Strand Leader: Mr. Matt Brown, Centre for Longitudinal Studies, University College London
This strand aims to establish the merits of video-interviewing in population surveys and to identify and promote good practice in the implementation of video-interviewing.
Using video-calls to conduct social survey interviews is relatively new but interest in this mode accelerated considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic when in-person interviews were not feasible. Video-interviewing was introduced during the pandemic (Sanchez et al, 2022) on studies including the National Child Development Study (NCDS), the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) and the European Social Survey (ESS). Post-pandemic, video-interviewing may have potential to address inclusivity concerns (some participants may prefer it) and a reduction in interviewer capacity and to reduce costs, while retaining many of the benefits of face-to-face interaction. The novelty of the video-method means little is known about its impact on data quality, measurement, nonresponse bias; how to optimally design video-interviews; whether video-interviewing could increase inclusivity; which measures can effectively be collected via video or the implications of this new mode for interviewer recruitment, training and organisation of fieldwork. It is now important to assess whether video-interviewing has a post-pandemic future and if so in which circumstances.
The project will gather evidence from UK and overseas studies on practical aspects of the implementation of video-interviewing, encompassing both the process of setting up interviews and the conduct of the interview itself. RS3 will produce a review paper setting out experiences, outcomes and lessons learned so far, which will serve as a good practice guide for survey practitioners and commissioners on how to implement video-interviewing.
RS3 will also include an assessment of the impact of video-interviewing on data quality and measurement through analysis of data from the current surveys of NCDS and BCS70, in each of which around a third of the c. 7,500 interviews will be video interviews with the remainder completed in-person. These interviews include cognitive assessments, data linkage consent and sensitive self-completion questions. At least two research outputs will be published as well as good practice guidance on the suitability of video-interviewing for collecting different kinds of data.