Book Review: Research Interviewing: The Range Of Techniques by Bill Gillham

Research Interviewing: The Range Of Techniques by Bill Gillham

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A very readable and helpful book about interviewing people for one's academic research. It's not about being a journalist, but rather about using an interview as one of the research methods in an academic paper. The author offers a lot of helpful advice on preparing for the interview - picking (and justifying) the right format (face-to-face or from-distance techniques; structured / unstructured), introducing one's objectives to an interviewee, getting a consent, and moving towards the interview itself from there.
I would say it hits the note somewhere between undergraduate or postgraduate levels, and though there are more "academic" and more "in-depth" methodology books, this one presents the interviewing method exclusively and in great practical detail, therefore very useful to a researcher who never interviewed anyone before.



View all my reviews

Book Review: Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to Researching with Visual Materials by Gillian Rose

Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to Researching with Visual Materials by Gillian Rose

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The book covers so much of everything, that it is basically just a huge literature review referring to many other sources on visual research methodologies (from imagery as a method to imagery as data and everything in between). Very academic. Very structured, though not an instruction on how to do the research. I didn't find it particularly helpful (or interesting), but it does introduce a very specific terminology, broad bibliography, and some other hints for further research.

I am a postgraduate student with a decade of professional experience in visual communication, and I would say this book strikes a note somewhere between MA and Ph.D.; also might be useful for those researching visuals in their professional practices (scenographers, advertisers, designers, creative directors, artists, etc) and aiming for a greater depth, but again - only as a starting point for further reading.

P.S. if you buy it, buy the 4th edition, as it is updated with additional chapters about the digital era.



View all my reviews