Face-to-face interviews are often what comes to mind when thinking about how to conduct interview research, but there are many factors at play in deciding what setting you will conduct your interviews in. For example, what happens when you want to reach a population that isn’t geographically close to you? What about if you are interested in a population located in a closed site like a prison or hospital? You may even be interested in a specific group of internet users as research participants. Throughout this section we will cover the advantages, disadvantages, and general techniques for face-to-face, virtual, and phone interviews. By the end, you should be able to envision which interview setting will work best for your own research, and have a good grasp of how to maximize the information you are able to collect regardless of the interview setting.
For ease of access, you can also refer to the chart below which summarizes the pros and cons of each of the interview settings.
| Setting | Pros | Cons | Details |
| Face-to-face interviews | Observation of nonverbal cues Spontaneous responses Easy to record Building rapport is straightforward | Unconscious bias Costly (time and money) Scheduling difficulties | Choose space where participant feels comfortable Be mindful of your own biases that may show themselves non-verbally |
| Phone interviews | Reach populations that are difficult to access Easy to schedule Spontaneous reactions Participant anonymity Cost-efficient | Reduction in nonverbal cues Challenging to create rapport Unclear communication Can be difficult to record | Make sure participants are located in a quiet space Pay careful attention to tone Use verbal acknowledgments |
| Virtual (synchronous or asynchronous) interviews | Reach populations that are difficult to access and limited on time Large sample Can be completed at participant’s convenience Cost-efficient Easy to record or automatic transcripts Possibility for participant anonymity | Need high degree of participant motivation Possibility of distraction Reduction of or lacking in nonverbal cues Hard to build rapport Possibility of misinterpretation Need technological competence | Can be text-based through email or chat Can be done in immersive virtual environment Can combine text and video |
With these options of conducting interviews in-person, by phone, or virtually, you can reach nearly any population. Read on and you will gain an in-depth understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of each interview setting and the appropriate situations in which to use them!
