Is There a Bias Against Telephone Interviews In Qualitative Research?

By Gina Novick. Research in Nursing and Health, 2008

1,432 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Telephone interviews are largely neglected in the qualitative research literature and, when discussed, they are often depicted as a less attractive alternative to face-to-face interviewing. The absence of visual cues via telephone is thought to result in loss of contextual and nonverbal data and to compromise rapport, probing, and interpretation of responses. Yet, telephones may allow respondents to feel relaxed and able to disclose sensitive information, and evidence is lacking that they produce lower quality data. This apparent bias against telephone interviews contrasts with a growing interest in electronic qualitative interviews. Research is needed comparing these modalities, and examining their impact on data quality and their use for studying varying topics and populations. Such studies could contribute evidence-based guidelines for optimizing interview data.

Subfields: Education, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/784a602dd09149b093e9bc0a3d1d89b91e4ac74b

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Citations in the corpus

Skype as a Tool for Qualitative Research Interviews (2016, background): “Novick (2008: 5) further highlights this point in saying that 'nonverbal data, which includes responses such as facial expressions and body language' can be lost in some forms of interview, such as when using telephone interviews.”
“Not Their Fault, but Their Problem”: Organizational Responses to the Online Harassment of Journalists (2021, methodology): “Interviews were conducted between October 2020 and January 2021 and took place via telephone or online interview platforms (e.g., Zoom, Facetime) (Irvine 2010; Novick 2008).”
Who and What Really Counts? Stakeholder Prioritization and Accounting for Social Value (2015, neutral): “The literature indicates that while telephone interviews do not reveal nonverbal cues and the immediate context (McCoyd and Kerson, 2006; Novick, 2008), the quality of data collected using this method is similar to face-toface interviews (Sturges and Hanrahan, 2004; Sweet, 2002).”
Telephonic qualitative research interviews: when to consider them and how to do them (2017, background): “Qualitative interviews are traditionally conducted on a face-to-face basis (Novick, 2008; Qu and Dumay, 2011).”
Duration, Dominance and Depth in Telephone and Face-to-Face Interviews: A Comparative Exploration (2011, background): “At present, however, the evidence base on mode effects in qualitative interviews is underdeveloped (Sweet, 2002; Sturges & Hanrahan, 2004; Novick, 2008). As observed by Sweet (2002), “The telephone has found its way into qualitative research processes as a medium for data collection, but its use has”
eHealth Literacy and Web 2.0 Health Information Seeking Behaviors Among Baby Boomers and Older Adults (2015, neutral): “The absence of visual and social cues may have also resulted in the loss of contextual and nonverbal data (eg, body language), which could have compromised responses and response interpretation [71].”
‘Am I not answering your questions properly?’ Clarification, adequacy and responsiveness in semi-structured telephone and face-to-face interviews (2013, background): “However, like Novick (2008), Opdenakker recognizes that the importance of these non-verbal cues may vary depending on the research objectives.”