Interviewing adolescents through time:

Autor(en)
Susanne Vogl, Ulrike Zartler
Abstrakt

Qualitative longitudinal research (QLR) has great potential for elucidating processes and change over time. Despite the growing interest in QLR, methodological and practical challenges require further reflection. In this contribution, we reflect on two major issues in interviewing adolescents in QLR: panel maintenance and changes in the research setup, including interviewing technique, content, and interviewer (dis)continuity. Based on experiences from a panel study on understanding how young people’s opportunities in life are shaped during a transitional stage (‘Pathways to the Future’), we present methodological and pragmatic decisions, rationales, and lessons learnt to inform future qualitative longitudinal studies. We show how change is omnipresent in QLR practice, and how it demands researchers’ openness and flexibility as well as finding a balance between continuity and adaption. The process can be challenging, but it also offers opportunities.

Organisation(en)
Institut für Soziologie, Institut für Bildungswissenschaft, Projekt: Familienforschung in Österreich
Journal
Longitudinal and Life Course Studies
Band
12
Seiten
83-97
Anzahl der Seiten
15
ISSN
1757-9597
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1332/175795920X15986464938219
Publikationsdatum
01-2021
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
504007 Empirische Sozialforschung
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Life-span and Life-course Studies
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/ad554c25-39ad-4ce9-bfdf-41b9e80694e3