Online Interviews

Technical Structure: Synchronous Versus Asynchronous

FtF interviews consist of immediate interactions between researchers (interviewers) and study participants (interviewees). The technical structure of online interviews can also reflect immediate communication between the two parties (synchronous communication) or communication separated by a period of time (asynchronous communication). E-mail interviews represent an example of an asynchronous online interview. In e-mail interviews, researchers first write up a series of questions. Researchers then e-mail those questions to study participants. Participants then write out responses and e-mail those responses back to the researchers. In asynchronous online interviews, the communication between interviewer and interviewee is broken up by time. Therefore, the relationship between questions and answers is typically fairly rigid and inflexible, without much input from the interviewee on how the interview unfolds.

Although early forms of online communication precluded the type of immediate interactions found in FtF, increasing Internet and computing speeds eventually made it possible for synchronous online interviews. Software, such as Skype and FaceTime, allows interviewers and interviewees to see and hear each other in real time. Synchronous online interviews are potentially much more flexible than asynchronous online interviews. Interviewers can modify their questioning based on interviewee feedback. Likewise, participants have greater opportunity to provide information not directly suggested by a specific question, which could yield valuable data.

Interview Structure: Standardized Versus Nonstandardized

Just as with FtF interviews, the structure of an online interview itself ranges from standardized questions to more openly structured, nonstandardized questions. In standardized interviews, researchers develop a series of questions and provide each participant with the same questions. The interview then proceeds in a structured, interviewer-guided direction based on what information the researcher is interested in receiving. Conversely, in nonstandardized interviews, participants may receive different questions, or may receive the same basic prompts but be given greater leverage in the interview itself to add additional information. In nonstandardized interviews, participants may guide the interview to a greater degree than researchers. To that end, researchers may also decide what initial, and follow-up, questions to ask based on participants’ responses.

The structure of the online interview plays an important role in how the interview is conducted. For example, interviewers and interviewees may find it helpful if an asynchronous e-mail interview is more structured (e.g., standardized questions) than a synchronous online interview because of the lapse in time between the parties’ communications. Conversely, nonstandardized questioning might be more productive in synchronous online interviews because the interviewer and interviewee are able to interact instantaneously and the conversation can flow organically.

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