The Long Interview
- Grant McCracken - University of Guelph, Canada
Qualitative Research Methods
"Continue[s] the high quality of previously published volumes in the SAGE series on qualitative research methods. Grant McCracken shows how the long interview can be devised in order to understand respondents in their own terms, the use of prompts to follow-up questions being a particularly important feature. The analysis and writing up of such information is examined in considerable detail and will be of interest to students who are often baffled by qualitative data."
"Grant McCracken provides one of the finest bibliographies on the qualitative-quantitative debate that I have ever seen...This selective bibliography alone would be worth the price of the book...McCracken [has a] pleasant writing style, which is balanced, graceful, and witty."
An excellent book, although more suited to doctoral students rather than the undergraduate cohort.
This book describes the process for long interviews which is an important method for qualitative research in the appropriate scenario. The book is clearly written and set out well. It comprises No 13 of a series of 45 publications on qualitative research methods.
I used this book as an ancillary textbook the previous time I taught my master's level course in qualitative research methods (Spring 2011). One student then summed up the reason why I did not adopt this book again this time (Spring 2012): "While I was reading this book, all I could think of was how old it is." The book lacked credibility to students because it's so old.
