Sharing interview questions in advance: Methodological considerations in applied linguistics research

Abstract

Interviews serve as a prominent methodological tool in applied linguistics and beyond, allowing researchers to explore participants’ experiences, ideologies and beliefs. Yet, the extent to which interview questions are shared in advance with participants is often unclear, although this methodological decision can substantially shape responses and subsequent reflections. Some advantages of sharing interview questions in advance include enhanced participant engagement and reflexivity, reduced interview anxiety, and more thoughtful responses. Conversely, the practice may engender risks such as participant bias, and predetermined answers. This reflective piece addresses this underexplored aspect by first discussing methodological considerations of such a practice, including a brief review of existing practices in research on language teacher ideologies and beliefs. Second, it considers ethical dimensions entailed in such a practice. Additionally, this paper explores how six English teachers in Norway experienced having access to all interview questions in advance to prepare for interviews centred around their individual teaching beliefs about multilingualism and multilingual practices. The paper concludes by suggesting that sharing interview questions in advance can benefit both participants and enhance the quality of research.