Conducting Intensive Interviews Using Email

Abstract

This article examines the use of computer-mediated recruitment and email intensive interviewing in contrast to more traditional methods of data collection. Email interviewing is compared to telephone and face-to-face interviewing with the same study population utilizing the same interview guide. This allows analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of each interview format to emerge. This serendipitous comparison opportunity arose from a study of the decision-making and bereavement process of women who terminated desired pregnancies after diagnosis of a fetal anomaly. History and analysis of ethical and methodological issues related to computerized communication for research purposes is included. Although more methodological analysis (Illingworth, 2001) must occur, results suggest that computer-mediated methods allow the research to include isolated, geographically dispersed and/or stigmatized groups who are often overlooked or ignored. This is important for social work researchers who need additional research methods to collect rich data about these difficultto-access groups.

A qualitative study of the experiences of people who identify themselves as having adjusted positively to a visible difference

“…Telephone interviews have previously been criticized, first for the participants becoming distracted when in their own environment (McCoyd and Kerson, 2006) and second, as telephone conversations lack the non-verbal communication which contributes to the richness of data (Burnard, 1994;Chapple, 1999;Fontana and Frey, 2005). It was anticipated that because of the differences in methods used, the information obtained from participants who took part in telephone interviews might be noticeably different from that gained from face-toface or group interviews.…”

From Divine Instruction to Human Invention: The Constitution of Indonesian Christian Young People’s Sexual Subjectivities through the Dominant Discourse of Sexual Morality

“…CMC research methods were chosen because they offer advantages such as (1) increasing psychological comfort and security in studies on sensitive topics (McCoyd & Kerson, 2006), (2) providing a more reflective temporal-spatial quality than face-to-face interviews, and therefore fostering a more equal and collaborative research relationship (James, 2016), and (3) giving a range of practical advantages (Mann & Stewart, 2000) such as reaching participants in different geographical locations simultaneously. During the recruitment, ten participants wanted to see the researcher in person before agreeing to participate.…”

Contesting the Dominant Discourse of Child Sexual Abuse: Sexual Subjects, Agency, and Ethics

“…CMC research methods offer advantages which are relevant with this research such as (1) providing psychological comfort and security to explore sensitive topics (McCoyd and Kerson 2006), (2) encouraging a more reflective engagement with the topic as compared to face-to-face interview, which in turn promotes a more equal and collaborative relationship with the researcher (James 2016), and (3) offering some practical advantages (Mann and Stewart 2000) such as saving travel costs because the participants were from various geographical locations. The online interviews involved 10-20 email exchanges over 4-12 weeks with each participant, and one session of instant messenger chat.…”