Men do talk: Reflections of a female interviewer examining younger men's experience of prostate cancer

Context and background: Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in Ireland and approximately one third of men with prostate cancer are under the age of 65 years at time of diagnosis. A review of the literature reveals... [ view full abstract ]

Context and background:
Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in Ireland and approximately one third of men with prostate cancer are under the age of 65 years at time of diagnosis. A review of the literature reveals that there are gaps in understanding how younger men with prostate cancer experience their illness, particular in regard to their ability to perform normal activities of daily living and how social and cultural influences construct and impact on their sense of masculinity. Race, ethnicity and class have been found to be significant barriers to good interview rapport with research participants. However, gender of participant and interviewer remains largely unexamined. This paper will examine what does interviewer gender mean for the research process and consider the power dynamics at play when a women researches men in relation to prostate cancer and masculinity.

Research methodology
A review of academic literature focusing on interviewing men and the effects of interviewer gender was undertaken. The overarching question, ‘do younger men talk to women about issues relating to their experience of prostate cancer?’ directed the focus of enquiry for this paper. The researcher who is female undertook 27 in-depth interviews with younger men. Following data collection, the researcher undertook a reflective account of the experience of interviewing participants and how interviewer gender influenced the researcher-participant relationship and participant responses to sensitive questions.

Findings and conclusion
This paper has retrospectively examines a female interviewer’s experience of undertaking in-depth interviews with younger men. It is clear that all interviews are gender contexts, whether single or mixed-sex in make-up. It is important for researchers to consider the possible impact their gender has on the interview process and ultimately on their research findings. What is needed is greater consideration that explicitly examines how gender matters in different research contexts.