Face-to-face compared with online collected accounts of health and illness experiences: a scoping review

Advocates of online alternatives to face-to-face interviewing suggest online approaches save money and time, whereas others have raised concerns about the quality and content of the resulting data. These issues affect researchers designing and costing their studies and application reviewers and rese...

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Main Authors: Davies, L, LeClair, KL, Bagley, P, Blunt, H, Hinton, L, Ryan, S, Ziebland, S
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publications 2020
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author Davies, L
LeClair, KL
Bagley, P
Blunt, H
Hinton, L
Ryan, S
Ziebland, S
author_facet Davies, L
LeClair, KL
Bagley, P
Blunt, H
Hinton, L
Ryan, S
Ziebland, S
author_sort Davies, L
collection OXFORD
description Advocates of online alternatives to face-to-face interviewing suggest online approaches save money and time, whereas others have raised concerns about the quality and content of the resulting data. These issues affect researchers designing and costing their studies and application reviewers and research funders. We conducted a scoping review of English language articles describing the range of online alternative approaches. Furthermore, we systematically identified studies directly comparing online alternatives with face-to-face approaches. Synthesis of these 11 articles (565 participants) suggests that online alternatives should not be viewed as a straightforward replacement for face-to-face, a particularly important finding given the rapid communication changes occurring in the COVID-19 pandemic. When applied with consideration of the evolving evidence on their strengths and weaknesses, online methods may increase the likelihood of obtaining the desired sample, but responses are shorter, less contextual information is obtained, and relational satisfaction and consensus development are lower.
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spelling oxford-uuid:7eefe180-530f-481a-80fe-323f8cbf0d8d2022-03-26T21:13:37ZFace-to-face compared with online collected accounts of health and illness experiences: a scoping reviewJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:7eefe180-530f-481a-80fe-323f8cbf0d8dEnglishSymplectic ElementsSAGE Publications2020Davies, LLeClair, KLBagley, PBlunt, HHinton, LRyan, SZiebland, SAdvocates of online alternatives to face-to-face interviewing suggest online approaches save money and time, whereas others have raised concerns about the quality and content of the resulting data. These issues affect researchers designing and costing their studies and application reviewers and research funders. We conducted a scoping review of English language articles describing the range of online alternative approaches. Furthermore, we systematically identified studies directly comparing online alternatives with face-to-face approaches. Synthesis of these 11 articles (565 participants) suggests that online alternatives should not be viewed as a straightforward replacement for face-to-face, a particularly important finding given the rapid communication changes occurring in the COVID-19 pandemic. When applied with consideration of the evolving evidence on their strengths and weaknesses, online methods may increase the likelihood of obtaining the desired sample, but responses are shorter, less contextual information is obtained, and relational satisfaction and consensus development are lower.
spellingShingle Davies, L
LeClair, KL
Bagley, P
Blunt, H
Hinton, L
Ryan, S
Ziebland, S
Face-to-face compared with online collected accounts of health and illness experiences: a scoping review
title Face-to-face compared with online collected accounts of health and illness experiences: a scoping review
title_full Face-to-face compared with online collected accounts of health and illness experiences: a scoping review
title_fullStr Face-to-face compared with online collected accounts of health and illness experiences: a scoping review
title_full_unstemmed Face-to-face compared with online collected accounts of health and illness experiences: a scoping review
title_short Face-to-face compared with online collected accounts of health and illness experiences: a scoping review
title_sort face to face compared with online collected accounts of health and illness experiences a scoping review
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