[Air-L] IM interviews not interviews?

[Janet Salmons, Ph.D.]

Dear Jenny and list,

I consider IM chat interviews to be "real" interviews. In *Online
Interviews in Real Time (see *
http://www.sagepub.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book233088)-- which focuses
on synchronous interviews-- I discuss interview methods using four main
types of online communication: text-based, videoconference, web conference
multi-channel meeting space (such as Adobe Connect) and immersive virtual
worlds (such as Second Life or games.) Text IM is often combined with these
other forms. For example, many people prefer to use IM rather than voice
when communicating in Second Life, and researchers may include text
exchanges in interviews conducted in a videoconferencing space like Skype.

Based on my research on these technologies for interview purposes,
text-only interviews may work best when a semi-structured approach is used.
It may be best to have at least some main questions prepared before the
interview, so you can review them and decide: should this big question be
divided into several smaller questions? The point being that you want to
keep the exchange flowing, you want to keep the attention of the
participant, and you don't want to create a situation where someone would
need to type for 20 minutes to answer one question.

Two cases in the book *Cases in Online Interview Research* (see
http://www.sagepub.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book235442) use text-only
IM interviews. Three cases use IM interviews in studies conducted in
virtual worlds. In that book I also discuss the use of "near-synchronous"
text exchanges, which can take the form of an ongoing text conversation
with the participant.

 *Online Interviews in Real Time and **Cases in Online Interview Research *are
available as e-books from Amazon or you can order from Sage. If you order
from Sage directly, here is a coupon code for 30% off: N130726.

If you have more specific questions, contact me off list.

Happy interviewing!
Janet


*Janet Salmons Ph.D.*
*Capella University School of Business  and Vision2Lead, Inc.
*Site- http://www.vision2lead.com
Follow Twitter at #einterview
Now available as Kindle e-books: Online Interviews in Real Time & Cases in
Online Interview Research
PO Box 943
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jsalmons at vision2lead.com