"Placing" interviews: Location and scales of power in qualitative research

For qualitative researchers, selecting appropriate sites in which to conduc t interviews may seem to be a relatively simple research design issue. In f act it is a complicated decision with wide-reaching implications. In this p aper, we argue that the interview site itself embodies and constitutes mult iple scales of spatial relations and meaning, which construct the power and positionality of participants in relation to the people, places, and inter actions discussed in the interview. We illustrate how observation and analy sis of interview sires can offer new insights with respect to research ques tions, help researchers understand and interpret interview material, and hi ghlight particular ethical considerations that researchers need to address.