Online interview
An online interview is an online research method conducted using computer-mediated communication, such as instant messaging, email, or video. Online interviews require different ethical considerations, sampling and rapport than practices found in traditional face-to-face interviews. Online interviews are separated into synchronous online interviews, for example via online chat which happen in 'real time' online and asynchronous online interviews, for example via email conducted in non-real time. Some authors discuss online interviews in relation to online focus groups whereas others look at online interviews as separate research methods. This article will only discuss online interviews.
Online interviews, like offline interviews, typically ask respondents to explain what they think or how they feel about an aspect of their social world. Interviews are especially useful for understanding the meanings participants assign to their activities; their perspectives, motives, and experiences. Interviews are also useful for eliciting the language used by group members, gathering information about processes that cannot be observed, or inquiring about the past. Thus the objectives researchers have do not differ significantly, however the methods and research design can be effected by the online component of the research which this article will take issue with.
Methodologies
In online interviews, data is primarily generated through conversations between a researcher and respondent. Researchers often seek out a deliberate selection of respondents, recruiting individuals who can provide insight on a particular phenomenon, situation, or practice. Online Interviews can utilize a selection of formats and employ varying means of computer-mediated communication.Synchronous
The interview is synchronous if it is conducted in real time. Skype interviews allow participants and researchers to converse in real time. Video chat is the closest a researcher will get towards resembling a face-to-face interview. This is because it allows for facial expressions and other visual cues that are absent in textually based forms such as chatrooms. Another way of conducting synchronous interviews online is using WebRTC. When WebRTC is used web browser acts as a client and both the parties can connect over a real-time video-chat.Asynchronous
An asynchronous online interview takes place when the researcher and the participant are not online at the same time. Typically these interviews will use email but other technologies might also be employed. This can be an advantage for research conducted across time zones or with busy participants, allowing them to answer questions at their convenience. Kitvits point out that asynchronous interviews are very useful for reflective process which helps to assure rigor.A concern related to the asynchronous method is the possibility of interviews gradually drying up over an extended period. While the possibility of long term "longitudinal" research is valuable, it is also risky. Completion requires high levels of participant motivation, since they have not dedicated a specific block of time. Additionally, asynchronous online interviews may feel less conversational and make it more difficult to ask follow-up questions. Rezabek describes this as a "lack of timeliness".
Structured
Structured interviews are guided by questions which are prepared prior to the interview.Semi-structured
Semi-structured interviews balance the pre-planned questions of a structured approach with the spontaneity and flexibility of the unstructured interview.Unstructured
Unstructured interviews are conversations where the researcher collects data on a broad topic, however, does not have any specific questions prepared, allowing informants to guide the conversation by offering stories and additional insights. Unstructured interviews may be especially useful when researchers are trying to understand an unfamiliar setting, a phenomenon or people's motives. Dowling used unstructured interviews in an asynchronous format via email.Online versus offline
Advantages
There are many reasons online interviews can be an appropriate and valuable methodological tool. For example, the use of online interviews as opposed to onsite interviews provides the researcher with opportunities to:- carry out interviews with a very geographically dispersed population.
- interview individuals or groups who are often difficult to reach, such as the less physically mobile or the socially isolated or those living in dangerous places.
- carry out interviews in a personal, yet neutral, location such as a home. Researchers and participants can be comfortable while still maintaining their personal space and, if necessary, keep their specific whereabouts private.
- reach a target audience where the audience is unknown or would like to remain anonymous. E-mail and instant messaging interview methods have the advantage of privacy. Interviews that take place in public online venues may be off-putting to some participants.
- provide savings in costs to the researcher.
- record data quickly and accurately. Video and audio interactions on Skype can be easily captured using desktop software. Data generated from textual forms is already transcribed.
- reduce the environmental impact of research by eliminating the resource expenditure associated with traveling long distances.
- interview individuals who would like to stay visual anonymous and to engage in more self-disclosure or feel liberated from stereotypes that may be associated with visible identity markers such as age, race or gender. Because the participant cannot see the researcher, this may also help reduce issues of interviewer effect.
Limitations
There are, however, possible drawbacks to online interviews. Scholars such as Mann and Stewart have questioned how effective they are in comparison to face-to-face interviews. Online interviews may make it difficult to:- establish a good rapport and level of trust between researcher and participant in a computer-mediated research relationship.
- achieve a long-term commitment to the research subject by participants, if this is necessary.
- communicate with participants with varying degrees of technical skill within a population. Participants cannot be assumed to all possess the level of technical competence required to employ the research methods.
- achieve satisfactory closure to the research relationship at the end of a long-term project.
- maintain attention, as the researcher may not have control over distractions that are interrupting the interviewee's engagement with the interview.
- recruit participants. In order to access specific populations, there may be a need to 'advertise' through relevant newsgroups and forums.
Internet researcher Annette Markham observes that text-based interviewing can take much longer than face-to-face, phone or Skype interviews because typing takes longer than talking. Textual methods require users to verbalize conventional aspects of polite conversation, such as nodding or smiling, which requires added effort and time.
Others highlight the need for additional methodological planning for online interview respondents that includes the possibility that respondents may attempt to deliberately deceive