Recommendations for internet-based qualitative health research with hard-to-reach populations

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: J. Michael Wilkerson, University of Texas School of Public Health; Alex Iantaffi, University of Minnesota Twin Cities; Jeremy Grey, Emory University; Walter O. Bockting, Columbia University in the City of New York; B.R. Simon Rosser, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Language: English
• Date: 2014-01-01
• Publisher: Sage Journals
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2014.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1049732314524635
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Qualitative Health Research
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: 561
• End Page: 574
• Grant/Funding Information: A Study of Polyamorous Parents was an unfunded and unaffiliated study.; The Sexually Explicit Media (SEM) Study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health Center for Mental Health Research on AIDS (R01MH087231), and was conducted with the approval of the University of Minnesota Institutional Review Board (#0906S68801).; All Gender Health was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Center for AIDS Research (9R01HD057595-04-A1), and was conducted with the approval of the University of Minnesota Institutional Review Board (#0801S24641).
• Keywords: technology, use in research; Patient Selection; teaching/learning strategies; gender; Qualitative Research; Male; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Humans; research, qualitative; Female; gays and lesbians; Internet; Health; Data Collection; Focus Groups
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

Researchers new to online qualitative health research frequently have questions about how to transfer knowledge of offline data collection to an online environment. In this article, we present best-practice guidelines derived from the literature and our experience to help researchers determine if an online qualitative study design is appropriate for their research project and, if so, when to begin data collection with a hard-to-reach population. Researchers should reflect on administrative, population, and data collection considerations when deciding between online and offline data collection. Decisions must be made regarding whether to conduct interviews or focus groups, to collect data using asynchronous or synchronous methods, and to use only text or to incorporate visual media. Researchers should also reflect on human subjects, recruitment, research instrumentation, additional data collection, and public relations considerations when writing protocols to guide the research team's response to various situations. Our recommendations direct researchers' reflection on these considerations.