Edge Hill University
Virtual interviewing- a methodological innovation beyond COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic created a crisis environment for qualitative research, as social distancing and lockdown prevented in-person data collection. One adaptation for the continuity of qualitative research during this period was virtual video interviewing. Video interviewing including focus group interviews are data collection methods that use a video conferencing software to conduct synchronous and/ or asynchronous interviews for qualitative research. The literature extensively discusses and favours the use of interviews for in-person data collection, while cautioning that virtual video interviewing may impede rapport, enhance participant fatigue and restrict interaction depth. Thus, purporting that virtual video interviews are only useful in times of crises when adaptation to data collection methods is necessary.
Keen, Lomeli-Rodrigues and Joffe (2022) believe that there is a place for virtual video interviews beyond crises and this presentation illustrates this belief. In this international PhD research project, virtual synchronous interviews and focus groups were used post the COVID-19 pandemic to collect data in Jamaica from England when the researcher’s presence and travel proved to be problematic for in-person field work.
Initial findings suggest that participants reported increased comfort and convenience, which encouraged richer narratives. The virtual format of the interviews and focus groups enabled broader demographic participation, innovation and application beyond crisis-driven necessity. Thereby, reimagining the use of these methods- not as a backup plan, but as a power tool for richer, wider-reaching storytelling in qualitative inquiry.
References
Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K., 2018. Research Methods in Education. 8th ed. Oxon, Routledge.
Keen, S., Lomeli-Rodriguez, M., and Joffe, H., 2022. From Challenge to Opportunity: Virtual Qualitative Research During COVID-19 and Beyond. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. 21.
Wakelin, K., McAra-Couper, J., Fleming, T., 2024. Using an Online Platform for conducting Face-to-face Interviews. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. 23.