“This Is Another Personal Question”: Research interviews and discussing sensitive issues with men with life limiting conditions

Undertaking research interviews with men can be challenging, partly because of the perceived threat to their masculinity. It has been assumed that these challenges are amplified when discussion includes topics of a sensitive nature. Drawing on the tools of Conversation Analysis (CA), this paper examines how the sensitive nature of interview questions may be co-constructed and negotiated by interviewers and interviewees alike. Data were drawn from a wider study exploring the social care needs of men with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy - a life limiting condition. Our analysis pinpoints three patterns of talk delivered by interviewers where the sensitivity of the topic is foregrounded, and illuminates the consequences of these patterns of talk.