Conducting Qualitative Interviews via VoIP Technologies: Reflections on Rapport, Technology, Digital Exclusion, and Ethics

Qualitative research has been strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the possibilities that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies such as Skype, WhatsApp, and Zoom offer to qualitative scholars. Based on the experience of using such technologies to collect qualitative data for our PhD studies, we present how we dealt with the challenges of this interview mode. Precisely, we discuss problems related to rapport, technology, digital exclusion, and ethics frequently pointed out in the methodological literature on online interviews. Thereby we put forward strategies and techniques that helped us to 1) build a rapport, 2) manage technical difficulties, 3) reflect on risks of digital exclusion, and 4) comply with the ethical standards of our institution. In doing so, we draw on our qualitative data to support the arguments. The aim of this paper is, thus, to deepen the methodological debate on online interviews in social sciences.