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Uncomfortable interviews : A research journey of discomfort and how to make the most of it

Söderström, Johanna ; Holdo, Markus LU orcid and Junman, Alice (2024) In Qualitative Research
Abstract

How does discomfort affect research interviewing? Recent contributions suggest that researchers do not always experience discomfort as problematic but also as productive. We explore our experiences of, and strategies for, uncomfortable interviews. Based on experiences of interviewing right-wing populist Twitter activists in the United States and Sweden, we make four claims. First, discomfort may arise throughout the research process with multiple origins, e.g. the content of the interviews, emotions expressed or held back, security concerns, and tensions between professional, social, and ethical norms. Second, we show that most of these concerns are not necessarily obstacles to overcome, but might contribute to more reflexive and... (More)

How does discomfort affect research interviewing? Recent contributions suggest that researchers do not always experience discomfort as problematic but also as productive. We explore our experiences of, and strategies for, uncomfortable interviews. Based on experiences of interviewing right-wing populist Twitter activists in the United States and Sweden, we make four claims. First, discomfort may arise throughout the research process with multiple origins, e.g. the content of the interviews, emotions expressed or held back, security concerns, and tensions between professional, social, and ethical norms. Second, we show that most of these concerns are not necessarily obstacles to overcome, but might contribute to more reflexive and insightful conversations depending on how and when they arise. Third, discomfort pinpoints tensions and dilemmas within our research projects, which may not always be resolvable. Fourth, discomfort can thus be productive as we learn, adapt, reconsider and articulate our research choices in the wake of discomfort.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
affect, discomfort, ethics, interviews, productive, reflexivity, societal conflict, strategies, trust
in
Qualitative Research
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • scopus:85212876885
ISSN
1468-7941
DOI
10.1177/14687941241297344
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
fce05f94-9687-4ef2-8e71-91065ce4cf92
date added to LUP
2025-01-28 13:53:22
date last changed
2025-04-04 15:00:25
@article{fce05f94-9687-4ef2-8e71-91065ce4cf92,
  abstract     = {{<p>How does discomfort affect research interviewing? Recent contributions suggest that researchers do not always experience discomfort as problematic but also as productive. We explore our experiences of, and strategies for, uncomfortable interviews. Based on experiences of interviewing right-wing populist Twitter activists in the United States and Sweden, we make four claims. First, discomfort may arise throughout the research process with multiple origins, e.g. the content of the interviews, emotions expressed or held back, security concerns, and tensions between professional, social, and ethical norms. Second, we show that most of these concerns are not necessarily obstacles to overcome, but might contribute to more reflexive and insightful conversations depending on how and when they arise. Third, discomfort pinpoints tensions and dilemmas within our research projects, which may not always be resolvable. Fourth, discomfort can thus be productive as we learn, adapt, reconsider and articulate our research choices in the wake of discomfort.</p>}},
  author       = {{Söderström, Johanna and Holdo, Markus and Junman, Alice}},
  issn         = {{1468-7941}},
  keywords     = {{affect; discomfort; ethics; interviews; productive; reflexivity; societal conflict; strategies; trust}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Qualitative Research}},
  title        = {{Uncomfortable interviews : A research journey of discomfort and how to make the most of it}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14687941241297344}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/14687941241297344}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}