Customer Reviews

Interviewing as Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences

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Qualititative research is far more than asking a prescribed list of questions. However, the interview is key and core to learning what the researcher wants to know.

"Interviewing as Qualitative Research" by Irving Seidman is a concise but informative book explaining the whole process clearly. In fact, the strength of the book is not so much the content -- other books say the same things -- but the presentation. Seidman planned the book well, and subjected it to careful editing and organization.

Despite its short length, it is well-outlined, with a complete contents area, index, and eight-page reference section.

Chapters include (each has several subsections listed below):

* Why Interview?

* A Structure For In-Depth Phenomonologicsl Interviewing

* Proposing Research: From Mind To Paper To Action

* Establishing Access To, Making Contact With, And Selecting Participants

* Affirming Informed Consent

* Technique Isn't Everything, But It Is A Lot

* Interviewing As A Relationship

* Analyzing, Interpreting, And Sharing Interview Material

I fully recommend "Interviewing as Qualitative Research" by Irving Seidman.

Anthony Trendl

http://anthonytrendl.com

This book does a very nice job of outlining the interview process as well as all of the issues around informed consent. The book also is excellent with the whole issue of developing a profile for the person being interviewed. This was probably one of the finer elements of Seidman's effort.

I was disappointed with one thing. The reason I bought the book was that I was interested in reading more ideas on how to coalesce a number of interviews into a coherent whole. This was a weak area of the "Interviewing as Qualitative Research..." It was certainly addressed but Seidman's points related to this topic were not helpful. The book would, however, probably be helpful to someone that is just beginning to use interviews.

Overall, it is a good book. It was just weak in the main area where I was hoping to pick up some new ways to approach the data.

Seidman's book is clear, thorough, and thoughtful. I thought it provided a great introduction to doing in-depth interviews and turning those interviews into useful qualitative data.

I was fortunate to take Irv's class at UMass. His book is the most comprehensive guide to interviewing, and I have used his method in my doctoral thesis and in multiple academic papers. Irv probably has exploitation issues with his method being used to collect consumer data, but the three-stage interview method is extremely effective in exploring consumption experiences.

Well written, engaging, and intelligent. I use this book to teach two different graduate classes--it's great!

For the novice interviewer, this is a very informative book. It is clear and precise and gives a decent history of interviewing and the ethics that go with the territory. Just remember that this is only one interviewing book. The author describes his method used at his university and acknowledges other methods. Over all very good. It helped me a great deal for my masters work.

Irving Seidman has written an extremely useful book that conveys his passion and love for interviewing as a way of knowing peoples' stories in their own words. Gives a brief and broad overview of interviewing as a research "method" without being dogmatic or didactic yet without losing any rigor. A scholarly work that will give the reader confidence, hope, joy and a sense of anticipation about interviewing. A compassionate and level-headed work by Seidman that maintains a conversation-like natural flow till the end.

Excellent resource for qualiative research. Will defintely be an asset to anyone who is completing qualitative reserach-especially during a dissertation.

very informative, has alot of tips. A phenomenological approach to in-depth interviewing.

Presently, while completing my doctoal degree, this text was recommended at my Dissertation Retreat with Capella University last June in Fairfax, Va. The text provides a step-by-step guide on how to conduct an interview, why should the student interview, methodological issues, an introduction to the Institutional Research Board (e.g., IRB), and other ethical issue related to your research study. I will be reading this text from cover to cover to obtain the information which is essential for the neophyte researcher who is conducting a Case study for the first time. The text is in layman's terms and easy to read---this is very important for doctoral students who are under a lot stress with other responsibilities (e.g., jobs)and limited time to complete the proposal. I rate Dr. Seidman's work as an outstanding piece of literature which will be helpful to many students now and in the future.