Conducting Effective Interviews about Virtual Work: Gathering and Analyzing Data Using a Grounded Theory Approach

Interviewing

Scholars have attempted to define the method of interviewing with different emphases. Rubin and Rubin (1995) refer to interviewing as the art of hearing data. They further explain, “Qualitative interviewing is a way of finding out what others feel and think about their worlds. Through qualitative interviews you can understand experiences and reconstruct events in which you did not participate” (p. 1). Furthermore, interviewing involves many choices. Hookway (2008) argues that the interviewing method for data collection depends on participants’ willingness to generously share their feelings, thoughts, and experiences. On the other hand, Kvale (1996) maintains, “Interviewing is a craft: It does not follow content- and context-free rules of method, but rests on the judgments of a qualified researcher” (Kvale, 1996, p. 105). In both statements, the subjective choices by the participants and the researcher play an important role in data collection and interpretation.