Third-party effects in stakeholder interviews

Authors: BERESFORD, MELISSA - San Jose State University; JONES, J. LEAH - Arizona State University; BAUSCH, JULIA - Arizona State University; Williams, Clinton; WUTICH, AMBER - Arizona State University; PORTER, SARAH - Arizona State University; QUIMBY, BARBARA - Arizona State University; EATON, WESTON - Pennsylvania State University; BRASIER, KATHY - Pennsylvania State University

Submitted to: Qualitative Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/15/2020
Publication Date: 9/22/2020
Citation: Beresford, M., Jones, J., Bausch, J., Williams, C.F., Wutich, A., Porter, S., Quimby, B., Eaton, W., Brasier, K. 2020. Third-party effects in stakeholder interviews. Qualitative Research. 19. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920966482.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920966482

Interpretive Summary: Co-creation of knowledge between scientists and stakeholders has been proposed as advantageous when it comes to adoption of science to achieve desired outcomes in natural resource management. One potential obstacle to co-creation is the potential that stakeholders may limit discussion of sensitive topics if experts are present. Using 24 paired interviews, 12 with an expert, and 12 without an expert present were conducted. Using a word based coding strategy the interview responses were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed fro three sensitive topics. Quantitative results showed that the presence of the expert did not result in a statistically significant difference in response, however, there was a qualitative difference in the way the subjects were discussed. The results show that collaborative co-creation of science based natural resource management options with stakeholders and scientists can be pursed as long as there is recognition that the stakeholders engagement in the process may be altered in nuanced ways.

Technical Abstract: This paper examines the effect of having a third-party scientific expert present in stakeholder interviews. The study was conducted as part of a larger project on stakeholder engagement for natural resource management in the Verde Valley region of Arizona. We employed an experimental design, conducting stakeholder interviews both with and without an identified scientific expert present. Our sample consisted of twelve pairs of interviewees (24 total participants) who we matched based on their occupation, sex, and spatial proximity. For each pair, the scientific expert was present as a third-party in one interview and absent in the other. We used a word-based coding strategy to code all interview responses for three known areas of sensitivity among the study population (risk, gatekeeping, and competence). We then performed both quantitative and qualitative analyses to compare responses across the two interview groups. We found that the presence of a scientific expert did not have a statistically significant effect on the mention of sensitive topics among stakeholders. However, our qualitative results show that the presence of a scientific expert had subtle influences on the ways that stakeholders discussed sensitive topics, though not in patterned or predictable ways. Our findings indicate that researchers may be able to pursue collaborative, interdisciplinary research designs with multiple researchers present without concerns of strongly biasing responses in stakeholder interviews. However, researchers should be cognizant of the situated and implicit effects of third-party experts during stakeholder interviews.