Abstract
In-depth interviewing is a promising method. Alas, traditional in-depth interview sample designs prohibit generalizing. Yet, after acknowledging this limitation, in-depth interview studies generalize anyway. Generalization appears unavoidable; thus, sample design must be grounded in plausible ontological and epistemological assumptions that enable generalization. Many in-depth interviewers reject such designs. The paper demonstrates that traditional sampling for in-depth interview studies is indefensible given plausible ontological conditions, and engages the epistemological claims that purportedly justify traditional sampling. The paper finds that the promise of in-depth interviewing will go unrealized unless interviewers adopt ontologically plausible sample designs. Otherwise, in-depth interviewing can only provide existence proofs, at best.
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Acknowledgments
I thank Aimée Dechter and H. Sorayya Carr for helpful conversations. All errors and omissions are the fault of the author.
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Lucas, S.R. Beyond the existence proof: ontological conditions, epistemological implications, and in-depth interview research. Qual Quant 48, 387–408 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-012-9775-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-012-9775-3