Interviewing in Mathematics Education Research: Choosing the Questions

With the development of qualitative methodologies, interviewing has become one of the main tools in mathematics education research. As the first step in analyzing interviewing in mathematics education we focus here on the stage of planning, specifically, on designing the interview questions. We attempt to outline several features of interview questions and understand what guides researchers in choosing the interview questions. Our observations and conclusions are based on examining research in mathematics education that uses interviews as a data-collection tool and on interviews with practicing researchers reflecting on their practice. In the past decade qualitative research methodologies have become not only acceptable but also predominant in mathematics education research. Within those, interviewing students has become a popular way of data-collection. However, while there are courses and books on the art and technique of interviewing, studied by reporters, clinical psychologists and police investigators, many mathematics educators, including the authors of this article, entered the field of interviewing with little or no specific theoretical education or practical training in this domain. Researchers in mathematics education ask questions, get answers and then engage i