How to Analyse Interviews: A Documentary Method of Interpretation

Interviews are commonplace in HCI. This paper presents a novel documentary method of interpretation that supports analysis of the topics contained within a collection of transcripts, topics that are endogenous to it and which elaborate participants collective reasoning about issues of relevance to research. We contrast endogenous topic analysis with established qualitative approaches, including content analysis, grounded theory, interpretative phenomenological analysis, and thematic analysis, to draw out the distinctive character of the documentary method of interpretation. Unlike established methods, the DMI does not require that the analyst be proficient in qualitative analysis, or have sound knowledge of underlying theories and methods. The DMI is a members method, not a social science method, that relies on mastery of natural language; a competence most people possess.