2020 and 2021 has brought several unexpected changes for many industries, with qualitative research being no different. The pandemic had a huge effect on how we conduct online qualitative research as In-person ethnography is no a viable option. Newer approaches such as online Mobile Ethnography and Mobile Diary Studies offer exciting alternative opportunities for freelancers and established research firms to reinvent their approach and to thrive in the digital space. 

Borderless Research

The modernization of research and moving qualitative research online is also having a positive impact on qualitative research. As a researcher, you are no longer confined to your geographical location. Online and mobile-powered research can connect you with respondents across the globe without ever leaving your home or office. 

Thanks to video conferencing and instant chats our world has become much more connected. 

Regardless of where your business is based you can pitch to clients across the globe and run multi-country projects with little management and zero travel required. 

Video platforms such as Zoom or Google meet to give you the ability to content with respondents and clients instantly and across the globe. Additionally, asynchronous platforms like Indeemo will allow not only allow you to run your, moderate, and analyze your research fully remotely but thanks to the asynchronous methodology also enable you to run continuous pre-tasked research in any time zone.

This presents a massive opportunity to grow your business internationally just as efficiently as it was taking the traditional approach on a local scale.

Video Online Research

Through leveraging tools such as Zoom or Google Meet you can conduct your research almost as efficiently as in a traditional setting. 

Both platforms can be accessed free of charge ( you can also opt-in for an inexpensive monthly plan with Zoom ) and allow you and the participants to join the meeting with very little tech requirements. 

Both platforms also give you and the respondents opportunity to turn on the video, do a screen share, share additional information in the chat and connect with all respondents with a multiple screens preview. 

While the free Zoom plan might be limiting your call to 40 minutes it allows for a video and audio recording enabling you to save the full interview and come back and study responses at a later stage or transcribe the conversation. 

Your recruitment process is also identical to the traditional focus group recruitment. You still have to ensure your sample falls within your target audience. What’s important to note is the tech aspect of an online focus group, to ensure your participants can join the study on the day is it key to ensure you include technological needs and requirements in your screening process. 

Reinvent your Video Interviews with Pre-Tasking

The capabilities of video conferencing are endless - enabling you to connect with individuals and groups of respondents anywhere at any time. The time and technological constraints can however make this method quite challenging.

A video call will allow you to get a glimpse of the respondent’s life but the short interview window might now allow for rich and insightful feedback. Similarly with focus groups, with participants being able to speak one at a time the one hour window suddenly only allowing you to spend 15 minutes with each participant, further reducing your ability for a more in-depth conversation. 

This is where a pre-tasking research approach can help transform your research.

Online qualitative research pre-tasking is a powerful way to get to know participants before you get to meet them. With the support of the Indeemo dashboard and app, you can easily and quickly set up flexible tasks for your respondents to complete before your call. Push notifications will automatically alert respondents of new tasks and prompts can help you ask more exploratory questions and for better understanding of each respondent’s in-the-moment and in-context actions, thoughts, and behaviors.

This additional step adds a layer of rich, contextual data, educating and reshaping your trajectory of the exploratory video call interview. 

Benefits of Pre -Tasking 

The key benefits of adding pre-tasking to your online video study are:

1. Ideal for multi-country projects. At Indeemo we support many languages - your task list can also be set up in virtually any language allowing you to connect with respondents anywhere in the world. 

2. Video intros quickly build rapport and increase engagement. Add personalized content at the start of the task list or to support some of the more complex tasks to create a more personal relationship with the respondent from the get-go. 

3. Embed image or video stimuli for agile Concept / Accept testing. Pre-taking is one of the few methods that allow you to introduce more interactive media. Leverage the ability to probe your respondents with more visual and stimuli for a more personal response.

4. Respondents complete tasks using notes, photos, videos, or screen recordings. The large variety of mediums gives respondents a lot of flexibility into how they want to participate in the study and aids in gathering the most authentic insight.  

Summary 

There are many benefits to supplementing your online qualitative research with mobile ethnography and pre-tasking. With the mobile-first approach your research project is no longer confined to a short interview window. Pre-tasking also allows you to remotely gather more authentic, in-the-moment insight prior to, or post-interview.

This added layer of response will ensure your online qualitative research is truly contextual. The respondents can show you exactly how they experience the service or consume the product adding a lot of depth to the response gathered during the interview. Without the need to travel or spend endless hours probing each respondent individually, a mobile task list supported by an app like Indeemo will give you the ability to connect with multiple respondents, and supported by a researcher dashboard almost instantly view an analyze data shaping your online qualitative research.

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