Online Interviewing Tips for Researchers

Online interviews can be cost-effective, convenient, and quick. But there are also specific challenges to take into account: How do you build rapport with your interviewee through a screen, overcome tech glitches, and generate rich data? In this video, PhD researcher Stella Toonen and I cover the dos and don’ts of conducting qualitative interviews online. Are we missing some vital tips? If so, do share yours!

🔎 TIME STAMPS

0:00 - benefits of online interviews
1:28 - informed consent
2:42 - choosing a platform
3:01 - time zones
3:40 - interview guide
4:20 - check your tech
5:10 - set the scene
6:50 - starting the interview
8:10 - eye contact
9:07 - active listening
9:48 - silences
11:10 - tech hurdles
12:08 - get creative
13:20 - finishing off
13:50 - capture your experience

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📚 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hanna, P. & Mwale, S. (2017). ‘‘I’m Not with You, Yet I Am …’: Virtual Face-to-Face Interviews’. In V. Braun, V. Clarke & D. Gray (Eds.), Collecting Qualitative Data: A Practical Guide to Textual, Media and Virtual Techniques (pp. 235-255). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107295094...

LSE Digital Ethnography Collective (2021). Collective Reading List. http://tinyurl.com/52wfy28z

Lupton, D. (Editor) (2020). ‘Doing Fieldwork in a Pandemic’ (crowd-sourced document). https://tinyurl.com/h679ye4b

McGrath, C., Palmgren, P.J. & Liljedahl, M. (2018). ‘Twelve Tips for Conducting Qualitative Research Interviews.’ Medical Teacher, 41(9), 1002-1006. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2018...

Roberts, J.K., Pavlakis, A.E. & Richards, M.P. (2021). ‘It’s More Complicated Than It Seems: Virtual Qualitative Research in the COVID-19 Era.’ International Journal of Qualitative Methods. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406921100...

Weller, S. (2017). ‘Using Internet Video Calls in Qualitative (Longitudinal) Interviews: Some Implications for Rapport.’ International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 20(6), 613-625. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2016...

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🔌 FINANCIAL SUPPORT

This video series is supported by:
↳ Augustinus Fonden
↳ King's College London and The Wellcome Trust’s Institutional Strategic Support Fund
↳ LAHP Impact, Engagement & Entrepreneurship Fund