Combining Narration‐Based Interviews with Topical Interviews: Methodological Reflections on Research Practices

Abstract

While qualitative interviewing methods based on story telling are powerful in eliciting narrations that are structured according to interviewees’ relevance systems, topical interviewing can build upon existing knowledge resulting from prior (interpretational) work. The problem‐centred interview (PCI) is an attempt to integrate both styles of qualitative interviewing and is presently in wide use in the German‐language social scientific community. It is especially helpful for research endeavours that focus on biographical experiences and orientations from individuals’ perspective. Within one interview session, the PCI combines an open narrative beginning with a more structured thematic interview. This article discusses the advantages and limitations of such a combination by introducing an example of its potential use within a research project on biographical orientations in migration processes. The PCI is also placed within the existing canon of qualitative interview methods and methodologies, highlighting its merits as well as its crucial problems.