On Tuesday the 15th of March, 2016 we visited the Totope community in the Ada Foah region in the Volta Delta where we were to carry out individual in-depth interviews with chosen participants. Our aims were to investigate how climate change and sea level rise has impacted the residents of the Totope community, ways in which they have adapted to this and their considerations on the future of their livelihoods in the context of climate change.
Before arriving at Totope the informed consent document was distributed to us and I was immediately taken aback by the length and detail of it. However, as stated by Bryman (2012) providing adequate informed consent is a key principle of research ethics and as much information as needed should be provided to ensure the participant can make a fully informed decision of whether to take part in the study. We were also given an interview guide providing us with a schedule of open-ended questions giving us some form of direction to follow, but allowing us to prompt and discuss further issues with the participant. Before starting my interview, I took a couple of moments to take in the surroundings and settings for the interview to familiarise myself with the setting for my interview. When being introduced to my interview participant, I tried to create ‘rapport’ as discussed in our prior lectures and by keeping in mind the suggestions by Burgess (2003) by maintaining a relaxed attitude and posture and making eye contact in order to present myself as friendly as possible.
During the interview I found that my participant was very compliant with most of the questions asked and issues discussed, however I took care to immediately recognise when the participant may have been unwilling to discuss a particular issue for example financial problems invoked by climate change. I also kept in mind further suggestions by Burgess (2003) of identifying what kind of ‘silence’ may materialise in the interview, however I did find it challenging to distinguish between a potentially thoughtful silence and a stuck silence therefore I was unsure whether to prompt further or to move on to another topic. I did find it strenuous at times to uphold the interview as a normal conversation with a background purpose as Cloke et al. (2004) suggest an in depth interview should be. However, Legard et al. (2003) discuss that actually this illusion of an in depth interview being likened to a normal everyday conversation is unrealistic and that it is indeed challenging to sustain one as much. I do however think that the way in which an interview unfolds depends on both the interviewer’s own skills and the comfortability of the participant which were both limited in this context.
After the interview I took a moment to collect my immediate thoughts on how the interview transpired. I felt it was extremely insightful and extensively interesting, particularly when the participant gave nuance comments of which I would never have deduced from my own observations. At times I found it difficult to withhold my emotional reactions to the participant’s answers and attempted bring back the focus of the interview when I felt my reactions may have disrupted the interview. It was very visible when the participant was broached with questions and issues that they felt strongly about and were very willing to go into detail in, at which point I sat back for a few moments to allow them elaborate and speak their mind freely. One instance I found particularly encouraging was the extent of my participant’s knowledge of what exactly is causing the localised climate change in Totope. It gave me an extent of hope for the future of this community as by being given the knowledge of climate change through education my participant discussed with me potential solutions for the community and ways in which they can adapt. It became very apparent the impact that education of current global issues can have on small, rural communities such as Totope.
Jenny Hoper
References:
A. Bryman (2012) Social Research Methods, Oxford University Press, New York.
J. Burgess (2003) The Art of Interviewing, The Student’s Companion to Geography, 2nd edition, Blackwell, Oxford.
P. Cloke, I. Cook, P. Crang, M. Goodwin, J. Painter & C. Pilo (2004) Practicing Human Geography, London, SAGE publications Ltd.
R. Legard, J. Keegan & K. Ward (2003) In-depth interviews, Qualitative Research Practice: A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers.
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