Virtual Methods

The informed consent form was generally signed after this email. However,
before asking the first interview question, one or two emails were still
exchanged in which I presented myself – my age, my work, my hobbies, etc. –
and asked participants to do the same. These pre-interview contacts were full of
information about the person I was corresponding with: receiving a CV-style
answer or a poem gave me a sense of who I was emailing. Participants also generally
reacted to the information I provided, divulging elements of their personal
life, often relating their individual, professional or family situation to mine: in
one case, I was communicating with a mother who had a daughter the same age
as myself who was a research student too; in another case, the respondent’s
husband had visited my former university in Belgium; or in other cases, participants
were keen to have more details about my frequent travels in France and in
Belgium.
Extracts 1: Linking and Getting to Know Each Other
Joëlle’s second email to Rebecca (47 years old):
Hi Rebecca!
Online Interviewing • 39
Thanks for your quick answer! We can now start the interview . . .
Before my first question, it would be nice however to know a bit more
about each other. Well, I’m Joëlle, I’m 26 and a PhD student . . .
Apart from my research, I have a passion for mountains and do
climbing and mountaineering. I often travel to the South of France
where my boyfriend lives and of course to Belgium where my family
and most of my friends are. If you have any more questions about
me, my interests, what I’m doing at the LSE . . . I’ll be pleased
to answer!
If you don’t have any objection, it would be nice for me to hear
a few words about you . . . Kindest regards Joëlle
Kathleen, 50 years old, emails 2 & 15:
I have 1 daughter, . . . she is 25 this month and like you she
is doing a PhD. She’s in her final year . . . I am a very proud
mum . . .
Charlotte, 39 years old, email 2:
In 1999 I finally finished my MSc (this is why I’m eager to participate
in your research – I don’t know how difficult it is for
you to recruit to the project, but I remember 3 months into my 6
month project I only had 1 person to interview!
Ellen, 59 years old, email 2:
Thank you very much for giving me a bit of information about yourself
and what you’re doing. My husband visited Louvain-la-
Neuve on several occasions, giving lectures and presenting
papers on hepatitis, many years ago! We have a house in the S. f