This paper examines the interactional underpinnings of social scientific research. Based on a detailed examination of a two‐hour research interview, it describes aspects of the conversational practices through which social scientific knowledge is generated. Past critiques of interview research have been somewhat unilateral in their focus, typically examining how researchers impose understandings on their subjects' reports. This paper moves beyond the unilateral focus to describe how researcher and subjects interact to mutually develop procedures for doing the actual research and collaboratively assemble their product. The analysis treats evaluative knowledge as a locally managed, interactional achievement. It stresses the practical,in situcharacter of how knowledge is co‐produ