Methods of Data Collection

4.2.1. In-depth interviews

Interviews are the most data collection method used in qualitative research. As it was mentioned before, the researcher´s role is fundamental for fruitful research, but it is also the role of the informant. The purpose of the interviews is to make use of the perceptions and feelings of classical music enthusiasts.

In this research has been performed the called "active interview," where the reality is a construction based on the interpretation practice carried out by the interviewer about the opinions and emotions that the informant provides (Holstein & Gubrium, 2001). Accordingly, as the purpose of this research is to make use of perceptions and feelings of the interviewees, the interview is also inspired by the creative interview (Douglas, 1985, in Holstein & Gubrium, 2001). Because of this reasoning, the information obtained from informants has to be considered relevant but subjective, being essential to be aware of the attitudinal fallacy: "the error of inferring situated behavior from verbal accounts" (Jerolmack & Khan, 2014), and not taking verbal responses as the ultimate truth.

The in-depth interview allows a depth understanding of the research topic from the informant perspective.

For this research, it is necessary to understand the consumer´s needs, their feelings, how they understand and perceive their actions in the marketplace, and the perception of themselves. This first-hand understanding that is provided by the qualitative research is fundamental to the transformation of consumer’ experiences into valuable data.

In the data collection process, semi-structured interviews are conducted based on the theoretical foundation that has provided the guidelines to follow. The semi-structured interviews present more general questions with the possibility of rearranging the structure and order of the scheduled questions (Bryman & Bell, 2011). Semi-structured interviews allow the adaptation of the interview guide according to the respondent profile as well as create follow-up questions through the course of the interview. The interview is divided

38 into six parts, starting from the introduction of the research and the informant and following by four critical topics regarding the consumption of classical music and the use of streaming platforms. The structure of the interview guide is displayed in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Interview guide structure (own creation)

In this data collection process, ten interviews have been conducted in a period of approximately one month.

The selection of the participants has been carried out through the snowball sampling technique: “makes initial contact with a small group of people who are relevant to the research topic and then uses these to establish contacts with others” (Bryman & Bell. 2011, p. 192). The snowball technique has made more straightforward the process of selecting participants, starting from close friends that lead to other ones, spreading the spectrum of participants. However, the utilization of this technique somehow homogenizes the participant group, presenting a similar background, generation, or social status. The result of this

39 method of selecting participants is a group of informants that are musicians, between twenty and thirty years old, from the middle social class. However, they do not have the same background and relationship with classical music, making all of them relevant informants that provide different points of view about the interview’s topics.

The interviews have been limited to online resources; specifically, it has been conducted via Skype, WhatsApp, and FaceTime. Calls without video have been avoided since it has been considered relevant to try to create a close scenario between participants and the interviewer.

4.2.2 Limitations to the data collection methods

One of the main limitations of this research is related to the limitations of the data collection methods.

According to the current world situation affected by the Coronavirus crisis, the data collection process has been limited to in-depth online interviews. In a normal situation, the data collection would have been enriched by the interaction of individuals in focus groups and the selection of a broader range of profiles that would have provided a more accurate representation of the sociocultural reality. The main idea was trying to find different profiles accessing to different places where find classical music consumers such as theatres and Music Schools. Different contacts from the personal network would have provided access to these places and consumers.

As online resources have limited the interviews, the process of catching participants has followed the

“snowball technique” process, starting from close friends who have shared with me other participants’

contact. This method has been chosen because the easy way to perform it, it does not need complex planning, and it allows us to invest less time. However, the main disadvantage of following this process is that getting information from a specific group of people related would lead to self-confirmatory bias. The concern about performing interviews with people that are connected among them is: how broad would be the circle? Imagine that the first person is working as a music performer, that person will lead to another one who shares the same job, background, or interests. However, the problem does not come only from the relationship between them but the close relationship with the interviewer. If the researcher interviews people that already know, it is quite probable that both are going to share the same generation, social class,

40 and background. Consequently, it has to be considered that the spectrum of individuals analyzed represents a determined viewpoint about the reality of the use of streaming platforms by classical music consumers.

However, this unexpected and strange situation has also resulted in positive responses. Since people have been limited to stay at home, the use of streaming platforms and the higher spread of classical music through different digital channels have motivated the reflection about the use of digital means. These days, digital platforms have been filled up with musical content, and several initiatives have been found. Free online concerts and the sharing and promotion of classical music aficionados through social media platforms might have lead to a higher involvement in the use of digital means by classical music consumers.

Despite the mentioned limitations, it is expected that findings from the data collection will illustrate the reality of classical music consumption that will make it possible to answer the research question of this project.