Kvale (1996) identifies a number of major criticisms of the interview method principally concerning the reliability, the validity and the generalisability of the data drawn from the interview experience (p.230). These will be discussed in the following sections.
3.7.i Reliability of data
Silverman (1993) posits that a highly directed approach, such as the structured interview, with participants being asked the same questions in the same order helps to ensure greater reliability (Oppenheim 1992, p.147). However, this would have been too restrictive for the purposes of this research. I adopted a semi-structured or focussed / guided interview method which allowed the interviewee a degree of freedom to talk about what was important to them and to expand upon points raised, but within a schema of themes to ensure all the relevant points about grammar and TL, micro and macro policy, for example, were covered (Kvale 1996; Bell 2005, p.161). The majority of questions were open to “allow the respondents opportunities to develop their responses in ways which the interviewer might not have foreseen” (Campbell, McNamara & Gilroy 2004, p.99) because “a researcher can never know for certain which experiences have been influential and relevant in a particular sphere of life” (Goodson & Sikes 2001, p.28).
Kvale (1996) highlights that a common objection to the interview method is that the interviewer has the potential to ask leading questions which can be used to manipulate the type of responses he / she is looking to draw from the interviewee. He suggests, on the other hand, that leading questions may be a means to elicit guarded information from participants (p.158). To limit such manipulation, non- directive interviewing has the advantage of encouraging subjects to freely talk about a particular topic without being explicitly guided by the interviewer (Hammersley & Atkinson 2007, p.101). This would have been too unstructured for the purposes of this study, given the specific focus on areas of pedagogy and could potentially have led to a loss of focus in the interview with responses, “lacking the explicitness and / or detail necessary to [draw] …interpretations” (ibid., p.118).
3.7.ii Generalisation
Debate concerning the usefulness of life story focuses upon the issues of “truth and representation” (Reed-Danahay 2001, p.409). For the purposes of this research, it is questionable how representative one autobiography and a handful of life stories can actually be. For Watson and Watson-Franke (1985), it is not a question of representativeness but rather about how the life story reveals aspects of the ideal self within a specific context. Life story allows for an exploration of how a culture has influenced the construction of truth and meaning in a particular person’s life. Despite the small sample size however, life story may allow for generalisation among members of the same particular cultural group (MFL teachers) as well as to teachers of other subjects, and from there findings could be compared cross-culturally to existing research (Borg 1998, 1999a/b, 2003 & 2009; Sakui 2004; Nishino 2012).
3.7.iii Validity
Winter (2000) discusses how validity in research is defined eclectically, and as a concept, is viewed differently by positivist and qualitative researchers. In the former, it is a question of whether the research instrument actually measures what it intends to measure (Cohen, Manion & Morrison 2007, p.133), whereas validity in the context of qualitative research is dependent upon the objectivity of the researcher, and the extent of rich data elicited (Winter 2000). Hammersley (1987), whose work in defining qualitative research is extensive, similarly defines validity thus, "[a]n account is valid or true if it represents accurately those features of the phenomena, that it is intended to describe, explain or theorise" (p.69). Identification of bias on the part of the researcher is essential to ensure greater validity. In Chapter Four I will acknowledge my own biases concerning the teaching of grammar, and the use of target language through which to teach MFL. Those biases became more apparent through the process of reflection and reconstruing of meaning whilst redrafting the autobiography, and were more latent in the early stages of research. Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2007) identify how the attitudes of the researcher, misconceptions on the part of the researcher as to what the interviewee is saying, misconceptions of the interviewee as to what the researcher is asking and “a tendency for the interviewer to seek answers that support preconceived notions” are all potential sources of bias (p.150). A pilot-study with two participants ensured a trial of the schema of questions. The process of transcribing these interviews, and reflecting upon my interview technique enabled me to ensure that any form of bias, inherent in the asking of leading questions, for example, was kept to a minimum in subsequent interviews. This is explained in more detail in the section on analysis of data.
The different perspectives of validity in this thesis firstly acknowledge that reality and truth may be constructions (Ch.3.4.i). Secondly, the collection of much rich data strengthens the validity of the findings and may allow the findings to be generalized (Ch.3.7.ii). Thirdly, the elimination of bias on the part of the researcher, as far as is possible, and a need for objectivity further contribute to ensuring validity. In the following section, I discuss how the data was triangulated.
3.7.iv Triangulation
Denzin (1978) delineates four types of triangulation: data triangulation (employing a range of different data sets); investigator triangulation (use of different researchers); theory triangulation (interpretation of data from a range of theoretical perspectives) and methodological triangulation (use of different methods to study the same problem). The latter triangulation or mixed methods approaches (Cohen, Manion & Morrison 2007, p.141) ensure that the object of study is viewed from different perspectives, “more than one method may be used within a project so the researcher can gain a more holistic view of the setting” (Morse 1994, p.224). Triangulation in this research study is through mixed methods - the second research method in this study is observation. This has provided examples of participants’ practice that could not be elicited from an interview. Its purpose in this research study has also allowed for corroboration of data gleaned from interviews, enabling me to verify whether what participants say they do in the classroom is reflected in practice. This has contributed to increasing the validity of the findings.
3.7.v Influence of the interviewer on the data
The context of being interviewed by the MFL adviser could have influenced the intentions or motives of my research participants. My status as a local authority adviser for MFL, as Atkinson, Coffey and Delamont (2003) suggest may have encouraged the research participants, “to present themselves in an especially favourable light” (p.121) by trying to tell me what they think I want to hear and therefore would have reduced the validity of any findings. It could have, for example, influenced spontaneity leading to guarded responses, especially if the truth could appear to show the subject in a negative light (ibid). From an ethical perspective, the interview situation might have been a source of stress and / or embarrassment for the interviewees, especially if they believed that their opinions differed from my own, or if they held no opinions at all on certain aspects (Kelman 1982, p.80). I had worked with all of the research participants prior to the study and this familiarity also had the potential to influence the outcomes of the interview (Heyl 2001, p.369). The researched could have been seduced into a false sense of security leading them to reveal more than they had originally intended, with regret felt afterwards, although this was never expressed by any of the participants in post interview discussion. Furthermore, familiarity may also have helped strengthen the degree of trust between myself and the research participants and this might have limited reactivity (Hammersley & Atkinson 2007, p.210).
3.7.vi Construction of truth
A major criticism of the interview method is that the truth elicited is a highly subjective one. Atkinson, Coffey and Delamont (2003) maintain that interviews are not about a search for truth but are more about “what an informant’s statements
reveal about his or her perspectives, perceptions or feelings” (p.120). My exploration in the interview and subsequent analysis of the data is to try therefore to identify what has led to the construction of these perceptions and perspectives. Kvale (1996) suggests two interesting metaphors to explain the rationale behind interview method. The first is that the interviewer is a miner who is searching for truth: concrete, absolute epistemological truth, which can be elicited from the interviewee. The second is that the interviewer is a traveller and he/she is on a journey with the interviewee and together they will construct a notion of truth from the stories and perceptions revealed by the interviewee - a metaphor which favours a “post modern constructive understanding that involves a conversational approach to social research” (p.5). Meaning is therefore a construct as a result of the interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee. (See section on Ethics Ch.3.15)
3.7.vii Question themes
Questions aimed to capture data on early experiences as a learner encompassed general recollections of how participants were taught and learned foreign languages. Participants were asked to identify any particular methods employed by their teachers as well as to consider strengths and weaknesses of the practice they experienced and the impact it had on them as learners. Participants were asked to provide details about their teacher education, in particular the content of the theoretical aspects of the course and their practical experiences in school. I elicited information on influential figures, in the UK and abroad who had impacted on their beliefs and practice. Respondents were encouraged to express their beliefs about the teaching of grammar and the role of the target language and to articulate how those views may have evolved and the reasons for this evolution. Finally, they were
asked to consider how policy may have conditioned their thinking, as well as the impact of Ofsted, and micro policy in school on their cognition and practice.