She said ... she said: reciprocal peer interviewing within a transgenerational frame

Abstract

My research offers an opportunity to explore a more creative and potentially, more fulfilling interview technique which allows participants to fully engage in the interview process. I was also interested in developing a co-created space for a conversation allowing greater equity in the relationship between participants ; one in which issues of intersubjectivity and power relations could be minimised. The recording methodology is that of the reciprocal peer interview; a technique that allows each participant pair to perform both roles as interviewer and interviewee. This process also positions the participants in primary roles at the forefront of the interview process whilst the researcher takes on a secondary role as facilitator and observer. The resulting conversation is thus one of shared authority. The nature of the research lends itself to this innovative recording procedure as it explores lesbian identity across generations by comparing and contrasting the oral narratives of older and younger lesbians from personal accounts of their experiences. Key life experiences drawn from autobiographical content are discussed in ways that allow each participant to fully engage in the interview and thus to discover and explore contrasting and potentially insightful perspectives.

This paper will appraise the benefits and challenges of this interview technique and summarise the results of the research.