World in Crises: Towards Qualitative Interviewing through Existential Questions

Abstract

Qualitative interviewing is a widely applied method of data collection in social sciences. Over time, continual diversification of this method led to more multi-modal and participant-centered qualitative research paradigms. This methodological article examines the role of qualitative interviews within the context of the psychosocial approach and its application in understanding interview experiences in critical life situations. Accounting for research ethics and embracing existential questions, qualitative interviewing gains added value in understanding and responding to interviewees who face crises. Drawing on various methodological approaches, including oral history, biographical, feminist, phenomenological, and cross-cultural, this study explores how interviewing evolves into a complex research practice. It shows that existential philosophy offers valuable insights into conducting qualitative interviews in multidimensional disasters, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, ecological and economic crises, conflicts, and wars. By utilizing existential questioning as an interviewing technique, interviewers engage with interviewees as they make sense of critical life conditions. Outlining the sensitive boundaries between the critical contexts and personal reflections in interviews, the article signifies the interactionist nature of interviewing, emphasizing moments where existential questions enhance the symbolic interaction between an interviewer and an interviewee. Ultimately, this methodological study demonstrates how specific existential questions - either standalone or as probes and prompts - lead to the emergence of new meanings during interviews, enabling the researchers and research participants to make sense of crises and critical life situations.