Interviewing Like a Researcher: The Powers of Paradigms

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to show the transformation that takes place when a ‘neutral’ research method is turned into a ‘paradigm-embedded’ research method. Because a paradigm consists of some ultimate presumptions (understood as philosophical hypothesis or normative theses), paradigms influence the way in which researchers understand problems and how researchers look at existing and available sets of research methods and knowledge in general. The powers of paradigms thus are substantial and should be noted by researchers to provide context for their reflections. The paradigms we depart from are inspired by the Arbnor and Bjerke (Methodology for creating business knowledge, SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, 2009) distinction between an analytical view (similar to positivism), a system view (similar to critical realism) and an actor view (similar to interpretism). To illustrate the transformation that neutral research methods go through, we consider an often-used method in business research, which researchers often become familiar with or have opinions about, which is the personal interview. The illustration of how the personal interview can be influenced by three different paradigms lays the foundation for a more nuanced understanding of how research methods in general can be used very differently depending on the paradigm researcher’s departure.