Reflecting on the Reflectivist Approach to Qualitative Interviewing

This study aims to reflect on qualitative interviewing with a particular emphasis on semi-structured interviewing (SSI), with the purpose of guiding students and young scholars of International Relations and Political Science who will use this method in their research. This study begs to differ from both radical post-positivist's deep scepticism which makes any scientific inquiry almost impossible as well as from positivism's unreflective, unproblematized, instrumental approach to interviewing. It proposes a reflectivist approach to qualitative interviewing that emphasizes the political nature of the interviewing process with various political, ethical and even social consequences. The reflectivist approach requires researchers to be self-critical at all times, in particular concerning their role and influence on the interview setting and the interviewee. This article proceeds as follows: It first addresses my own research on the nexus between civil society and the Kurdish question in Turkey, where SSI has been operationalized as the main research method. It then addresses the positivist and post-positivist debates on qualitative interviewing as well as the reflectivist approach that this study promotes. The article then engages in SSI in three distinct stages: pre-interview, interview and post-interview phases. Finally, the concluding part introduces some works utilising interviewing in Turkish IR and wraps up the theoretical/methodological arguments disseminated throughout the study at hand. Keywords: Semi-structured interviewing, qualitative interviewing, reflexive approach to qualitative interviewing, qualitative research Bu calismanin amaci, Uluslararasi Iliskiler ve Siyaset Bilimi alanindaki arastirmalarinda yari-yapilandirilmis mulakatlari (YYM) kullanacak genc akademisyen ve ogrencilere rehberlik etmesi amaciyla bu yontem uzerine ozel bir vurgu yaparak niteliksel mulakatlari degerlendirmektir Bu calisma, post-pozitivizmin bilimsel arastirma cabasini imkansiz hale getiren derin supheciliginden ve pozitivizmin mulakatlara yonelik dusunce icermeyen ve sorunsallastirmayan aracsal yaklasimindan ayrilmak ister. Bunlarin yerine, mulakat surecinin cesitli siyasi, etik ve hatta toplumsal sonuclari olan siyasi dogasini vurgulayan dusunumsel (reflectivist) bir niteliksel mulakat yaklasimini savunur. Dusunumsel yaklasim, arastirmacinin, ozellikle mulakat ortami ve mulakat yapilan kisi uzerindeki rol ve etkileri konusunda her asamada oz-elestirel olmasini gerektirir. Bu makalenin plani su sekildedir: once, ana arastirma yontemi YYM olan ve Turkiye'deki Kurt sorunu ve sivil toplum baglantisi hakkindaki kendi arastirmam ele alinmaktadir. Ardindan, niteliksel mulakatlar konusunda positivist ve post-pozitivistler arasindaki tartismalarla birlikte burada savunulan dusunumsel yaklasim degerlendirilmektedir Makale, daha sonra uc farkli asamada YYM konusuna girer: mulakat oncesi, mulakat ve mulakat sonrasi. Son kisimda, Turk Uluslararasi Iliskilerinde mulakat yontemi kullanan bazi calismalar ele alinmakta ve calismamizda ortaya konulan teorik/metodolojik argumanlarla konu sonuca baglanmaktadir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Yari-yapilandirilmis mulakat, niteliksel mulakat, niteliksel mulakata dusunumsel yaklasim, niteliksel arastirma
1. Introduction This study aims to reflect on qualitative interviewing as a frequently used method for data gathering in different disciplines of social and human sciences. It particularly focuses on [...]