Interviews

Steinar Kvale (2004) illustrates the different theoretical perspectives on research through interviews, by referring to two metaphors. He presents two different roles a research

interviewer may take on during his or her work. The researcher role is described as a “miner”, or as a “traveller”. In accordance with the metaphor associated with a “miner”, knowledge is viewed as hidden metal. The researcher is described as a “miner” who digs out data from the interviewee’s experiences, pure and unaffected by leading questions. According to Kvale, this metaphor refers to a common view within modern social science, which understands

knowledge as something which is “given” and only needs to be discovered.

The metaphor where the interviewer is described as a “traveller” is the interviewer role which best illustrates my approach in this study. According to Kvale, it is associated with a post- modern constructivist perspective, which involves that research within the social sciences takes on an approach, which is based on conversations. The interviewer is described as a travelling journalist or a writer. The journey results in a story to be told when she or he returns home. The interviewer travels through the scenery, and participate in conversations with people he or she comes across along the way. The traveller may also intentionally call on certain specific issues or areas by following a method, in the original Greek sense of the word: “A choice of path which leads to the goal”. The journey may lead to more than new

knowledge; it may also change the traveller. Through conversations the traveller may as well give new understanding and insight to others, as they through the conversations may begin to reflect on aspects of their own culture, which previously seemed given by nature and a matter of course (Kvale, 2004). Within interactionism the interviewees are viewed as experiencing subjects who actively construct their social reality. The main issue is to generate data which provides an authentic insight into peoples’ experiences. This is primarily achieved through open-ended interviews (Silverman, 1993).

According to Kvale (2004) the interview as a research method is based on the everyday conversation, but it is a scientific dialogue, which entails a specific structure and purpose. He reminds us that the research interview is not a conversation between equal partners because the researcher is the one who controls and defines the situation. Furthermore, the researcher is the one who decides the topic of the interview, and critically follows up the answers given by

with contradictory information which might not be objective, but subjective in the sense that they depend on the person being interviewed. In Kvale’s opinion though, this is one of the strengths attached to the research method, as it enables the researcher to get hold of the variation in the informants’ opinions and perception regarding a certain topic, which gives a picture of a complex and controversial human world (Kvale, 2004).

During the time of my fieldwork in Dar es Salaam I interviewed 11 students and one former student at the University of Dar es Salaam. All these were open-ended interviews, which took the form of an everyday conversation. There were some group discussions, but the greater part of the interviews was conducted one on one. In the cases were the informants agreed to it, the interviews were recorded. I also interviewed 12 lecturers and one assistant lecturer and talked to Lincoln who sold newspapers by the university entrance. At St. Thomas More Machrina High School, I interviewed the headmaster, 3 teachers and 6 pupils. Furthermore, I conducted two group interviews at the premises of Haki Elimu, which is an NGO working to promote education. I also visited NECTA, which is the National Examination Council of Tanzania. Here I had a group discussion with two employees, Mary Alphan Mkwizu and Safarani A.M. Kalole. They have both conducted studies on the issue of language of instruction (Kalole, 2004; Mkwizu, 2003).

In order to make sure that all the aspects of the issue I wished to illuminate were covered in the interviews I employed an interview guide. The interview guide is basically a list of questions or topics that are to be explored in the course of the interview. Approaching open- ended interviews through the interview guide allows the interviewer to freely build a

conversation within a particular area. In group interviews the interview guide is particularly useful as it keeps the interaction focused but still allows individual perspectives and

experiences to emerge (Patton, 1980).

Sarantakos (1998) lists the following as the most agreed upon advantages associated with the use of interviews in research:

• Flexibility The interviews are adjustable to meet many different situations.

• Easy administration Informants are not required to have the ability to read or handle questionnaires.

• Control over the environment The interviewer has the opportunity to control the conditions under which the interview is conducted.

• Ability to correct misunderstandings by the interviewee This option is vary valuable and not available in other forms of data collection.

• Control over the order of questions

As there are advantages to using this method, it also has its limitations. Sarantakos (1998) lists the following are the most commonly mentioned:

• Interviews are comparably more time consuming and costly than other methods. • The interviewer is a factor, with an associated bias which affects the interviews. • Interviewing is inconvenient compared to other methods, like questionnaires. • It offers less anonymity to the informants than other methods.