Abstract

As qualitative interviewers, we know firsthand that the emotional labor of interviewing does not stop at the interview; rather, interviewers continue to carry the emotional labor as they “re-tell” interviewees’ stories with credibility and compassion. This research offers our autoethnographic reflections on conducting qualitative interviews with public service practitioners around topics of gender and motivation, relying on our observations and immersive experiences from interview research. Too often following interviews, we seem to ask ourselves “Where do we go from here?” as we struggle to make sense of stories from interviewees. We argue being prepared to embrace the emotional labor associated with qualitative research is necessary for producing meaningful qualitative work in public administration. Through vignettes of our own research experiences, this work helps to convey the powerful opportunities that qualitative research offers practitioners and scholars of public administration. We offer our experiences and coping strategies for fellow researchers as they engage in the emotional, intimate, and intense journey of conducting qualitative research. In doing so, we illustrate how embracing the emotional labor of interviewing can lead to liberatory and rich new understandings in researching a variety of contemporary issues in public administration.

摘要

作为定性访谈者，我们亲身体会到，访谈的情感劳动并不止于访谈；相反，采访者在以可信度和同情心“重述”受访者的故事时，会继续承担情感劳动。这项研究依靠我们在访谈研究中的观察和身临其境的体验，提供了我们对围绕性别和动机主题与公共服务从业者进行定性访谈的自我民族志反思。采访结束后，我们似乎常常问自己“我们该何去何从？” 当我们努力理解受访者的故事时。我们认为，准备好接受与定性研究相关的情感劳动对于在公共管理中开展有意义的定性工作是必要的。通过我们自己的研究经验的小片段，这项工作有助于传达定性研究为公共管理从业者和学者提供的强大机会。我们为其他研究人员提供我们的经验和应对策略，帮助他们参与进行定性研究的情感、亲密和紧张的旅程。在此过程中，我们说明了接受采访的情感劳动如何能够在研究公共管理中的各种当代问题时带来解放和丰富的新理解。以及进行定性研究的紧张旅程。在此过程中，我们说明了接受采访的情感劳动如何能够在研究公共管理中的各种当代问题时带来解放和丰富的新理解。以及进行定性研究的紧张旅程。在此过程中，我们说明了接受采访的情感劳动如何能够在研究公共管理中的各种当代问题时带来解放和丰富的新理解。