Elicitation as a Multilayered Process: An Experiment in Reciprocal Peer Interviewing

This article describes a novel approach to reciprocal peer interviewing in which participants interview one another sequentially, allowing each the space of a full interview to articulate her experiences and reflections. This structure of data collection offers a new conceptualization of the way that elicitation functions; not just as a process inside of an interview, but one that is also shaped by factors preceding and outside of the individual interview, a process we call “meta-elicitation.” We argue that this form of reciprocal peer interviewing offers a view of the emic that is both participant-led and uniquely balanced between collective and individual perspectives. However, we also argue that shared authority and rapport are actively, and not always successfully, negotiated in such interviews. To prepare participants for peer interviewing, we hosted a 1-day workshop involving interview training, planning, and the recording of interviews. To maximize quality of such projects, we recommend that external researchers consider carefully (1) the balance of structure and flexibility in designing the workshop and interviews, (2) thorough preparation of participants, and (3) the role of meta-elicitation dynamics during analysis.