Online interviewing with interpreters in humanitarian contexts

Figures & data

Table 1. Key characteristic of interviews conducted online.

Interviewee*	Participant gender	Participant and researcher prior relationship	Interpreter involved	Interview location	Description of connection quality
Leslie (C3, I1)	Female	Yes	Yes	Hospital	Call repeatedly dropped. Switching between Adobe Connect™ and Skype™ throughout interview.
Mollee (C3, I2)	Female	No	Yes	Hospital	Some sections of overlapping speech, conducted in Adobe Connect™.
Fernanda (C3, I3)	Female	No	Yes	Hospital	Interviews conducted in Adobe Connect™, experienced multiple fade-outs of speech on both sides of conversation.
Shaheen (C3, I6)	Male	Yes	No	Hospital	Interviews conducted using Adobe Connect™ over two sessions due to power cut. No problems during interviews.
Margareta (C3, I7)	Female	No	Yes	Home	Unable to use Adobe Connect™, used Skype™ with video. Power cut led to switching from computer to skype for mobile to continue the conversation.
Tanika (C3, I8)	Female	Yes	Yes	Hospital	Interview conducted using Skype™ as Adobe Connect™ unable to connect. Repeated dropping of calls at beginning of interview.

*All names are pseudonyms allocated by the researcher, ensuring the protection of participant anonymity.

Table 2. Logistical and methodological recommendations for managing online research interviews.

Logistical/methodological consideration		Suggested strategies to manage/account for these, drawing upon experiences in this study
Social construction of interview space	Internet, electricity and, where applicable, Internet-enabled mobile phone infrastructure.	– Discuss strengths and weaknesses of local infrastructure with participants/contacts based in the participants’ setting. – Use this information to plan an interview schedule that is feasible and flexible within the identified constraints—for example, would three shorter interviews be preferable to one longer interview if infrastructure is highly unreliable?
	Researcher and participants’ prior familiarity with online synchronous interviews, including software to be used for interviews.	– Gather information from participants about their previous use of online interviewing platforms, including the one to be used for interviews. – Researcher reflects upon their own familiarity and comfort with online interviewing technology, and the impact this may have upon their interviewing style. – Develop instructions to share with participants in advance of the interview on how to establish a connection and use the interview software. – Account for the time required to set up connections before interviews commence.
Rapport building	Prior relationships between researcher and participant	– Consider how prior relationships will set up expectations of the interview encounter; in particular, power relations and role performance. – What tools are available for the participant to “meet” the researcher and vice versa (i.e., use of video; photo icons, etc.) – Provide participants with a verbal overview of the intended progress of interviews, and any requests such as that the participant speak slowly and clearly.
	Presence of third parties (interpreters/chaperones)	– Ensure expectations about the role of any third party are established and agreed at the interview outset.
Role performance	Accounting for the interview environment	– As in any fieldwork, field notes are an essential tool to support contextual interpretation and analysis of interviews. – For online interviews, including observations about the setting in which the researcher and participant are based is essential, including interruptions or presence of others in the participant’s setting. – Documenting facial expressions or hand gestures can aid understanding emphasis of a point or confusion over a question.
Disembodiment	Managing silences	– Inform the participant during the interview overview of how non-verbal actions will be communicated (i.e., when writing field notes). – Consider all interview parties providing “stage directions” to narrate what is occurring during pauses in conversation.
	Inaudible segments	– As the researcher, be prepared to ask the same question in different ways to avoid excessive repetition should connection problems cause difficulty in the participant hearing a question. – Use techniques such as reflecting back or incorporating language used by the participant to demonstrate responses have been heard, as well as to ensure correct understanding.
Reflection	Asking for participants’ experience of the online interview format	Asking participants for reflections on their experience of the online interview format can provide important feedback to (a) improve future interactions; and (b) complement field notes about a participant’s level of engagement during the interview.