Explain how a researcher can navigate a subject's evasion tactics during an interview

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In normal conversation, people give each other social cues when they do not want to continue talking about a particular subject. Typically people respond with a deference ceremony, in which they respect the avoidance ritual of the person, and move away from the sensitive topic. A researcher cannot do this to the expense of his/her research topic. So, the researcher must get around the avoidance ritual without violating social norms. This is done through the dramaturgical interviewer. The interviewer takes on roles throughout the interview to make the respondent feel comfortable, selecting the most appropriate role to display at the moment. The interviewer must take care to establish rapport with the subject through chatting, and can cool down the subject by momentarily backing off from a sensitive topic, and then returning to it after a series of nonoffensive questions, and asking about the issue in another manner. The researcher must allay the fears of the informant.