A counter-narrative of a ‘failed’ interview

Abstract

In a broader research project about students’ perceptions of their rights in New Zealand high schools, the first author conducted an interview with a group of students that was noticeably different from her interviews with groups of students at three other high schools. This article was prompted in the first instance by a sense of this ‘noticeably different’ interview being a ‘failure’ because of the limited spoken text elicited. In this article we demonstrate what we can learn from data regarding embodiment, the interview setting, silence, laughter and, in the process, we attempt to practise ‘uncomfortable reflexivities’ advocated by Pillow (2003). We argue that an apparently ‘failed’ interview has a great deal to teach us about the theory and practice of qualitative research and the tenuous nature of the production of knowledge. We finish by identifying how our experience of this ‘failed’ interview informs our current research.

Working to Change the World: An Examination of One Child’s Social Activism

“…As other researchers note, such failures can be powerful, serving as prompts that guide our reconsideration of limiting conceptualizations (Dyson 1995;Nairn et al 2005). In highlighting that which we cannot make coherent, we are able to push past limitations and simplifications and see where our skills need to be expanded, our assumptions questioned (Dyson 1995).…”

Researching children’s silences: Exploring the fullness of voice in childhood research

“…In this article, I have argued that silence is indeed such an opportunity to learn more by attending to children's voices in all their complexity and fullness. In an interesting article titled "A Counter-narrative of a 'Failed' Interview," Nairn et al (2005) illustrate how what we may consider to be a "failed" interview, that is, an interview which provides thin data because it failed to elicit sufficient responses from research participants, might offer valuable lessons if it is carefully and reflexively analyzed in relation to setting, body language, and the presence of laughter and silence. If silence is meaningful, even if not always discernible, then researchers need to attend to its various expressions and "to the politics of knowledge production" which can tell us a great deal about the uses of silence by our research participants (Nairn et al, 2005: 236).…”

Negotiating ‘ethically important moments’ in research with young people: reflections of a novice researcher

“…As Christensen (2004) points out, the research process sees power being produced and negotiated while moving between different actors and different social positions. It has been highlighted by some that young people are often in positions of powerlessness relative to adults in a school setting (Fine, 2003;Nairn, Munro, & Smith, 2005), and the need for researchers to challenge uneven power relations between young people and adults has been acknowledged (Piggott, 2010). Both Mark and Niall referred to Claire as 'Miss'.…”