The Interview: From Formal to Postmodern (review)

Standard oral history textbooks will contain a chapter on the interview with the do’s and don’ts of basic structured and unstructured interviewing. This specialist book is intended to give sufficient critical detail concerning the different types of interview, including their uses, benefits, and shortcomings, to assist all newcomers to the subject. Oral historians are not likely to need such comprehensive knowledge, but the text is not lengthy and is for the most part clearly written, so it does not become a burden. In fact its brevity is likely to require the uninitiated to make use of the helpful glossary and associated references for the terms not understood.

The book opens with a general perspective. Interviewing, as the term itself suggests, commonly involves the face-to-face acquisition of information. However, as the authors point out, in this our “information society,” it may also occur in groups as well as singly and by mail, telephone, paper, or, most recently, computer. Though the techniques of interviewing have become commonplace, the response rate has apparently diminished and it is suggested that trained social scientists are best placed to make good use of the techniques. A general history then takes us from social surveys in the late nineteenth century through opinion polling to the development of ethnographic methods with differentiation into the quantifiable and the qualitative.

Structured interviewing is described with examples of guidelines which will be familiar to oral historians. The authors also discuss the advantages of the different methods, which is mainly relevant to data acquisition. They see group interviewing as a structured method whereby there is gathering of information simultaneously from a number of individuals. Focus groups are considered in greatest detail, but other groupings (Brainstorming, Delphi, Field) are compared with regards to purpose, settings, question format, and role of the interviewer. In general, these are seen as complementary methods which may elicit further and deeper information due in part to interaction between individuals.

Unstructured interviews on the other hand seek to draw out a narrative without trying to capture codifiable data. Therefore, oral history is presented by the authors as a structure for capturing the stories of a wide range of individuals and groups using unstructured interviews. They comment that though oral history has become popular with feminist and with oppressed groups, it is often unpublished, lying silent in archives. They note that memory is important in oral history and indeed in any form of interview, but their discussion refers only to sociological texts. The section on unstructured interviewing continues with a consideration of creative interviewing, which although using a similar process allows the interviewer greater flexibility in interacting with the interviewee, thereby hoping to gain confidence and further information. Next we find, perhaps with the help of the glossary, that postmodern interviewing is defined as where the interviewee is heard with minimal interviewer input or interpretation. However, the definition of postmodernism itself is limited in scope, and the newcomer may well need further help than that it differs from modernism and is a critique of values resulting from “grand theories.” The essentials of grounded theory relating to interviews, namely that “the processes of data collection, coding and analysis are simultaneous,” are clear enough, but again the glossary definition will need amplification for oral historians not versed in sociological theories. They do discuss gender issues at length, and the dangers of paternalism and hierarchical approaches are emphasized. Ultimately, however, gender is only part of a framework that also includes race, class, and age.

The framing of interviews clearly requires a careful choice of appropriate questions, though the authors emphasize the importance of nonverbal communication and describe four modes (use of space, timing, posture, and vocal variations). They believe interpretation of the interview reveals a complex interactive state between researcher and subject, varying from minimalist postmodern to a reflexive collaboration.

Unarguably, ethical considerations are essential to ensure prevention of harm and these include an adequately informed consent and a right to...