducted ethically. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate and research collections." - Choice (January 2014) "Apart from its value for filling a gap in the literature, this book has one additional merit: it reflects the epistemological diversity within the discipline, facilitating a dialogue between the positivist and interpretivist scholars. Overall, the book is a valuable source for understanding the key challenges behind interview-based research- such as ethics, sampling, validity, and reliability- and also contains practical advice for coping with interviews in the different stages of research." - Israel Solorio Sandoval, Political Studies Review (August 2016) "Interview Research in Political Science is a timely and immensely valuable resource. Political scientists use interviews more than any other field research technique, yet interviews are a method that is rarely taught, and there's great demand for ideas and advice. The chapters contain imaginative, thoughtful, and savvy examples of ways in which experienced scholars use interviews, including how they prepare, how they conduct the interview, and how they incorporate what they learn into their research programs, often in combination with other methods. Within a general theme of seeking rigor in interview research, the book provides a range of perspectives and approaches, and usefully addresses topics including sampling strategies and ethical considerations. Although it is targeted to political science, colleagues in many other disciplines will also find much of benefit here."-Benjamin Read, University of California, Santa Cruz, author of Roots of the State: Neighborhood Organization and Social Networks in Beijing and Taipei
