Email-facilitated qualitative interviews with traumatic brain injury survivors: A new and accessible method

Abstract

Findings indicate that new technologies may advance data collection methods for people with cognitive-linguistic impairments who face participation barriers in face-to-face interviews.

Effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation for people with multiple sclerosis: a meta-synthesis of patient perspectives

“…A line of research investigating alternative methodological approaches to face-to-face interviews examines the advantages of e-mail interviews as this approach allows participants to reflect upon their answers as they can take the time they want and need to write them down. Previous research comparing face-to-face and email interviews shows that people with cognitive impairment feel more comfortable in writing than in producing on-the-spot responses (Egan, Chenoweth & McAuliffe, 2006). People with MS may have issues remembering certain events and the need to give 'real-time' answers may cause distress or discomfort in participants which not only raises ethical issues but also influences the quality of the data as people may be inclined to give shorter answers to finish the interview quickly.…”

“…People with MS may have issues remembering certain events and the need to give 'real-time' answers may cause distress or discomfort in participants which not only raises ethical issues but also influences the quality of the data as people may be inclined to give shorter answers to finish the interview quickly. These issues need to be considered when interviewing people with MS as the structure of the interview needs to accommodate people with varying degrees of cognitive impairment that can affect the ability to classify, store, integrate, and retrieve information (Egan et al, 2006). Therefore, e-mail facilitated interviews may be a good option.…”

Interviewing When You’re Not Face-To-Face: The Use of Email Interviews in a Phenomenological Study

“…Data quality is essentially the same between email and face-to-face interviews (see Meho, 2006). However, multiple studies have demonstrated that data collected online via text is more succinct than data that is collected verbally (Abrams et al, 2014;Benford & Standen, 2011;Campbell et al, 2001;Dimond et al, 2012;Egan et al, 2006;Nicholas et al, 2010;Synnot et al, 2014). Although the transcripts of online interviews are typically shorter than face-to-face interviews, the online groups tend to provide more concrete examples in answering interview questions (Synnot et al, 2014).…”

“…Additionally, with email interviews, participants can reply to questions at his/her convenience (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Burns, 2010;Cooper, 2009;Opdenakker, 2006). Being able to respond to interview questions in the comfort of one's home or during 'down time' may encourage participants to feel safer about sharing their personal experiences (Bowker & Tuffin, 2004;Egan, Chenoweth, & Mcauliffe, 2006), including experiences that may be particularly sensitive and/or embarrassing (Deakin & Wakefield, 2014).…”

“…With email interviews, participants must have access to the Internet and be competent in computer use (Egan et al, 2006;Jowett, Peel, & Shaw, 2011).…”