Virtual interviews will have the most differences from the classic face-to-face technique. At the same time, they have become more and more necessary due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasingly global nature of research. Sometimes researchers choose to use virtual interviews when the population that they are studying is a particular group of internet users. Virtual interviews can either be done synchronously (video meetings and messenger technologies) or asynchronously (email interviews or online surveys). In asynchronous interviews, the researcher sends the participants questions they can respond to at their own convenience. Often, the questions are drawn out over a period of time to make them more manageable. Asynchronous interviews have the advantage of giving both the researcher and participants ample time to think about their questions and responses. Synchronous interviews can be done through virtual chat software or video chat software. These are more similar to traditional face-to-face interviews because participants respond immediately after the questions are asked, and allow for non-verbal cues. As with the previous interview settings we have covered, there are advantages and disadvantages to these types of interviews.
Virtual Interview Advantages | Virtual Interview Disadvantages |
Virtual interviews enable you to access hard to reach or geographically distant populations. By interviewing over the internet, you have the possibility of reaching a larger number of people and creating a more detailed and varied set of data. | Interviewing through chat technologies or email requires a degree of participant interest and motivation far beyond what is needed in a face-to-face or phone interview. Participants have to read your questions, think about their responses, and type out what they want to say in a comprehensive manner. |
Additionally, asynchronous interviews in particular can be completed whenever the participant has time to respond and thus do not require as much tedious scheduling. | Participants may be distracted by their surroundings, which may lead to less engagement. |
Regardless of whether you are interviewing synchronously or asynchronously, your participants will be able to respond from anywhere, provided they have an internet connection, allowing for greater ease of access. | Virtual interviewing without a video component lacks the visual cues that come from seeing who you are talking to. This may make it harder to build rapport and trust, which could lead to a loss of information. |
Virtual interviews are cost-efficient. There is no need to travel or pay for recording equipment and research teams can be much smaller. Technologies like Skype or Zoom allow you to automatically record your meetings within the program (although remember that you must ask for permission from interviewees before doing so— do not rely on these systems to do it for you). | Language can differ in online settings, which may lead to misinterpretation on the part of both the researcher and participant. Also, both the researcher and participant must have a certain level of technological competence, as well as have access to the appropriate software. |
Building rapport is a challenge of conducting interviews in virtual settings. However, some of this difficulty can be mitigated by how you approach your initial contact with your participants. For example, you can share a certain level of personal information in your initial correspondence and even include pictures of yourself so that participants get an idea of what you look like.
Virtual interviews come in handy because they allow people who have limitations in terms of time and geographic location to take part in research. Conducting interviews in a virtual setting also gives participants a level of anonymity that may allow them to reveal more information to you as the researcher. To facilitate this, make good use of probing questions during virtual interviews even though it may feel more difficult to do so.
Personal Project
Now that you have a good grasp on how to conduct interviews in person, over the phone, and in a virtual setting–as well as the advantages and disadvantages that go along with each–you can begin to think about which setting would best fit your own research. How important are nonverbal cues to your data? Is it difficult to meet in person? How large is your research budget? Consider also your own strengths as a conversationalist. Are you comfortable with lengthy face-to-face conversations? How about phone conversations?