NCJ Number
225399
Journal
Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Dated: 2008 Pages: 181-201
Date Published
2008
Length
21 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this project was to examine the relationship between the researcher, in this case a female researcher and informant, specifically the consequences of the researcher’s sympathies or antipathies towards her informants.
Abstract
The qualitative interview may be demanding and distressing, both for the informant and the researcher, and more so if the topic of the conversations is of a sensitive nature. This emotional distress should be elicited in research in order to enhance readers’ possibility of evaluating the findings, and the circumstances under which data were produced. This is particularly important for criminologists who often will do interviews with offenders of serious crimes, and even more when a female researcher is conducting interviews with male offenders with female victims, such as the case of rape. The value of emotional preparation before interviews with informants of another gender and race, as well as in any interview of a sensitive nature, cannot be underestimated to both enhance the quality of the data and reduce some of the strain the interviews entail. The relationship between interviewer and interviewee in the qualitative research interview implies a power imbalance as the researcher possesses the authority to frame the interview and ask the questions. Many feminist researchers have emphasized the importance of establishing rapport with the informant. In this article, the consequences of the researcher’s sympathies and/or antipathies towards her informant are examined. Parts of two interviews are presented in order to show how the researcher’s emotional reactions entail hers as well as the informant’s verbal responses and consequently the generation of data. References