Toolkit 14: Using phone interviews
Annie Irvine, Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, September 2010
Summary
This toolkit explores the use of telephone interviews in qualitative research. It discusses the practical and methodological advantages of the approach, including minimal travel time and cost and increased anonymity for participants.
The two main methodological objections to telephone interviews are traditionally: the difficulty of achieving rapport with participants; and the lack of non-verbal communication. The toolkit discusses whether these concerns are well-founded, and suggests that their significance may have been exaggerated.
Update - October 2011
This toolkit has been moved. You can download it (and all other Realities toolkits) from the Morgan Centre website.