Avoid quoting interviewees out of context by preserving their intended meaning, the question they were answering, and any qualifications they gave. In an IB World Religions investigative study, present each quotation as evidence of that participant’s perspective, rather than treating it as representative of an entire religion.
Context includes the surrounding conversation, the participant’s religious affiliation, and the circumstances they describe. A quotation can reproduce someone’s exact words yet misrepresent them if you remove a qualification such as “in my family” or “some members disagree.”
This connects to insider and outsider approaches: an insider explains religion through lived experience, while the student analyses that account academically. Respectful analysis preserves the participant’s perspective while examining its scope and reliability.
| Check | How to apply it |
|---|---|
| Original meaning | Compare the quotation with your recording or detailed notes and reread the surrounding answer. |
| Qualifications | Retain words indicating uncertainty, exceptions, personal experience, or disagreement. |
| Relevant background | Identify the participant’s role, religious movement, and cultural setting where relevant and consistent with confidentiality. |
| Editing | Mark omissions with an ellipsis and clarifications with square brackets. Ensure neither changes the meaning. |
For example, suppose an Orthodox Jewish participant says: “In my family, we keep kosher strictly, although other Jewish families practise differently.” Quoting only “we keep kosher strictly” and introducing it as evidence that all Jews observe identical dietary rules would erase both the family context and the acknowledged diversity.
The common misconception is that an exact quotation is automatically fair. Accuracy also requires faithful framing. If meaning remains unclear, ask the participant to clarify; obtain permission to reproduce interview material and follow the agreed confidentiality arrangements.
For the IA, use critical reflection and evaluation to discuss the interviewee’s authority, perspective, and limitations. Under criterion D, explain how your interpretation avoids generalization and how your interview method affected the findings.