Elicitation Techniques: Getting People to Talk About Ideas They Don’t Usually Talk About

Elicitation techniques are a category of research tasks that use visual, verbal, or written stimuli to encourage participants to talk about their ideas. These tasks are particularly useful for exploring topics that may be difficult to discuss in formal interviews, such as those that involve sensitive issues or rely on tacit knowledge. Elicitation techniques can also reduce power imbalances between interviewers and respondents, and they can enhance participants’ ability to elaborate on their own conceptions of the world, rather than limiting them to categories derived from theory or previous research. Among the most useful of such techniques are those that involve respondents in arranging stimulus materials, constructing materials in response to stimuli, and explaining stimulus materials. Each of these has been used to explore important topics in social education, and familiarity with a range of elicitation techniques enables researchers to overcome many barriers to productive interviewing.