Article published in:
Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 45:1 (2022) ► pp. 4–24

“Actually, in my culture…” Identity, positioning, and intersubjectivity in cross-cultural interviews

| University of Wollongong
| University of Wollongong
| University of Wollongong

The increasing internationalization of education has brought diversification to university student populations. The demographic changes pose great challenges to interview practice as interviews are increasingly occurring in cross-cultural contexts and often involve participants from diverse cultural backgrounds. Recent research has demonstrated that the cultural identity of the interviewer, in particular, the insider or outsider positioning relative to the participants, can impinge upon the quantity and quality of the collected interview data and research outcomes. In this paper, we go beyond this conception of interviewer as either a cultural insider or outsider to examine how multiple identities and positionings are enacted by interviewer and interviewees in order to achieve intersubjectivity, or common ground, in cross-cultural research interviews. The paper contributes to understanding the complexity of cross-cultural interviews, in particular, the impact of positioning processes on the establishment of intersubjectivity and data construction.

Keywords: cross-cultural interviews, identity, positioning, intersubjectivity, interview location
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Intersubjectivity and cross-cultural interviews
    • 1.2Cultural identity in interviews
    • 1.3Positioning
  • 2.Theoretical and analytical frameworks
  • 3.The study
  • 4.Findings and discussion
    • 4.1Positioned as culturally different
    • 4.2Positioned as English language expert
    • 4.3Foregrounding similarities
  • 5.Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 20 August 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.19040.gro
References
Abbas, T.
(2010) Muslim-on-Muslim social research: Knowlege, power and religio-cultural identities. Social Epistemology, 24(2), 123–136. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Alfurayh, L.
(2016) (Not) the Saudi women you hear about: The developed identity of Saudi women in Australia. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Monash University, Australia.Google Scholar
Alvesson, M.
(2003) Beyond neopositivists, romantics, and localists: A reflexive approach to interviews in organizational research. Academy of Management Review, 28(1), 13–33. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Atkinson, P., & Silverman, D.
(1997) Kundera’s immortality: The interview society and the invention of the self. Qualitative Inquiry, 3(3), 304–325. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Au, A.
(2019) Thinking about cross-cultural differences in qualitative interviewing: Practices for more responsive and trusting encounters. The Qualitative Report, 24(1), 58–77. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bamburg, M.
(1997) Positioning between structure and performance. Journal of Narrative and Life History, 7(1–4), 335–342. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bamburg, M., & Georgakopoulou, A.
(2008) Small stories as a new perspective in narrative and identity analysis. Text and Talk, 28(3), 377–396. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Beck, S.
(2006) Subjectivity and intersubjectivity in the teaching and learning of writing. Research in the Teaching of English, 40(4), 414–460.Google Scholar
Berger, R.
(2015) Now I see it, now I don’t: Researcher’s position and reflexivity in qualitative research. Qualitative Research, 15(2), 219–234. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Block, D.
(2000) Problematizing interview data: Voices in the mind’s machine? TESOL Quarterly, 34(4), 757–763. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bucholtz, M., & Hall, K.
(2005) Identity and interaction: A sociocultural linguistic approach. Discourse Studies, 7(4–5), 585–614. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Clark, T.
(2010) On ‘being researched’: Why do people engage with qualitative research? Qualitative Research, 10(4), 399–419. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cresswell, J.
(2007) Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
De Fina, A.
(2013) Positioning level 3: Connecting local identity displays to macro social processes. Narrative Inquiry, 23(1), 40–61. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Fina, A., & Perrino, S.
(2011) Introduction: Interviews vs. ‘natural’ contexts: A false dilemma. Language in Society, 40(1), 1–11. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Donohoue Clyne, I.
(2004) Finding common ground: Cross-cultural research in the Muslim community. Retrieved from www​.aare​.edu​.au​/01pap​/don01569​.htm
Drake, P.
(2010) Grasping at methodological unerstanding: A cautionary tale from insider research. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 33(1), 85–99. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fontana, A., & Frey, J.
(2000) The interview: From structured questions to negotiated text. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 645–672). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Gall, M., Gall, J., & Borg, W.
(2007) Education research: An introduction (8th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education.Google Scholar
Gerson, K., & Horowitz, R.
(2002) Observation and interviewing: Option and choices in qualitative research. In T. May (Ed.), Qualitative research in action. London: SAGE Publications.Google Scholar
Gillespie, A., & Cornish, F.
(2009) Intersubjectivity: Towards a dialogical analysis. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 40(1), 19–46. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gillham, B.
(2000) The research interview. London: Continuum.Google Scholar
Groves, O.
(2015) Language learning as participation. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Wollongong, Wollongong.Google Scholar
Gubrium, E., & Koro-Ljungberg, M.
(2005) Contending with border making in the social constructionist interview. Qualitative Inquiry, 11(5), 689–715. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gubrium, J., & Holstein, J.
(2003) Postmodern interviewing. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hamdan, A.
(2005) Women and education in Saudi Arabia: Challenges and achievements. International Education Journal, 6(1), 42–64.Google Scholar
Harrison, J., MacGibbon, L., & Morton, M.
(2001) Regimes of trustworthiness in qualitative research: The rigors of reciprocity. Qualitative Inquiry, 7(3), 323–345. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Holstein, J., & Gubrium, J.
(1997) Active interviewing. In D. Silverman (Ed.), Qualitative research: Theory, method and practice (pp. 113–129). London: Sage.Google Scholar
Hoskins, M., & White, J.
(2013) Relational inquiries and the research interview: Mentoring future researchers. Qualitative Inquiry, 19(3), 179–188. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Katyal, K., & King, M.
(2014) Non-Chinese researchers conducting research in Chinese cultures: Critical reflections. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 37(1), 44–62. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kondakci, Y., Bedenlier, S., & Zawacki-Richter, O.
(2018) Social network analysis of international student mobility: Uncovering the rise of regional hubs. Higher Education, 751, 517–535. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lee, M.
(2016) Finding cultural harmnony in interviewing: The wisdom of the middle way. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 39(1), 38–57. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Liamputtong, P.
(2008) Doing research in a cross-cultural context: Methodological and ethical challenges. In P. Liamputtong (Ed.), Doing cross-cultural research: Ethical and methodological perspectives (Vol. 34, pp. 3–20). London: Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mann, S.
(2011) A critical review of qualitative interviews in applied linguistics. Applied Linguistics, 32(1), 6–24. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mercer, J.
(2007) The challenges of insider research in educational institutions: Weilding a double-edged sword and resolving delicate dilemmas. Oxford Review of Education, 33(1), 1–17. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Merriam, S.
(1998) Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San Francisco: Jossey-Boss.Google Scholar
Milligan, L.
(2016) Insider-outsider-inbetweener? Researcher positioning, participative methods and cross-cultural educational research. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 46(2), 235–250. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nakata, Y.
(2015) Insider-outsider perspective: Revisiting the conceptual framework of research methodology in language teacher education. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 38(2), 166–183. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Norton, B., & Toohey, K.
(2011) Identity, language learning, and social change. Language Teaching, 44(4), 412–446.Google Scholar
O’Boyle, A.
(2018) Encounters with identity: Reflexivity and positioning in an interdisciplinary research project. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 41(3), 353–366. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Roulston, K.
(2010) Reflective interviewing: A guide to theory and practice. London: Sage. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2011) Interview ‘problems’ as topics for analysis. Applied Linguistics, 32(1), 77–94. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ryan, L., Kofman, E., & Aaron, P.
(2011) Insiders and outsiders: Working with peer researchers in researching Muslim communities. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 14(1), 49–60. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sa, C., & Sabzalieva, E.
(2018) The politics of the great brain race: Public policy and international student recruitment in Australia, Canada, England and the USA. Higher Education, 751, 231–253. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sands, R., Bourjolly, J., & Roer-Strier, D.
(2007) Crossing cultural barriers in research interviewing. Qualitative Social Work, 6(3), 353–372. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Santoro, N., & Smyth, G.
(2010) Researching ethnic ‘others’: Conducting critical ethnographic research in Australia and Scotland. Intercultural Education, 21(6), 493–503. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shah, S.
(2004) The researcher/interviewer in intercultural context: A social intruder! British Education Research Journal, 30(4), 549–575. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Song, M., & Parker, D.
(1995) Commonality, difference and the dynamics of disclosure in in-depth interviewing. Sociology, 29(2), 241–256. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tabane, R., & Bouwer, C.
(2006) The influence of cross-cultural interviewing on the generation of data. South African Journal of Education, 26(4), 553–564.Google Scholar
Talmy, S.
(2010) Qualitative interviews in applied linguistics: From research instrument to social practice. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 301, 128–148. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2011) The interview as collaborative achievement: Interaction, identity, and ideology in a speech event. Applied Linguistics, 32(1), 25–42. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Talmy, S., & Richards, K.
(2011) Theorizing qualitative research interviews in applied linguistics. Applied Linguistics, 32(1), 1–5. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tinker, C., & Armstrong, N.
(2008) From the outside looking in: How an awareness of difference can benefit the qualitative research process. The Qualitative Report, 13(1), 53–60.Google Scholar
Yee, W., & Andrews, J.
(2006) Professional researcher or a ‘good guest’? Ethical dilemmas involved in researching children and families in the home setting. Educational Review, 58(4), 397–413. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zempi, I.
(2016) Negotiating constructions of insider and outsider status in research with veiled Muslim women victims of Islamophobic hate crime. Sociological Research Online, 21(4), 70–81. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Soltani, Behnam & Lawrence Jun Zhang
2021. International students’ language socialization in an English-medium university. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 16 january 2023. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.