Exploring ORMs | Online interviews

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Part 1

Answer the following questions by selecting the correct options. When you have finished, select 'Check Answers' for your results which will open in a new window.

Check Answers

NB. JavaScript must be enabled in your browser settings for the interactive quiz to be displayed and to view the results. As your browser does not allow JavaScript, the text of the quiz is displayed below, with suggested answers and commentsQuestions1. What is an asynchronous interview?
a. an interview which takes place in real time
b. an interview which takes place in non-real time
c. another name for any type of online interview2. What is a synchronous interview?
a. an interview which takes places in real time
b. an interview which takes place in non real time
c. another name for an email interview3. When would it generally be most appropriate to use an online interview?
a. when you are researching an online community
b. when you have not got enough time to arrange face-to-face interviews
c. when interviewing any computer user4. Which of the following approaches can be used to contact online interviewees?
a. advertising on an appropriate website
b. posting a message on a bulletin board
c. directly emailing individuals
d. All of the above. 5. Where can a synchronous interview be carried out?
b. Via email.
c. Via postings to bulletin boards.
d. In a chatroom.Answers1B
An asynchronous interview is carried out in non-real time, i.e. an interview question is posted via email or on a bulletin board and the respondents can answer at any time.2A
A synchronous interview is one which takes place in real time, i.e. the interviewer posts a question to a respondent online at the same time. Responses are simultaneous.3A
Whilst an online methodology can be used in a range of circumstances, using an online methodology is often most logical when, as Gaiser (1997, 136) argues, ‘the research question involves an online social phenomenon, (because) a potential strength of the method is to be researching in the location of interest'.4D
All are possible, but a and b are more likely to generate responses from potential interviewees. See for example, O’Connor and Madge (2001) for a discussion of the benefits of making contact through a website advert and Kivits (2005) and Illingworth (2001) for a discussion of the use of bulletin boards as a means of contacting respondents. The use of email contact is more problematic because this would require the researcher to have access to a list of email addresses (see Mann and Stewart 2000 and Orgad 2005) or the means to generate a list of email addresses.5C
A chatroom is the only place on the list where users can chat simultaneously.

Part 2

Answer the following questions by completing the text boxes. When you have finished, select 'Check Answers' for your results which will open in a new window.

Advantages of online interviews

Name three advantages of online interviews compared to face-to-face interviews.

Disadvantages of online interviews

Name three disadvantages of online interviews compared to face-to-face interviews.

Paralinguistic cues

What are paralinguistic cues in the context of text-based communication? Give two examples.

Emoticons

What are emoticons? Give two examples.

Check Answers

NB. JavaScript must be enabled in your browser settings for the results to be displayed. As your browser does not allow JavaScript, the suggested answers are displayed below:Advantages of online interviews Possible answers include:Savings of Cost, Location, Geography and Travel, Equipment, Flexibility, Venue, Engagement in the Online Interview and Speed.More details about each of these possibilities can be found in the 'Advantages and disadvantages' section.Disadvantages of online interviews Possible answers include:Distracted Participants, Participant Interest and Motivation, Language Use, Technological Competence, Access, Identity Verification, and Absence of Visual Cues.More details about each of these possibilities can be found in the 'Advantages and disadvantages' section.Paralinguistic cuesParalinguistic expressions replace the visual and tactile communication which characterises much face-to-face communication.Some examples of these expressions are: lol (laugh out loud), imho (in my humble opinion) btw (by the way) hth (hope this helps).EmoticonsEmoticons (emotional icons used to express feelings can be used by the interviewees to replace facial expressions and voice quality.Some examples are: :-( (sad) | :-o (surprised) | ;-) (wink).See the 'Design' section for more details.

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Review quiz

Part 1

Part 2

Advantages of online interviews

Disadvantages of online interviews

Paralinguistic cues

Emoticons