Jo Ann,
Thank you! Nice to get a mention-- please let us know your book title.
Here is another resource you might like: Method Meets Art: Arts-Based Research Practice by Patricia Leavy, Guilford Press.
Please make note of my twitter (/einterview), website (www.vision2lead.com) etc. because I will continue to do events on issues related to supervising students.
Janet
I'd like to speak a bit more on the second part of this question: why use synchronous online interviews in research?
In the emerging literature, of course cost and convenience is a top reason why people conduct interviews online. Researchers choose online interviews to reach geograpically dispersed or hard to reach populations. Researchers choose online interviews to use intensively visual research approaches in an environment where the event is captured, as we started to explore the other day.
In most of the discussions of online interviews there is an assumption that online research is intended for studies of the Internet. That is, Internet researchers are interested in online behaviors, trends, attitudes,users and styles of usage, etc.. They believe that “Research questions that explore an online phenomenon are strengthened through the use of a method of research that closely mirrors the natural setting under investigation” (Geiser, 2002).
I agree with an added point: rich media synchronous technologies offer a way to interview research participants about life online OR off. In other words, I see Internet as a means of inquiry as well as subject of inquiry. I think we can use the Internet to communicate with research participants about any aspect of lived experience.
What do you think? If you are planning online research will you study online behavior or use the Internet to interview participants about other perceptions or experiences? Or both?
In the Elluminate session I suggested that major inter-related design decisions involve the level of structure in the interview, and how the level of structure relates to
1. The purpose of the research and methodology;
2. The amount of preparation in terms of formulation of questions.
and
3. The appropriate information and communications technology (ICT) to use. These decisions are influenced by your sample population's access and availability to selected ICTs – and also to the experience of the researcher.
I introduced this model, where I aimed to point out the kinds of preparation involved at various levels of interview structure.
Naturally, an interview might combine different kinds of questions. But clearly preparation for an interview conducted in writing (text-based or Second Life) will require a different consideration than one conducted using audio (meeting space or videoconference).
As a researcher you will need to defend your choices....how will you do so? As an instructor you must evaluate researchers' research proposals...how will you do so? Let's discuss these issues so fundamental to planning and conducting online interviews.
(If you are following along in your book, we are drawing on Chapters 2 and 6 in this discussion!)
Bronwyn,
We'll discuss some good and bad things in the session on Friday. Some things are outside the interviewer's control, wherever the interview occurs, so the issue is to determine and weigh the trade-offs and decide accordingly.
You mentioned " I think it is less easy to have flow in the interview and rapport when online unless you have previously met the participants f2f." While a lot of online interviewers and interviewees may be geographically dispersed, that is not always the case. You might have a situation where the sampling agreement negotiation and preparation phase are in person, but the interview is online. In that case you can work on relationship-building f2f.
If that is not the case, you can choose what you think is the friendliest communications medium--based on the sample population and/or the particular interviewee-- and use it for the agreement/preparation stages.
I hope you will enjoy reading the book sections about the Researchers' Notebook examples of videoconference interviews. In the main example I discussed, the researcher did not meet most of the participants who were interviewed via videoconference.