Walking In Similar Shoes: Interviewer Self-Disclosure In Qualitative Research

Background and Purpose: Very little research has explored the efficacy and practice of researcher self-disclosure in the context of qualitative research. Much of the available literature suggests that self-disclosure should be avoided by mental health clinicians in the therapeutic setting, as well as avoided by qualitative researchers through a process called “bracketing.” However, contemporary literature rooted in anti-colonialism suggests that this process may not only hinder the research process itself, but also perpetuate systems of oppression through behavioral science research. Building from this contemporary literature and the presenter’s dissertation experiences, the purpose of this paper is to explore the methodological benefits of researcher self-disclosure in advancing the qualitative interview process.

Methods: The paper provides experiential metadata from the presenter’s qualitative dissertation study, titled “We Are All Storykeepers: An Exploration of Intergenerational Trauma, Family Narratives, and Culture.” This study explored experiences of intergenerational trauma and its bidirectional influences on family narratives and culture in a sample of ten parents of children age three or younger. Parents were interviewed during an online video chat and answered semi-structured interview questions about a known trauma that occurred in a previous generation (i.e. parent, grandparent, ancestor), how the trauma affected their parent’s parenting behaviors historically and currently, and how the trauma has affected their own parenting behaviors with their infant. All interviews were structurally and thematically coded.

Results: Using a balanced approach to self-disclosure at the beginning of each interview and throughout the interview may have aided in building positive rapport with the study’s participants and may have aided in the interview process. Seventy percent (70%) of the participants offered positive comments on the interview process related to the rapport built and the conversational feeling of the interview. These comments emerged organically during the interviews, without prompting or questioning from the interviewer, and were not part of the semi-structured interview questions.

Conclusions and Implications: When care is taken to connect in a sensitive, warm, and balanced way with participants through interviewer self-disclosure, the qualitative research process has the potential to develop into an enriching experience for both the researcher and the participants. Rigorous inquiry in social work requires careful examination of our methods and the capacity to challenge and test existing methodological approaches. Future research could integrate semi-structured qualitative or self-report questions reflecting on participants’ thoughts and feelings about the interviewer’s self-disclosure to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of interviewer self-disclosure on rapport and participant comfort. Further research in this area is needed to broaden the field’s understanding of how self-disclosure can impact the qualitative research process.