In-depth Interview in Public Management: In-depth Interview in Public Management

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the contingencies and difficulties on the fieldwork and the decisions that influence knowledge construction. From a review of the research: “Food Policies in Argentina from 1983 to 2001” and the implementation of in-depth interview to technicians and professionals who have managed and implemented food policies, this article goes through different fieldwork stages. One of the main obstacles of working on public policies is the limited and incomplete official information, which reconstruction remains a key element in the decisions of the research process. The recordkeeping procedures and the analysis clarified the overview as the research process advanced. Among the main results, it was detected that the interviewees opinions about social policies depend on their closeness to the ongoing governmental management, the different environments (workplace, public space, private house), and the historical period addressed in the conversation. The main role of the researcher in the interview was to listen to both, the speech and the deployment of practices of the interviewees. The interview context turned into an important aspect to understand the complexity of social relations disputing power and resources in the public management.