Doing Internet research with hard-to-reach communities: methodological reflections on gaining meaningful access

Kaufmann, Mareile; Tzanetakis, Meropi

doi:10.1177/1468794120904898

Cited by 26 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…They preferred to have interview questions in advance and responded in writing. We allowed this to happen because it enabled the inclusion of hard-to-reach communities (see also Kaufmann & Tzanetakis, 2020); however, we noted a limitation to follow up with additional questions. Overall, we felt that Zoom interviews were close substitutes for face-to-face interviews, while phone interviews and email interviews were less interactive and often lacked the opportunity to probe for a deeper understanding.…”

Section: Strengths and Weaknesses Of The Revised Research Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research Disruptions, New Opportunities: Re-Imagining Qualitative Interview Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Kobakhidze

Hui

Chui

et al. 2021

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to teaching and research in universities. This has prompted the publication of a considerable number of studies, frameworks, and guidelines on teaching adaptations. Less has been written on adaptations to empirical research projects, partly because such projects have been put on hold or redesigned entirely. This paper reflects on adaptations made, challenges encountered, and lessons learned while persisting with a qualitative study involving parents, teachers, tutors, and university academics during the second and third waves of the pandemic in Hong Kong in 2020. Specifically, we reflect on the reconsideration of research design and instruments, negotiation of different kinds of access to research sites and participants, optimization of existing data sources, streamlining of data collection approaches, and consideration of the mental well-being of both researchers and respondents. The paper includes lessons learned from the use of Zoom, WhatsApp Messenger, and phone calls as technological tools, and hashtag search on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Special consideration is given to the unexpected benefits of doing research during the pandemic and the convenience of using technology and adaptability approach.

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Section: Strengths and Weaknesses Of The Revised Research Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research Disruptions, New Opportunities: Re-Imagining Qualitative Interview Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Kobakhidze

Hui

Chui

et al. 2021

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

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“…In certain cases, email interviews can also enable the inclusion of participants that would not otherwise be able to participate in the research for various reasons. Further, email interviews can offer a possibility to research communities that are otherwise hard to reach (Bjerke, 2010; Kaufmann & Tzanetakis, 2020). Consequently, email interviews can allow a more flexible choice of participants (Valdez & Gubrium, 2020).…”

Section: Email Interviewingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Email Interviews: A Guide to Research Design and Implementation

Dahlin

2021

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

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As scholars in social sciences and humanities explore new methods for studying increasingly digitized societies, electronic research methods—such as email interviews—have moved from marginal complementary activities to, depending on the purpose of the study, potentially becoming primary methods. However, while there is no lack of discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of such methods, there is little guidance in the literature in terms of how electronic methods can be used effectively and productively in qualitative research. This article adds to the existing body of literature by outlining a strategy for email interviews. The argument of the article is that email interviewing can be fruitfully combined with explorative interviewing, offering the researcher a way to strategically work with the extended time frame that asynchronous interviewing brings with it. This gives the researcher an opportunity to work with open-ended introductory questions, follow-up questions, and cross-fertilization of multiple interviews carried out simultaneously. The article brings forward the argument that a methodological strategy that combines email interviews and explorative interviewing can help the researcher draw the moment of surprise closer together with the moment of analysis and thereby challenge existing theories and knowledge of the study object. The argument is illustrated through examples from an ethnographic study with no in-person elements. Additionally, the article acknowledges that email interviewing is necessary for some significant research tasks and in some cases even a more suitable option than traditional in-person methods due to the study’s objective and the nature of its participants.

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“…The strategies we presented are drawn from our singular experience, although they are supported by other scholars' past efforts to conduct rigorous virtual qualitative inquiry (Archibald et al, 2019;Deakin & Wakefield, 2014;Kaufmann & Tzanetakis, 2020;Krouwel et al, 2019;Roberts et al, 2021;Salmons, 2015). In the future, systematic exploration of the effects of virtual methods on the quality of qualitative inquiry would add to the growing body of literature-based primarily on case exemplars.…”

Section: Impli C Ati On S For N Ur S Ingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practical strategies for qualitative inquiry in a virtual world

Schlegel

Tate

Pickler

et al. 2021

Journal of Advanced Nursing

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The aim of this article is to provide practical strategies for maintaining methodological rigour in executing a virtual qualitative study. Strategies are based on evidence from existing research about virtual qualitative methods and on the strategies used by the authors to convert a planned in-person qualitative, grounded theory study to an entirely virtual grounded theory study during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study began in-person in September 2019 and was converted to virtual in March 2020.Virtual data collection was completed in September 2020. Design:This article provides a case exemplar of virtual adaptations made to a study underway when the pandemic rendered all in-person research impractical and potentially dangerous. Data sources:The strategies discussed are based on our own experiences and the supporting theoretical assumptions of qualitative research, specifically grounded theory methods.

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Doing Internet research with hard-to-reach communities: methodological reflections on gaining meaningful access

Cited by 26 publications

References 44 publications

Research Disruptions, New Opportunities: Re-Imagining Qualitative Interview Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Research Disruptions, New Opportunities: Re-Imagining Qualitative Interview Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Email Interviews: A Guide to Research Design and Implementation

Practical strategies for qualitative inquiry in a virtual world

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