948947

Course

Using semi-structured interviews in international and cross-cultural contexts (runs annually)

Faculty

Associate Professor Magali Gravier, Department of Management, Society and Communication,CBS

Associate Professor Mette Zølner, Department of Management, Society and Communication, CBS

Course Coordinator

Associate Professor Magali Gravier and Associate Professor Mette Zølner, both from the Department of Management, Society and Communication, CBS

Prerequisites

The participants are required to submit a 5-page written document. This document is not a general presentation of the thesis project but a reflection on the participants’ use of interviews in their Ph.D. project, relating as much as possible to the curriculum literature. Presentations are read by the other course participants and form the basis for reflections and discussions of each other’s projects throughout the course.

Deadline for submission of the presentation is four weeks before the course begins.

It is a precondition for receiving the course diploma that PhD students participate the entire course.

Aim

The aim of the course is twofold. First it aims at combining 1) theoretical and methodological reflexions on semi-structured interviews with 2) practical exercises in interviewing techniques. Second, the course includes planning, conducting and using semi-structured interviews for research projects involving international or/and cross-cultural settings, (such as national, professional, industrial cultures). In doing so, the course offers an opportunity to “put in practice” and discuss issues that literature often ignores or disregards concerning the use of semi-structured interviews in international and cross-cultural settings.

Like all methods, interviewing requires practical know-how. Reading about how to conduct interviews is fundamental but not enough to become a good interviewer. This is why this course offers a strong combination of abstract knowledge and hands-on exercises, among others using video recording and live-interviewing.

Although our societies and organizations are becoming increasingly multinational and multicultural, literature is scarce on how to conduct interviews in international and inter-cultural settings. Only a very small number of studies consider the methodological challenges that cultural and linguistic differences introduce in interview techniques. This is surprising since crossing institutional, linguistic and/or cultural boundaries raises a number of questions in all phases of interview studies: selection of interviewees; access to interviewees; conducting interviews; and analysing interviews. The course will offer an opportunity to reflect upon these issues.

Course content

The course will cover:

- Typology of interviews;

- Conceptualizing cross-cultural contexts;

- Preparatory phase to interviews (a.o. identifying interview population, choice of appropriate type of interview; one-person interview or focus group; preparation of interview grid; choice of language);

- Techniques of interviewing (the “art” of questioning; recording; choice of language);

- Use of interview data for presentation and publications (a.o. analysis of interview content, transcription or not; quoting interviews; coding).

Teaching style

Short lectures with dialogues, exercises in conducting, coding and analyzing semi-structured interviews, student presentations and discussions.

Lecture plan

(Programme subject to minor changes)

Day 1
10.30-11.30	Introduction of the course and participants
11.30-12.15	Why a particular consideration for culture and language when doing interviews?
12.15-12.45	Typologies of interviews - semi-structured interviews
12.45-13.45	Lunch
13:45-15.15	Semi-structured interviews and philosophy of science
15.30-17.00	Group work on methodology section in published articles
Day 2	Hands-on conducting semi-structured interviews
9.00-11.00	Conducting factual, conceptual, narrative interviews, using explicitation techniques; interview grid
11.15-12.00	Group work: Preparing interview grid
12.00-13.00	Lunch
13.00-14.30	Group work: Conducting interviews
14.45-16.00	Plenary discussion: Listening, watching, and discussing interview examples
16.00-17.00	Debriefing: How to present your approach to conducting interviews in your Ph.D. methodology section?
Day 3	Hands-on analysing interviews
9.00-9.30	Transcribing interviews (verbatim, Jefferson method)
9.30-10.30	Introducing three analytical techniques: 1. Content analysis 2. Narrative analysis 3. Coding and catergories with grounded theory
10.45-12.00	Group work: Coding manually (part 1 and part 2) Different layouts for codings
12.00-13.00	Lunch
13.00–13.30	Showing your analysis
13.30-14.30	Group presentations and discussion
14.30-15.00	From analysing to?
15.15-16.15	Debriefing: How would you present your analysis of interviews in your Ph.D. methodology section?
16.15-16.30	Evaluation and summing up on the course

Learning objectives

Upon completion of the course, students

• will have a good understanding of semi-structured interviews in relation to other types of qualitative interviews

• will have acquired good insight into potentialities and challenges when using semi-structured interviews in research on international and/or cross-cultural settings

• will have improved their practice of conducting, coding and analyzing semi-structured interviews as well as presenting research drawing on such interviews

• will be capable of integrating acquired insight into their own PhD projects

Exam

N/A

Other

Start date

14/05/2018

End date

16/05/2018

Level

PhD

ECTS

Language

English

Course Literature

Indicative – will not be uploaded on CBS Learn:Recommended Readings are indicated in bold characters.Alvesson, Mats. 2011. Interpreting interviews. London: Sage.Atkinson, P. &. Silverman, D.1997.’Kundera’s Immortality: The Interview Society and the Invention of the Self, Qualitative Inquiry, 3(3): 304-325.Braun, V. & Clarke, V. 2006. ‘Using thematic analysis in psychology’, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3:2, 77-101Czarniawska, B. 2004. ‘Narratives in an interview situation’, in B. Czarniawska Narratives in social science research. London: Sage Publications, pp. 47-59.Cassell, C., 2015. Conducting Research Interviews for Business and Management Students, London: Sage.Cassell, C., Bishop, F., Symon, G., Johnson, P. and Buehring, A. 2009. Learning to be a qualitative management researcher, Management Learning, 40(5): 513-533Flick, Uwe, ed. 2014. The SAGE handbook of qualitative data analysis. Los Angeles: SAGE.Gioia, Dennis A., Corley, Kevin G., and Hamilton, Aimee L. (2012). ‘Seeking Qualitative Rigor in Inductive Research: Notes on the Gioia Methodology’, Organizational Research Methods, 16(1): 15-31.Gioia, Dennis A., Price, Kristin N., Hamilton, Aimee L., Thomas, James B., 2010. ‘Forging an Identity: An Insider-outsider Study of Processes Involved in the Formation of Organizational Identity’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 55 (2010): 1–46.Gubrium, Jaber F.; Holstein, James A.; Marvasti, Amir B.; McKinney, Karyn D., (2012), The SAGE Handbook of Interview Research: The Complexity of the Craft, Second Edition. In particular, the following chapters:• Carter, Shannon K., and Christian L. Bolden. 2012. “Culture Work in the Research Interview.”• Charmaz, K. and Belgrave, L. L. ‘Qualitative Interviewing and Grounded Theory Analysis’;• Lillrank, A. ‘Managing the Interviewer Self’;• Potter, J. & Hepburn, A., ‘Eight Challenges for Interview’;Jack, G. and Westwood, R. 2006. Post-colonialism and the politics of qualitative research in international business. Management International Review, 46(4): 481-501.Kvale, S. and S. Brinkmann (2009). Interviews. Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing. London: Sage.Leavy, Patricia, ed. 2014. The Oxford handbook of qualitative research. Oxford library of psychology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Marshan-Piekkari, R. and Welch, C. Eds. (2004), Handbook of qualitative research. Methods for international business. London: Edward Elgar.In particular, the following chapters:• Marschan-Piekkari, R. et al., ‘Interviewing in the multinational collaboration: Challenges of the organizational context’, pp.244-263;• Macdonald, S. and Hellgren, B., ‘The Interview in International Business Research: Problems we would rather not talk about’, pp. 264-281;• Wilson, E. M., ‘An outsider in India’, pp. 421-437Nadin, Sara, and Catherine Cassell. 2006. “The use of a research diary as a tool for reflexive practice.” Qualitative Res Acc & Man 3 (3): 208–17.Nairn, Karen, Jenny Munro, and Anne B. Smith. 2016. “A counter-narrative of a ‘failed’ interview.” Qualitative Research 5 (2): 221–44.Reichertz, Jo. 2014. “Induction, Deduction, Abduction.” In The SAGE handbook of qualitative data analysis, edited by Uwe Flick, 123–35. Los Angeles: SAGE.Ryen, A. (2002). Cross-cultural interviewing. In J.F. Gubrium & J.A. Holstein (Eds.), Handbook of interview research. Context and method (pp. 335–354). Thousand Oaks, CA: SageSaldaña Johnny, 2013. The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers, Sage, 2nd ed. Salmons, J. 2015. Qualitative online interviews. Sage. 2nd ed.St. Pierre, E. A. and Jackson, A.Y. 2014. Qualitative data analysis after coding. Qualitative Inquiry, 20(6): 715-719.Timmermans, Stefan, and Iddo Tavory. 2012. “Theory Construction in Qualitative Research: From Grounded Theory to Abductive Analysis.” Sociological Theory 30 (3): 167–86.Trent, Allen, and Jeasik Cho. 2014. “Interpretation Strategies: Appropriate Concepts.” In The Oxford handbook of qualitative research, edited by Patricia Leavy. Oxford library of psychology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Urquhart, Christine, et al. 2003. ‘Critical incident technique and explicitation interviewing in studies of information behavior’. Library & Information Science Research, 25 (1) (0): 63-88.Welch, Catherine, and Rebecca Piekkari. 2006. “Crossing language boundaries: Qualitative interviewing in international business.” Management International Review 46 (4): 417–37. doi:10.1007/s11575-006-0099-1.Zhang, Ling Eleanor, and David S. A. Guttormsen. 2016. ““Multiculturality” as a key methodological challenge during in-depth interviewing in international business research.” Cross Cultural & Strategic Mgt 23 (2): 232–56.

Fee

DKK 3,900 (covers the course, coffee/tea and lunch)

Minimum number of participants

Maximum number of participants

Location

Copenhagen Business School
Dalgas Have 15
2000 Frederiksberg
Room: 2V.070 (2nd floor)

Contact information

The PhD Support
Katja Høeg Tingleff
Tel.: +45 38 15 28 39
E-mail: kht.research@cbs.dk

Registration deadline

03/04/2018

Please note that your registration is binding after the registration deadline.

In case we receive more registrations for the course than we have places, the registrations will be prioritized in the following order: Students from Doctoral School of Organisation and Management Studies (OMS), students from other CBS PhD schools, students from other institutions than CBS.

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