Prepare for an online interview
It involves more than asking participants to log on!
A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind.
-- Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (1893 - 1986)
Online interviews can take many forms. What does that mean for preparation?
Questions and prompts can be conveyed and answered with spoken or written words, or images in the form of photographs or video, graphics, art or artifacts. In synchronous interviews, researchers and participants interact in real time. In near-synchronous interviews researchers and participants post or send questions and answers with the expectation that a response will be made when the other logs on. In asynchronous interviews there Is a gap in time between question, answer, follow-up and response.
Every one of these choices involves careful planning so you can communicate expectations and negotiate options with participants. In this post we’ll look at specific steps applicable to each style of interview. See previous posts for more information, and consult Doing Qualitative Research Online for detailed guidance (use the 25% discount code UK25BOOKS on the ebooks.com page).
Doing Research Interviews Online: Types and styles of interviews you can conduct online for academic or journalistic research.
Creative Methods in Online Qualitative Research and More Creative Research Methods: Using visual and creative approaches in online interviews.
Ethics in Visual and Creative Methods and InformING & ConsentING to participate in online research.
Prepare for an Online Interview
Once you have discerned the research purpose, designed the study, considered ethical issues, obtained approval, planned for sampling, and recruited participants, it is time to move to the practical steps involved with planning and preparing to conduct the interview. While this is true for any interview, specific preparations are needed when the interview is online.
Prepare questions and prompts
Eliciting descriptions of experiences and perceptions of interviewees is the goal of any research interview, and questioning is central to any interview. Whether structured, semi-structured, or unstructured or a mix of styles, interviewers invite interviewees to contribute insights to build understanding of the problem the study was designed to explore.
Let’s use an example, so we can see how the same topic could be studied very differently depending on the interview approach: How do urban dwellers experience the natural world?
We ask closed or limited choice questions in a structured interview. Using our topic, we could ask:
Closed: “Do you enjoy outdoor recreation, yes or no?”
Limited or multiple-choice questions: “For outdoor recreation do you prefer playing sports or taking walks on your own?”
We ask open-ended questions in a semi-structured interviews:
Open-ended: “What is your favorite outdoor activity?”
In an unstructured interview we might ask broader questions to get the conversation started.
Open-ended: I’m exploring how do urban dwellers experience the natural world. What are your experiences?
Invite participants to go deeper with follow-up questions or probes
While structured questioning can help to establish some background, most qualitative researchers want more from participants than a simple yes or no, or “answer a” out of a list of options. The in-depth interview is more than a simple Q & A. How do you keep the interaction flowing? Follow-up questions and probes allow you to draw out more details about something interesting in a response or redirect the questioning. For example:
You said your favorite outdoor activity involves hiking with a small group of friends.
Why do you prefer group activities?
Who organizes these outings?
How do you feel after a group hike?
How do group activities outdoors compare with group activities indoors?
The simplest probes, such as “tell me more,” “how did you feel when that happened,” or “what happened next?” are easy to plug into any interview. Follow-up questions and probes also allow you to balance breadth and depth. You can decide whether to leave some questions unasked if the interviewee wants to keep talking about an experience or perspective relevant to the study. Or you can encourage the participant to move on if they are dwelling too long on a point or have wandered off into extraneous details. For example:
Follow-up questions to dig deeper: You said you feel good after a hike with friends. Tell me more – what does it mean to “feel good”?
Follow-up questions to redirect the participant: I understand that your fun-loving friend Meg has been the hike organizer since college days. Tell me about how you experience hikes in new locations.
To be more strategic, Rubin and Rubin identified three types of probes (2011, pp. 139-140):
Attention probes (“Okay, I understand,” etc.) let the interviewee know you are listening.
Conversation management probes keep the conversation focused on the research topic and help regulate the desired level of depth. Researchers use such probes to confirm answers, ask for better definition or clarification if the researcher cannot follow the thread of the comments.
Credibility probes aim to find relevant evidence to support participants’ claims.
Each type of question and questioning requires a different kind of preparation for online interviews
Researchers planning for more structured interviews will articulate all or most of the main interview questions in advance and plan the sequence for asking them. For semi-structured interviews sequence of main questions may be predetermined or arranged as the interview proceeds. Although sub-questions, follow-up questions, or probes can be outlined in advance, they can be refined or added to the planned list as needed based on interviewee responses. In less structured interviews researchers may want to be more spontaneous than is possible when questions are formulated in advance. Researchers may simply identify key points to cover. Researchers at the unstructured end of the continuum approach the interview with the larger purpose for the inquiry in mind; they develop specific topics and articulate questions as the interview unfolds.
Interview preparation varies by technology and interview structure
Implications for interview preparation vary depending on the mode of communication as well as the degree(s) of structure framing the interview. Whether the interviewer spells out each question or maps out key topics, if the interview is to be conducted online, the nature of the technology will influence the options for conveying the question and receiving and responding to the answer. A core design decision about the most desirable level of structure versus spontaneity will need to be considered in light of the mode of questioning: spoken, written, and/or visual.
Keep in mind that being spontaneous while managing the interaction on an online platform might mean you have a few too many balls in the air. While a conversational style of questioning might be natural in a videochat, in a text interview the researcher would need to think of the question and type quickly enough to keep the participant engaged.
Prepare for synchronous text-based interviews
The #1 risk for online interviews? The participant just has to hit that little x in the corner and the whole thing collapses! We have to keep them engaged, no time to fumble. Participants are not going to wait for minutes to pass before the next question is posed. Whether the researcher and participant are using full-sized or tiny virtual keyboards, the process of posing and responding to questions is slowed by the process of writing. In such cases it might be better to type out main questions and frequently-used probes, so they can be quickly cut and pasted into the messaging window to keep the exchange flowing.
In preparing for a text-based interview, think about whether and how you will use emojis. In a cross-cultural study, make sure there are not connotations to emoticons that are different from the way you understand them. If you decide to use emojis, will you determine some kind of consistent meaning you associate with each one? Think about whether, or to what extent, to use other non-text elements including shared files, or links to websites, images or media. If you plan to use such elements, files and links will need to be selected in advance, and be ready to add or attach.
In short, a written real-time interview might benefit from a more structured approach to accommodate the need to type responses.
Prepare for asynchronous text-based interviews
Asynchronous interviews are conducted by email, or by posting in a private forum. Like the interviews described above, they are conducted primarily in writing, with the potential for shared images or links to other media. Many of the issues discussed above are relevant with one big exception: while text-chat interviews require close attention to fast timing, in asynchronous interviews timing is more relaxed. The researcher can be much more flexible and allow for an iterative process in this type of interview. The interviewer can read and re-read the participant’s response and think carefully about the next question. Indeed, the main attribute cited in favor of asynchronous interviews is the opportunity for reflection by researcher and participant between question, response, and the next question.
Either structured or unstructured interviews are possible, each with distinct advantages. In a structured style of interview, researchers can interview more than one participant at a time, because questions can be sent individually to several participants at once. In less structured interviews participants can more freely discuss general themes, perhaps contributing unexpected perspectives.
The researcher needs to be clear about expectations and gain agreement from participants. The overall time frame for the study should be spelled out, as well as the turnaround time for responses. Do you want participants to respond within 24 hours, or a week? What should participants expect from you in terms of feedback, probes or follow-up questions within what time frame? The longer the interview, the larger the number of expected iterations the greater the risk that participants will lose interest or become distracted and not provide complete data.
Prepare for multimedia video interviews
Not long ago studios with costly setups were the only way to meet via videoconference. Now we carry the means for videochats in our pockets! Depending on the platform, we can integrate text chat, audio, and videoconferencing functions with various combinations of tools that may include shared applications and shared whiteboards. The entire interaction is captured and archived, thus providing a data record for the researcher to review and analyze.
To plan for a multimedia video interview, review communication features on the platform and determine which to use to convey questions, and what options to make available to interviewees for their responses. How will visual, verbal, and/or text options be utilized?
Preparing for a structured or semi-structured interview in a web conferencing space entails outlining at least some questions in advance. Questions can be spoken or conveyed in the form of visual prompts, diagrams, images, or media clips. Questions in any form can be presented on PowerPoint slides or other documents loaded into the meeting space in advance.
Interview questions or conversation themes can be presented one-by-one, by advancing through the slides or pages. It is possible to move back and forth through the preset questions if it is desirable to change the sequence. The interviewer can speak and explain the questions while the interviewee can also read or view the prompts. Because the medium is flexible, additional questions, follow-ups and/or probes can be either spoken or written during the interview.
Some platforms include a shared whiteboard, which allows the researcher and/or participant to draw on and the screen and generate or annotate models, visual maps or diagrams.
All elements the researcher intends to share must be selected and tested in advance of the interview. Any intellectual property issues, such as permissions for use of images or media, should be obtained before finalizing the interview plans.
The main issue that is both an advantage and a disadvantage of the meeting space is the diversity of tools, which some researchers may find overwhelming. With a little practice, researchers can overcome this potential challenge. Highly engaged participants may be less likely to exit out of the interview prematurely.
Practice!
Whether you carry out a formal pilot study, or ask a friend to stand in for a participant, practice is essential. Practice the technology - even if you are accustomed to using it in your personal life, an interview is a different story. You don’t want to get into an interview and realize there is an issue with your webcam, you can’t figure out how to start the whiteboard, or you discover that what you thought would be a 45-minute interview would take two hours to complete!
Testing the setup and communications options is a crucial part of preparation for any interview. Additional points include the following:
Synchronous text-based interview checklist
In absence of face-to-face introductions, decide whether you want to share images, a recorded introduction or other information about yourself.
Select a text interview technology with which participants are familiar; discuss platform choice as part of consent agreement. Provide any instructions or tech support information the participant may need.
Familiarize yourself with communications options in that setting; review archiving function for saving the transcript.
Familiarize yourself with emoji, emoticons, or other communication shortcuts or slang used by the target population. Determine whether meanings are clear, and whether that kind of communication aids or distracts from the interview. Decide how you will use these shortcuts to save time and keep the conversation moving.
Articulate a greater number of questions that elicit shorter responses; break big questions into a series of sub-questions.
Write out questions or key phrases in advance so you can cut and paste them into the text window to save time and keep interview flowing.
Provide any background information in advance so you can move quickly into a dynamic exchange.
Asynchronous text-based interview checklist
In absence of face-to-face introductions, decide whether you want to share images, a recorded introduction or other information about yourself and the study.
Set up a separate email account to ensure privacy. If you are associated with an institution, use your academic email address.
Develop an interview schedule and guide. More structured interviews may be laid out with main questions that will be asked at a specific interval, such as each week. A less structured interview should offer an outline of the themes or topics that will be explored within a defined time frame.
In addition to the informed consent agreement, create a procedural agreement with expectations for length of the interview, and turnaround time for responses.
Multimedia video interview
Experiment with setup and camera positioning options.
Adjust the webcam to allow for close-up view.
Review other features, such as text chat or areas for presenting visuals, and determine whether or how to use them in the interview.
Decide how you want to present yourself. Just as in a face-to-face live interview, the background, your attire, and style all convey messages.
Determine whether you want to use the webcam during all or part of the interview. For example, you could use the webcam to make contact in the introduction and then turn it off. This is an important consideration when interviewing people with limited bandwidth.
Decide who gets to choose when and how to use the webcam. Discuss options and parameters for participant’s camera. Is it acceptable for the participant to turn the camera off and use audio only? Is it acceptable to blur the background, or do you want to observe their setting? These issues should be discussed in advance of the interview - at the consent stage.
Carefully review questions or interview guide so you can minimize the need to look down at notes. Take the time, before looking down to read notes, to make the best “virtual eye contact” possible.
Discussion or Journal prompts
1. Identify a technology tool or platform you are considering for an online interview.
Discuss the specific options available for communicating, how you would use them, and steps you will take to prepare.
Compare and contrast how this same interview would work with a different technology.
2. Create a planning timeline and checklist for an online interview given the interview style, structure, and mode of communication.
4. Discuss the point made by Rubin and Rubin (2005): people relate to one another through culturally understood roles in which obligations and responsibilities are known to both parties. When the interview occurs online, how do people know “culturally understood roles” and agree to obligations and responsibilities? Identify any steps researchers (or participants) should make in the planning phase.
Cover image by Moondance from Pixabay
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2005). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (Second ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publishing.
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2011). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (Third ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publishing.
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