On the Analytical Potential of Qualitative Longitudinal Interviews in Empirical Socialization Research

Qualitative interviews in a longitudinal design are considered appropriate from an empirical-methodological perspective when social processes are to be investigated in their genesis. However, they have hardly been examined with regard to the fulfillment of their empirical-methodological claims. The research project therefore empirically explores the analytical potential of using qualitative longitudinal interviews. The specific potential of qualitative longitudinal studies is to be demonstrated in addressing fundamental socialization-theoretical problems, which are currently preferably investigated with concepts of habitus genesis and habitus transformation. Interview materials collected in two different predecessor projects are re-analyzed from an empirical-comparative perspective. The focus of the investigation is on the methodological access and the theoretical-conceptual problem of habitus genesis in their interweaving. In conceptual terms, the project addresses open questions of the habitus concept that emerge in the process perspective. In addition to the potential of longitudinal qualitative data for clarifying conceptual questions of socialization and habitus research, the project is interested in clarifying the quality of qualitative interview material as socially constructed conversation data. Two types of interview materials are comparatively researched: a) with adolescents, b) with adults.