Learning to Interview: An Autoethnographic Account of Doctoral Training

Abstract

This autoethnographic study traces the development of a PhD candidate from a novice to a more competent qualitative interviewer, with a specific focus on research interviewing. Drawing on 11 pilot interviews, reflective journals, and supervisory feedback, it uses a critical incident approach to examine how interviewing skills, emotions, and reflexivity co-evolved. The study proposes a two-step, three-stage framework for understanding novice development, centered on grounding and integration across interview style, study design, and micro-techniques. The findings show that interviewer learning is nonlinear and cyclical, with an emotional trajectory that moves from anxiety toward agency. Effective interviewing depends on deep listening and rapport building, and reflexive adaptation improves interactional decisions and data quality. The study contributes to qualitative methodology by reinforcing the researcher-as-instrument perspective, demonstrating how critical incident autoethnography can illuminate interviewer development, and offering training implications for doctoral education. These implications include scaffolded rehearsal, guided reflection, supervised practice, and structured emotional support. Overall, the study provides a learner-centered roadmap for doctoral training and qualitative interviewing pedagogy.