ABSTRACT
Qualitative interviewing is often used in migration studies, but there has been little discussion concerning the application of this research method to immigrant subjects. Even before interviews are conducted, a number of questions arise: Why are interviews important for studying immigrants? What interview methods are used in empirical research and what are their principles? What factors need to be considered when interviewing immigrants and why? How does a researcher’s role affect interview dynamics? What interview strategies are useful when interviewing women, men, and adolescents? How should undocumented immigrants be approached? How does the interviewer earn the trust of interviewees? How is the interviewees’ consent acquired? How should sensitive questions be posed? What language should be used when interviewees are not native speakers? How should interviews conducted in a foreign language be transcribed and reported? How should the interviewer dress for an interview? Is giving gifts unethical? What are the strengths and weaknesses of interview methods? How are interviews used in a multiple method approach and in team research? To address these issues, this chapter provides reviews interview methods and discusses their applications to immigrant subjects. The chapter begins with an introduction of the two particular interview methods: in-depth
interviews and life history interviews. Following this introduction, I discuss various issues that need to be considered during the interview process with immigrants. These issues include the researcher’s role as an insider or outsider, structural positions (race/gender/class) in the interview encounter, language use, cultural sensitivity, and ethics. To address these issues, I draw examples from my own research of Taiwanese immigrants and integrate studies by other scholars.1
