How and Why Interviews Work: Ethnographic Interviews and Meso-level Public Culture

Recent debates about qualitative methods have discussed the relative limitations and contributions of interviews in comparison to surveys and participant observation. These discussions have rarely considered how ethnographers themselves use interviews as part of their work. We suggest that Lizardo's discussion of three modes of culture (declarative, nondeclarative, and public) help us to understand the separate contributions of observation and interviews, with ethnographic interviews an especially helpful means of accessing different cultural modes. We also argue that Lizardo's conception of public culture should be divided into meso- and macrolevels and that this division helps to show the differing contributions of interviews within and without an ethnographic context. Developing our argument with data from the second author's ethnographic research and analysis of other scholars' ethnographies, we show how research that uses ethnographic interviews can help sociologists better understand how these four cultural modes interact.

Automated summary

Recent debates on qualitative methods have examined the limitations and contributions of interviews compared to surveys and participant observation. However, little consideration has been given to how ethnographers themselves use interviews in their work. This article argues that Lizardo's discussion of the three modes of culture can help us better understand the distinct contributions of observation and interviews, with ethnographic interviews being particularly valuable for accessing different cultural modes. The authors also propose dividing Lizardo's conception of public culture into meso- and macrolevels, which helps highlight the varying contributions of interviews within and outside an ethnographic context. Drawing on ethnographic research and analysis, the article demonstrates how using ethnographic interviews can enhance sociologists' understanding of the interaction between these four cultural modes.