Research as a mirror of society – what are the respondents not telling us?
Someone often asks me: “And are these people telling you the truth?” The answer is not simple. Yes, they say what they think – but sometimes also what they think they should say. Socially desirable answers, fear of condemnation, or just the discomfort of talking about something sensitive – all this affects the results.
That is why it is important to read between the lines, watch expressions, hesitate over silent places in the conversation. That is where the real truth sometimes lies – not in what is said out loud, but in what is not said.
From many years of practice, I know that research is honest only to the extent that people feel safe and understood. Currently, it is more and more about an individual approach in qualitative interviews with respondents, so-called Face to Face, group discussions (focus groups) are being completely abandoned, we have enough of those discussions on the Internet! It is the individual interviews conducted by an experienced interviewer, who not only observes the answers, but also the context of the answers, the feelings, reactions and thoughts of the respondent, that are the greatest contribution to the final interpretation of the conclusions.
Every research is only part of the story. Whoever wants to understand the whole must also listen to what was not said.