Confidence and the effectiveness of creative methods in qualitative interviews with adults

This paper examines two contrasting creative methods; a drawing task and a Lego building task used in a study exploring the gap between policy and practice in widening participation to higher education across two different types of university in England. These creative methods were used within sixteen semi-structured interviews in seven universities to attempt to explore deeper understandings of everyday policy and what they mean in practice and to make comparisons across types of institutions. This paper examines the role that creative confidence played in the effectiveness of both methods through exploring the successes and failures of each arguing that understanding these barriers can improve the successful use of these methods, especially with adults. When these barriers are overcome, the paper also demonstrates how creative methods encouraged more reflective discussion of everyday issues, increased levels of rapport, and shared engagement in the interview process.