Informants

Informant Selection Process

Prior to selecting an informant, the researcher needs to consider criteria regarding what makes a good informant. The researcher should attempt to identify an individual who is most knowledgeable about the organization or group of people. These individuals typically have been a member of the organization for some time and can recall certain past events in detail. These individuals should also be able to identify any organizational shifts or patterns of change throughout time, while offering insight into why changes have occurred. A good informant has access to members in the group. They are the individuals who excel at social networking. Members of the group or organization often go to these individuals for answers, advice, and/or simply conversation. The researcher will want to be aware of informants who have been with the organization since its inception versus informants who can share what it once felt like to be considered an outsider at one time during their membership. Informants carry with them different knowledges including their own individual history, which is context-bound and informed by their ongoing participation with the organization or group. For instance, different informants may have joined the organization for different reasons. The researcher determines why they joined, what motivated them to continue to stay, and what they value most about the culture. The researcher scrutinizes whether or not the informant’s answers to the researcher’s questions align with the goals of inquiry.

Sometimes informants make themselves known to the researcher, and at other times, the researcher seeks out an informant. Oftentimes informants are those individuals who hold a position of power—for instance, they are a group leader. If the organization [Page 703]is formal, the informant may hold a title, such as the executive director or chief executive officer of an organization. These individuals help the researcher gain access to individuals within the organization. However, these informants may not always offer the best information depending upon the size of the organization and how power dimensions are structured within the organization. For instance, traditional organizations sometimes follow traditional power structures, which creates a hierarchy or top-down pattern of communication. If the flow of information is controlled between subordinates and supervisors, different groups who identify as one or the other from within the organization can have different perceptions about organizational culture. If the researcher fails to account for meanings from all members of an organization, the researcher may unintentionally marginalize or even exclude certain perspectives. If the organization is informal, such that power structures are based from an egalitarian framework, finding a good informant can be more time-consuming because the researcher may not know exactly who to start seeking information from within the group. When seeking an informant, the researcher needs to be aware of power structures and how this might affect the information gathered from certain individuals. The researcher should seek out informants whose perspectives closely match the interests and questions designed by the researcher.

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