Interviewing Elites

This article explores issues that arise when a relatively inexperienced researcher interviews people who have an elite position or status. These issues include making preparation, gaining access, establishing trust, and facing interpersonal challenges during interviews. Additionally, there remains t...

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Main Author: Xu Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2018-04-01
Series:International Journal of Qualitative Methods
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406918770323
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author Xu Liu
author_facet Xu Liu
author_sort Xu Liu
collection DOAJ
description This article explores issues that arise when a relatively inexperienced researcher interviews people who have an elite position or status. These issues include making preparation, gaining access, establishing trust, and facing interpersonal challenges during interviews. Additionally, there remains the need as with any qualitative research of ensuring authenticity and reliability of the views being expressed and recorded. This article is based upon extensive experience of interviewing senior managers operating within private higher education institutions in China. The article makes a contribution to research which rest upon gaining access to and identifying the views of elites who exercise authority and power within institutions.
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spelling doaj.art-111d3329bc22468ea82c283aed74b5df2022-12-21T18:40:57ZengSAGE PublishingInternational Journal of Qualitative Methods1609-40692018-04-011710.1177/1609406918770323Interviewing ElitesXu Liu0 Institute of Education, University College London, Bloomsbury, London, United KingdomThis article explores issues that arise when a relatively inexperienced researcher interviews people who have an elite position or status. These issues include making preparation, gaining access, establishing trust, and facing interpersonal challenges during interviews. Additionally, there remains the need as with any qualitative research of ensuring authenticity and reliability of the views being expressed and recorded. This article is based upon extensive experience of interviewing senior managers operating within private higher education institutions in China. The article makes a contribution to research which rest upon gaining access to and identifying the views of elites who exercise authority and power within institutions.https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406918770323
spellingShingle Xu Liu
Interviewing Elites
International Journal of Qualitative Methods
title Interviewing Elites
title_full Interviewing Elites
title_fullStr Interviewing Elites
title_full_unstemmed Interviewing Elites
title_short Interviewing Elites
title_sort interviewing elites
url https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406918770323
work_keys_str_mv AT xuliu interviewingelites