Scenario-Based Interview: An Alternative Approach to Interviewing Children?

Data in qualitative research are mainly derived through observations, document analysis, and interviews. The interview process in qualitative studies, however, can become challenging and complex when a group of children is involved as participants. This paper examines the methodological challenges faced by researchers when interviewing children and makes a case for the use of scenario-based interviews to obtain quality data from children in phenomenographic research. The discussion is based on a phenomenographic study that aimed at exploring and understanding children’s experiences of learning in government primary schools in Brunei Darussalam. The processes that led to the development of two scenarios in a series of phenomenographic interviews are discussed in this paper. While there are limitations in the use of scenario-based interviews with children in phenomenographic research, it has the potential to address methodological concerns and, more importantly, to elicit quality data. Finally, the scenario-based interview offers an alternative to the in-depth interviews typically used in phenomenographic research.

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