Active Interview Tactics Revisited: A Multigenerational Perspective

Andrew D. Hathaway; Rory Sommers; Amir Mostaghim

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.16.2.09

Authors

Andrew D. Hathaway University of Guelph, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0443-7918
Rory Sommers Sheridan College, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4635-220X
Amir Mostaghim University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2176-2843

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.16.2.09

Keywords:

Active Interviewing, Self-Presentation, Reflexivity

Abstract

William (Billy) Shaffir taught about what it means to be a true empiricist, a sociologist committed to naturalistic observation as the most incisive method in our scientific toolbox. His inspiration still resonates, two decades later, in the work of new emerging scholars with the same commitment to ethnography—or what Billy more modestly and wisely calls “hanging around.” This paper is a tribute to his legacy that highlights the contributions of the next generation of graduate students that the lead author has been privileged to mentor at the University of Guelph. It builds on work by Hathaway and Atkinson on tactics of active interviewing to establish a more nuanced understanding of the benefits and challenges of being recognized as either an “insider” or “outsider,” and the implications of attempting to be both.

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Author Biographies

Andrew D. Hathaway, University of Guelph, Canada

Andrew Hathaway is an Associate Professor who teaches in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at the University of Guelph. He has studied drug use and drug policy in Canada using surveys, interviews, and ethnographic methods. His contributions to the literature on active interviewing have been previously published in the journal Field Methods and The SAGE Encyclopedia of Research Methods.

Rory Sommers, Sheridan College, Canada

Rory Sommers teaches criminology in the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences at Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada. He completed his PhD in sociology in 2016 at the University of Guelph. His ethnographic research examined policies and practice of municipal law enforcement in Hamilton, Ontario.

Amir Mostaghim, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada

Amir Mostaghim is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. He completed his PhD in sociology in 2019 at the University of Guelph. His research focused on perceptions and experiences of cannabis use among undergraduate students.

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