By asking internationally respected scholars from a range of traditions in discourse studies to respond to the same interview material, this book reveals key differences in methodology and theoretical perspective. The use of interviews to explore attitudes towards race allow contributors to bring up sensitive issues regarding the development and interpretation of interviews on controversial topics.

This study investigates in detail the interaction between interviewers and respondents in standardised social survey interviews. Applying the techniques of conversation analysis, Hanneke Houtkoop-Steenstra reveals how certain rules of normal conversation fail to apply in interviews based on a standard questionnaire, and offers original empirical evidence to show what really happens. Her book demonstrates that interview results can only be understood as products of the contingencies of the interview situation, and not, as is usually assumed, the unmediated expressions of respondents' real opinions. Her conclusions have important implications for anyone interested in effective survey compilation and interpretation. The book is highly accessible, setting out the basic tools of conversation analysis simply and clearly, and suggesting ways of improving questionnaire design wherever possible. Its approach will be of great interest to students and researchers of survey methodology.

By asking internationally respected scholars from a range of traditions in discourse studies to respond to the same interview material, this book reveals key differences in methodology and theoretical perspective. The use of interviews to explore attitudes towards race allow contributors to bring up sensitive issues regarding the development and interpretation of interviews on controversial topics.

This is the first study of its kind to investigate in detail the interaction between interviewers and respondents in standardized social survey interviews. Applying the techniques of conversation analysis, Hanneke Houtkoop-Steenstra reveals how certain rules of normal conversation fail to apply in form-based interviews, and offers original empirical evidence to show what really happens. Highly accessible, her book sets out the tools of conversation analysis, and points to ways of improving survey compilation and the validity of data. It offers great insight to anyone studying survey methodology.