Yin (1989) argues that evidence for case studies may
come from six sources: documents, archival records,
interviews, direct observation, participant observation,
and physical artifacts. However, with respect to interpretive
case studies as an outside observer, it can be
argued that interviews are the primary data source,
since it is through this method that the researcher can
best access the interpretations that participants have
regarding the actions and events which have or are
taking place, and the views and aspirations of themselves
and other participants. Even in the case of
interpretive case studies being carried out as a participant
observer or action researcher, it can be argued
that interviews are still an important data source, since
they enable researchers to step back and examine the
interpretations of their fellow participants in some
detail.
With respect to interviewing style, this will vary
between individuals, depending on personality, but one
key issue for all interviewers is the balance which
should be adopted by them between excessive passivity
and over-direction. If the interviewer directs the
interview too closely, and refuses to allow interviewees
to express their own views except in response to
questions that are tightly controlled by the researcher,
then the data obtained will lose much of the richness of
interpretation which is the raw material of sensitive
interpretive studies. However, a researcher can err too
far the other way. If the researcher is too passive, for
example either by not prompting with questions which
follow some new direction taken by the interviewee or
by not offering his or her own ideas on some particular
issue, a number of negative consequences can result.
The interviewees may conclude that the researchers are
either not interested in their views and/or that the
researchers have no views of their own on the subjects
of investigation. This latter consequence can result in
IS interviewees, for example, doubting the professional
competence of the researchers in the IS domain, and
future collaboration with the research project becomes
jeopardised.
A second important issue in interviewing concerns
reporting media, since it is vital in an interpretive study
to 'capture' people's interpretations in as effective way
as possible, while at the same time conducting the
normal social interchanges of the interview. One
approach is to tape-record all research interviews. The
advantage of this is that it provides a full description of
what was said, whereas note-taking is necessarily
partial. The main disadvantage is that, in the case of
confidential or sensitive material, the respondent may
be seriously inhibited by the presence of the machine.
A second disadvantage of tape-recording as the sole
medium is the time that needs to be spent in either
transcribing the tape recording or extracting a set of
useful data from it. The main alternative to taperecording
is to make rough but extensive notes during
interviews, and to write them up in full as soon as
possible after the interview. Again, with respect to
advice to the researcher, individual circumstances need
to be considered. Note-taking supplemented by taperecording
where appropriate is one sensible approach.
Tape-recording may be considered appropriate as a
supplement in cases of relatively non-confidential
material, particularly where the interview contains a
large amount of relatively 'hard' data which it would be
difficult to capture by note-taking alone.
This sub-section has dealt with interviewing technique,
but it is important to emphasise that good
technique is a necessary but not a sufficient condition
for good interviewing. Access to people's thoughts,
views and aspirations requires good social skills and
personal sensitivity on the part of the researcher, and
these are less easily acquired than matters of technique.
Zuboff (1988) described her interview approach as
involving a 'non-judgemental form of listening'. Researchers
should be constantly critical with respect to
their own performance in this area, and one approach
is to carry out interviews in pairs and subsequently
to undertake a critique of each other's style and
sensitivity.