Conversaciones informales en la investigación social

Jaime de la Calle-Valverde

Abstract

Informal conversations have no place in social research methodology textbooks. In the field of sociology, there are hardly any references to them, leaving informal conversations as a lesser status compared to interviews, and difficult to justify both methodologically and epistemologically. In the case of anthropology, informal conversations can be understood as part of participant observation or life histories; that is, as part of qualitative and longitudinal research methodologies. However, in both cases, there is no thoughts that allows methodological value to be given to this everyday practice, which is common in interactions between researchers and informants, especially when these interactions occur over long periods of time. This paper discusses the current role of informal and everyday conversations in these disciplines. Based on this discussion, a definition of informal conversations is proposed, distinguishing them from interviews. Similarly, a distinction is made between two types of informal conversations depending on their intentional or unintentional alignment with research objectives. We propose some uses of interest for research are shown, and the need to include them in methodological designs, both in preliminary projects and final reports. We conclude by highlighting the usefulness of this type of interaction in longitudinal qualitative research.

Informal conversations in social research

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