When its face to face its harder: Online Group Interviewing

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When its face to face its harder Online
Group Interviewing

• Henrietta OConnor
• Centre for Labour Market Studies
• University of Leicester

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Introduction

• The Cyberparents Project
• The Research Process
• Implications of using virtual methodology
• Interview Design
• Developing Rapport
• Language Use
• The Virtual Interface
• Concluding remarks

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Cyberparents Research Project

• Increasing number of parenting sites in UK
  babyworld.co.uk, ukparents.co.uk, boots.co.uk,
  supermarkets, virgin, womens sites
• Role of the internet in the lives of new parents
• the immense inner sense of security that comes
  with discovering that real people most of them
  parents, some of them nurses, doctors and
  midwives are available, around the clock if you
  need them.
• (Rheingold, 199416)

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The Case Study Site - www.babyworld.co.uk

• Launched in 1995
• Advertised in NHS publication given to all new
  parents
• Relaunched in 1999
• 160,000 visitors per month
• Averaging 1,000,000 page impressions per month
• Encourages membership to build community

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Babyworld be part of it

• Ask the Expert
• Discussion groups
• Online ante-natal classes
• Online Shopping
• Mission statement
• To support a community where new and expectant
  parents can share experiences and support, women
  can learn about their bodies, their baby and
  childbirth and parents can celebrate the joy of a
  new life

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The Research Process

• Established contact with site facilitators
• Interviewed key staff members
• Background information
• Access agreed

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Online questionnaire

• Project logo and graphics to complement babyworld
  style
• Simple and quick to complete
• Drop down menus
• Ranking questions
• Open questions
• Final question about further participation
• Pop up thank you once submitted successfully

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Webpages

• Established webpages for the project within the
  University website
• Used University crest and linked only to
  University and babyworld
• The Cyberparents Project
• Meet the Researchers
• The Questionnaire

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How did we get people to complete the survey?

• Established a hypertext link from babyworld
  homepage and elsewhere on popular pages of the
  site
• Used the project logo, designed to appeal to
  parents
• Used a hook Are you a cyberparent? Can you
  help us?

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Responses

• Online for 6 weeks and received 155 completed
  responses
• Over 50 were in week one with about 10 for each
  following week
• Sixteen respondents expressed interest in further
  interview

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Interviewing Process

• Respondents geographically widely dispersed
• Many had new babies and/or were pregnant
• All internet/technology users
• Logical progression to interview online
• Conferencing software familiar to researchers was
  available

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Hotline Connect

• Used as tool for distance learning students
• Facilitates real time chat through specific
  server address
• Advantages
• Easy to install on PC and Apple Mac.
• No need for sophisticated hardware or high
  technical ability
• Facilitators have control confidentiality
• Low cost

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Setting Up The Interviews

• Software sent on disk
• Email advice sent
• Dates and times for interview arranged via email
• Group interviews different times of day
• Duration
• Organisation

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Interview Design

• Interview Schedule
• Standard text
• Socio-demographic data

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Creating Rapport

• Loss of usual cues
• Use of webpages
• Email contact
• Use of interview design
• Maintaining distance

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Hen and Clare Hi Amy, Hi Kerry, welcome to the
chat - could you tell us a bit more about
yourselves? Amy. I'm Amy. I have a son called
James who was 1 last month. I went back to work
as a computer programmer when he was 4 mths - he
started with his aunt, but now goes to a nursery
full time. I tend to surf the net at the weekend
(well more before James, really), but find it
really useful for finding people in the same
boat! Amy. Oh - 33 years old, white and my
husband is a draughtsman workign at the same
company as me. Kerry Hello. I'm 22 and have 2
kids. Lisa is 3 and Marie is 8 months. I am a
full time mum. My partner Tom is a computer
programmer. Hen and Clare Thanks for that.
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Language Use

• It is so easy to email and say what we think by
  typing a letter when its face to face its
  harder Sally, cybermother.
• Without visual cues about gender, age, ethnicity
  and social status conversations open up in
  directions which might otherwise be avoided.
  Participants in these virtual communities often
  express themselves with little inhibition and
  dialogues flourish and develop quickly.
  Poster (199590)

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Amy. I feel better askign BW than my health
visitor as they're not goign to see how bad I am
at housekeeping!!! Hen and Clare so the
anonymity is important then Kerry I feel the
same. Like the HV is judging even though she says
she isn't Kerry Although my HV has been a life
line as I suffer from PND Amy. Also, there are
some things that are so little that you don't
want to feel like you're wasting anyone's time.
Askign the HV or GP might get in the way of
something mroe important, whereas sending an
e-mail, the person can answer it when
convenient Amy. My HV is very good, but her
voice does sound patronising. I'msure she
doesn't mean it, but it does get to me... Hen and
Clare yes - our HV is the same by the sound of
it!
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Kerry Being anon means that you don't get
embarassed asking about a little point or
something personal Hen and Clare is it also
that you can ask a Q/get an immediate response
at any time time of the day? Kerry I also find
that the HV advice sometimes sounds like it is
coming from a text book as mt HV's children are
grown up Kerry Sometimes you can get a response
striaght away but on the forums you sometimes
have to wait a while Amy. The timing does help.
I wouldn't want to troubel the HV/GP in the
Night unless ti was important, but knowing
there's someone there is reassuring, Even though
I haven't had to.
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People who dont do well in spontaneous spoken
conversation but turn out to have valuable
contributions to make These people can find
written communication more authentic than the
face to face kind. Who is to say that this
preference for one mode of communication
informal written text is somehow less
authentically human than audible speech?
Rheingold (199423-24)
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Virtual Interface

• Motivation
• Venue
• Time
• Finance
• Other activities
• Rachel my replies will be a bit slower from now
  on as E-J has just woken for a feed so im typing
  one handed!
• Rowena i always have Nicola with me shes here
  now asleep on my other arm thats why Im on
  the net a lot I can hold her and type
• Transcribing
• Physically demanding - typing speed

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Concluding Remarks

• Non-conventional approach to interviewing
• Appropriate only in certain circumstances
• Impacts upon role of interviewer and interviewee
• Access restricted
• the vast majority of social spaces on the
  Internet bear a remarkable resemblance to real
  world locales
• Kitchin (1998395)

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END