Scenario-Based Interview: An Alternative Approach to Interviewing Children?

ABSTRACT

Data in qualitative research are mainly derived through observations, document analysis, andinterviews. The interview process in qualitative studies, however, can become challenging andcomplex when a group of children is involved as participants. This paper examines themethodological challenges faced by researchers when interviewing children and makes a case for theuse of scenario-based interviews to obtain quality data from children in phenomenographic research.The discussion is based on a phenomenographic study that aimed at exploring and understandingchildren’s experiences of learning in government primary schools in Brunei Darussalam. Theprocesses that led to the development of two scenarios in a series of phenomenographic interviews arediscussed in this paper. While there are limitations in the use of scenario-based interviews withchildren in phenomenographic research, it has the potential to address methodological concerns and,more importantly, to elicit quality data. Finally, the scenario-based interview offers an alternative tothe in-depth interviews typically used in phenomenographic research.