Internet Recruitment and E-Mail Interviews in Qualitative Studies

Bibliographic Data

ID5454824
AuthorsRebekah J Hamilton (School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh), Rebekah Hamilton, Barbara J Bowers (0000-0002-3226-0718, University of Wisconsin–Madison, School of Nursing, and a visiting professor at Australian Catholic University–National, Melbourne)
Year2006
Volume16
Issue6
Pages821-835
Publication date2006-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueQualitative Health Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1049-7323 • E-ISSN: 1552-7557
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1049732306287599
PMID16760538
OpenAlexW2157105486
LanguageEN
Citations received45
References cited27

In 2004, 111 million adults accessed the Internet looking for health and medical information. Qualitative researchers can apply long-standing principles of recruitment and interviewing to the Internet. The purpose of this article is to examine the theoretical and methodological aspects of Internet recruitment and e-mail interviewing. The authors address issues of appropriateness, adequacy, representativeness, sample bias, data fraud, flexibility and consistency in interviewing, timing, elimination of the need for transcription, oral versus written communication, reliability and validity, and ethical concerns. They include some practical suggestions on a research design for a qualitative study employing both Internet recruitment and e-mail interviewing

Internet privacy · Interview · Medical education · Qualitative research · Representativeness heuristic · Sociology · The Internet · World Wide Web · Applied Psychology · Computer Science · Focus Groups and Qualitative Methods · Medicine · Psychology · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Social and Educational Sciences · Social Psychology