Putting it in context: the use of vignettes in qualitative interviewing

Abstract

A B S T R A C T The article draws on two separate studies employing developmental vignettes (hypothetical scenarios which unfold through a series of stages) to interview research participants. One study used the 'Davie' vignette, which was a conventional fixed narrative, while in the second, the 'Jack and Jenny' vignettes were made interactive by hyperlinking a series of PowerPoint scenarios and making the choice of the succeeding slide dependent on the interviewee's reaction to its predecessor. Our analytic standpoint, in respect of both vignettes, is that of Schutzian phenomenology. We point to differences in both topical and motivational relevances in the processes of interpretation undergone by participants in considering the vignette scenario and in the situation of action. However, we show that research participants' responses to vignettes can yield data of interest in their own right as participants perform 'Thou-orientations' and 'They-orientations' in their consideration of the stimuli. We close with a comparative evaluation of the fixed 'Davie' and the interactive 'Jack and Jenny' vignettes. K E Y W O R D S : ethnomethodology, longitudinal interviewing, phenomenology, substance misuse, vignettes What are vignettes? As a sociological research tool, vignettes have been defined as:A technique used in structured and depth interviews as well as focus groups, providing sketches of fictional (or fictionalized) scenarios. The respondent is then invited to imagine, drawing on his or her own experience, how the central character A R T I C L E

Women׳s views on partnership working with midwives during pregnancy and childbirth

“…and that the unfolding journey was plausible, which is an important element in order to gain in depth responses (Jenkins et al, 2010). A significant issue that emerged in the first focus group was around dissonance.…”

Green Search : Studying Online Environmental Information. A Research Design

“…Settings where people meet in already existing small groups independent of the research at hand are used as focus groups: (1) a parenting group, (2) a book club, (3) a discussion group of master level university students, (4) a group of expats in Sweden meeting through a social networking platform. By using already existing groups as focus groups a conducive atmosphere can more easily ensue; furthermore this suits the purpose of making visible socially structured interpretative frameworks (Jenkins et al 2010), which is an advantage of using focus group based research.…”

The Handbook of Narrative Analysis

“…Vignettes often consist of preformulated narratives, which have been entextualized beforehand. As a variant of this, particular narrative turns may be deliberately left open for the research subject to entextualize; or, as in the case of Jenkins et al (2010), the narrative may be organized as a set of hyperlinks (organized in this case as a PowerPoint presentation) in which the choice of the next response item (here: the next slide) is made dependent on the interviewee's reaction to its predecessor. What is partly at stake here is the pursuit of (more) optimal conditions of narration, so that the data can be trusted to contain the sought-after experiential accounts of the respondent.…”