Beyond the existence proof: ontological conditions, epistemological implications, and in-depth interview research

By Samuel R. Lucas. 2014

144 citations recorded by the source corpus.

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.

Subfields: Epidemiology, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/c1cdce16507bd395d938177e184b1757cde30290