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#Qualitative research is outstanding for understanding WHY.
BUT this does not mean that asking "why" questions in interviews is always the best way to go.
So what's the problem with "why" and what can researchers use instead?
🧵
BUT this does not mean that asking "why" questions in interviews is always the best way to go.
So what's the problem with "why" and what can researchers use instead?
🧵
The problem with "why" interview questions is that, when you ask people "why", they often become defensive, or simply double down on their convictions with a lack of reflexivity. What's more they, often philosophize.
A better avenue for interviewing can be to ask "how" instead of why.
For example:
How does that work?
How did you come to have that belief?
How is it that you came to engage in _______ behavior?
For example:
How does that work?
How did you come to have that belief?
How is it that you came to engage in _______ behavior?
How (vs. why) questions prompt people to reflect on how their explanations for the world were created over time, helps them to identify how their beliefs may break down, and how their habituated behaviors may are contextual and changeable.
That said, asking WHY questions in interviews is not a complete waste of time. Why questions pinpoint a person's motivations, reasons, and existential beliefs that they hold dear to their identity.
But, in most situations, they won't get people to be all that reflective.
But, in most situations, they won't get people to be all that reflective.
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