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Being dead and being thereresearch interviews, sharing hand cream and the preference for analysing `naturally occurring data'Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton, C.Griffin{at}bath.ac.uk Qualitative research in psychology has tended to draw on a relatively narrow range of research methods, and the recent shift towards the analysis of material involving `naturally occurring talk' in some areas of psychology has reinforced this trend. This article discusses the implications of a preference for the analysis of `naturally occurring talk' or `naturalistic records' across the full range of qualitative psychology research. In particular, I focus on how researchers are positioned in debates over the advantages and limitations of analysing `naturally occurring data' and research interviews. Drawing on examples from a current project concerned with the meanings of consumption for young people, I interrogate the assumptions associated with a preference for analysing `naturalistic records' and consider some of the benefits as well as the problems involved in using research practices that involve a degree of direct engagement between the researcher and other participants. This article is therefore discussing the origins as well as the implications of the preference for analysing `naturally occurring data'.
Key Words: consumption interviews naturally occurring talk qualitative research youth
Discourse Studies, Vol. 9, No. 2,
246-269 (2007) |
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