Online interviews a case study - Clare 3

Programme 10: :40 Introduction 10: Online questionnaires Lunch Online Interviews 3: Tea break Ethics and online research Any questions, evaluation, online futures, future directions etc

Structure 1. The research example 2. The research process -web-based questionnaires -synchronous online interviews 3. Engagement, Interaction and Communication in Synchronous Online Interviews –Rapport building (e.g. lack of visual/physical pointers) –Interview conversation 4. Online Interviews: Key decisions 5. Conclusions Then you have a go at an online interview!

1. Research example Cyberparents research project. Clare Madge and Henrietta O’Connor; Role of the Internet in the lives of new parents.

The Cyberparents Project Pioneering online research (1998-9) Increasing number of parenting sites in the UK: Recognition of the role of the Internet in the lives of new parents and ‘ the immense inner sense of security that comes with discovering that real people – most of them parents, some of them nurses, doctors and midwives are available, around the clock if you need them …’ (Rheingold, 1994:16). Aimed to examine how, why and in what ways new parents use the Internet as an information source about parenting and as a form of social support Used combination of online methods: web-based survey and synchronous online interviews

2. The Research Process Established contact with Babyworld Interviewed key staff members Access agreed Established webpages for the project within the University website ( –Meet the researchers (included photos of us) –Project information –Survey Used University crest and linked only to University and babyworld

a. web-based questionnaires

Web-based Questionnaire Hypertext link from babyworld homepage to our web-based questionnaire Used ‘hook’ question: ‘are you a cyberparent’ and logo Clicking on link automatically redirected user to our site Chose not to use incentive Web-based questionnaire Simple and quick to complete Drop down menus Ranking and open questions Final question about further participation Pop up ‘ thank you ’ once submitted successfully

b. On-line synchronous interviews Rapid results from questionnaire - dwindled after a few days Sixteen respondents expressed interest in further interview Respondents geographically widely dispersed Many had new babies and/or were pregnant All internet/technology users Logical progression to interview online

Software Debated asynchronous/synchronous interviews Hotline Connect conferencing software familiar to researchers was available Used as tool for distance learning students Facilitates real-time chat through specific server address Advantages: –Easy to install on PC and Apple Mac –No need for sophisticated hardware or high technical ability –Facilitators have control – confidentiality –Low cost

The Interview Process Involved time investment in setting up times/dates and sending/installing software Synchronous focus group interviews using semi- structured interview schedule Prepared questions in advance along with ‘script’ and then cut and paste Had to use typed words to replace usual visual pointers e.g. building rapport

Synchronous virtual interviews

3. Engagement, Interaction and Communication in Synchronous Online Interviews Virtual interviews challenge conventional interviewing practices, in particular: –Establishing rapport (e.g. lack of visual/physical pointers) –Interview conversation written However, ‘the vast majority of social spaces on the internet bear a remarkable resemblance to real world locales’ (Kitchin, 1998,395).

a. Visual Clues and Rapport Textbook guides highlight importance of physical and visual clues in gaining trust, building rapport and ‘assessing’ each other: ‘Smile and dress in a similar way to those you will be interviewing’ (Robson, 1993:236) ‘Your appearance, speech, and behaviour must be acceptable to your research participants’ (Glesne and Peshkin, 1992:95). Shared characteristics, age, gender, ethnicity, status can have impact.

Virtual Rapport Set up web pages with photographs Established relationships via /phone Tried to stress similarities Carefully designed interview schedule/script Particular focus on sharing profile data Overall this seemed to work well

Example of sharing profile data First of all we thought it would be a good idea to introduce ourselves Hen and Clare: Hello everyone. I'm Clare and I have a daughter called Isabelle who is nearly 2. I work in the geography department of Leicester University on a 3-day contract and Isabelle is in a local community nursery on those days. I am 35 years old, white and my partner is a psychiatric nurse. I don't use the Internet very often because I am so busy at work and I don't have computer access at home. Hen and Clare: Hi Julia, Jane and Jo, welcome to the chat – could you tell us a bit more about yourselves?

And the response….. Julia: Hi, I am 34 on Sunday (!!) with a daughter, Anabelle aged 10 months. I am a full time mother and am loving avery minute of it. Jane: Hi, I'm Jane, I'm 29 years old, 30 in September. I'm a new mum, with a daughter, Joy who was born on March 15th, so coming up for 3 months now. I'm a stay at home mum, and about to go crazy at times, as she's had colic, and screams like mad.. I love being a mum!! Jo: Hello everyone! I am 33 years old, married and have a 21 month old daughter who I'm sure is starting the terrible twos early! I work part time (reluctantly) but love being a mum.

Engagement and Rapport ‘a stranger wanting to do academic research into online communities is often viewed as an unwelcome arbitrary intrusion’ (Paccagnella, 1997:3) Our ‘insider status’ helped entry/ ‘success’ of method Did not encounter the ‘aura of suspicion surrounding stranger to stranger communication in cyberspace’ (Smith, 1997:40) Also, can be a tendency to be more open, even to strangers, than in offline encounters ‘Without visual clues about gender, age, ethnicity and social status conversations open up in directions which might otherwise be avoided. Participants in these communities often express themselves with little inhibition and dialogues flourish and develop quickly’ Poster (1995:90)

b. Interview Conversation Changed interview conversation Interrupting a virtual conversation somehow felt more acceptable in the written word than in the spoken F2F context Supportive interactions? Empathy, smiling, nodding etc? Silences and probes - how do you deal with this? Spellings, paralinguistic expressions e.g. lol, ‘emoticons’ Less structured and more interactive as questions posted with time lags so final interview transcript littered with interruptions, typos and non-sequential chat Real advantage - transcripts ready made

4. Online Interviews: Key decisions Why use online interviews? Type of interview (synchronous or asynchronous) What technology do you need? Software (choice, installation) Technical ability and access to computer (researcher and subjects) One-to-one or group? Carefully designed interview (prepared text, intros) Virtual rapport (how can you establish this?) How will you deal with non-verbal clues? Venue (convenient, safe space) Technical hitches Ethical issues

5. Conclusions- the potentials… 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 (disabled/in prison/in hospital) or the socially isolated (drug dealers/terminally ill/ etc) or those living in dangerous places (war zones) Provide savings in costs to the researcher (for example, costs associated with travel and venue hire) Supply ready transcribed interview data, quickly, providing fast and cheap alternatives to face-to-face interviews Reduce issues of interviewer effect as participants cannot 'see' each other

…and the limitations Important to ensure that online interview is the most appropriate research tool to address aims of research There are different types of online interview and it is important to select the relevant interview type to address aims of research It can be difficult to access a relevant sample. So sampling strategies/access issues must have full consideration Issues surrounding interview design must be considered, e.g.How to build rapport in the absence of visual and non-verbal cues Guaranteeing the ethical rights of respondents including informed consent, confidentiality and privacy

…so to conclude Novel techniques so while some of their limitations may therefore be solved in time, others may never be remedied Indeed although the data collected by virtual interviews can be rich and valuable to the researcher, the potential of on-line research should not be exaggerated: many of the issues and problems of conventional research methods still apply in the virtual venue Moreover, it is unlikely that online interviewing is going to replace face-to-face interviewing but rather it is another option in the methodological ‘toolkit’

So…. As Dodd (1998:60) argues, we must ensure that ‘…cheap entry costs and glowing attractiveness of Internet fieldwork do not result in shoddy `cowboy’ research.’ It is unlikely that online research is going to replace onsite research but rather it is another option in the methodological ‘toolkit’. Therefore the use of online research methods must themselves be carefully considered.

Quotes New technologies not only offer fresh opportunities for research but also impose new limitations. (Christians and Chen, 2004: 18) At present for most internet researchers it is likely that gaining access is the least difficult aspect of the research process... What has become more difficult is determining how to ensure ethical use is made of texts, sounds and pictures that are accessed for study. (Jones, 2004: 179)

Some references: Parenting gone wired: empowerment of new mothers on the internet? Social and Cultural Geography 7, 2, Mothers in the making? Exploring notations of liminality in hybrid cyber/space. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 30, 1, On-line with e-mums: exploring the Internet as a medium for research. Area, 34, 1,