Irene S.Rubin & Herbert J.Rubin
Irene S. Rubin and Herbert J. Rubin are well-known for their use of qualitative interviews to research a variety of social science topics. Both are professors emeritus at Northern Illinois University. According to Sage Publications, in their recent book, Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data (2011), Rubin and Rubin provide a detailed description of qualitative interviewing including its underlying philosophy, its assumptions, and some strategies for research design, analysis and presentation using this method (Sage Publications).
Steiner Kvale
Steinar Kvale was a professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Aarhus, Denmark, prior to his death in 2008. He was a researcher based in Scandinavia but with many international connections and projects. According to his obituary, he was the main force behind the creation of research for qualitative method development and educational psychology and founded the Center for Qualitative Methodology development at Aarhus University in 1988. He is probably best known for his book InterViews (2008) which has been translated into several languages and sold internationally. In it, he examines the role of the interview in the research process including the epistemological and ethical issues involved with interviewing (Sage Publications). As a researcher, Kvale "had a profound respect for concrete human experience in his work, and a suspicion towards abstract systems and theories” (Brinkkman, 2008, para. 4).
Constantinos Phellas
Constantinos Phellas is a Medical Sociologist who is interested in a variety of issues including Health & Illness, Ageing, End-of-life Decision Making and Care, Construction of Identities, Sexualities, HIV/AIDS. His work demonstrates a variety of different research methods including statistical and social surveys and qualitative research based on text analysis, interaction analysis, and conversion analysis. He is currently the Vice Rector for Faculty & Research at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus (academia.edu).