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Time after time: longitudinal qualitative interviewing and the interplay between structure and agency in communication research

Oren Meyers & Roei Davidson

Journal of Communication2025https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqaf022article
ABDC A
Weight
0.37

Abstract

Given that communicative phenomena are inherently processual, the scarcity of a longitudinal narrative perspective is an evident lacuna in communication research. This article argues that to explore communicative processes as a longitudinal experience, shaped by the constant tension between structure and agency, researchers can elicit and analyze stories that information producers and consumers construct in their own words across time. Consequently, the article explores the implementation of Longitudinal Qualitative Interviewing (LQI), the repeated interviewing of the same individuals at two (or more) time points, in the study of media. It considers the methodological and conceptual insights that could be drawn from such an application, and the ways in which the unique affordances of LQI enhance the validity of qualitative communication research. Our discussion of the implementation of LQI is anchored in an exploration of occupational life histories of 39 Israeli journalists over the span of a decade.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqaf022

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@article{oren2025,
  title        = {{Time after time: longitudinal qualitative interviewing and the interplay between structure and agency in communication research}},
  author       = {Oren Meyers & Roei Davidson},
  journal      = {Journal of Communication},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqaf022},
}

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Time after time: longitudinal qualitative interviewing and the interplay between structure and agency in communication research

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Evidence weight

0.37

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.16 × 0.4 = 0.06
M · momentum0.53 × 0.15 = 0.08
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.