Presenting an Admirable Self: Moral Evaluation within the Interview

Abstract

This article considers the complicated nature of self-reporting within the in-depth interview. Despite the adoption of ethnographic methods in Christian ethics and related disciplines, the accuracy of interview data has received relatively little attention. Drawing upon my fieldwork with Christian social workers in the American southeast, as well as sociological and anthropological sources, I argue that research participants frequently endeavor to present an admirable portrait of themselves. Through selecting, omitting, and revising their stories, they undertake a kind of moral work, assessing their actions and attitudes according to available ethical criteria. Broader cultural norms, their own moral ideals, and anticipations of the interviewer’s judgments all supply resources for self-evaluation. Rather than presenting a methodological problem, understanding this possible dynamic within the interview supplies the Christian ethicist with firsthand insights into the moral labors of naming a good life.