THE JOYS AND CHALLENGES OF VIDEO CONFERENCING IN RESEARCH INTERVIEWS: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Although researchers have long employed videoconferencing, the technology became particularly popular during the “physical distancing” measures observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which limited social interactions and thus curtailed in-person qualitative interviews. This interview method may grow due to the increasing digitization of researchers’ and participants’ environments. While there is abundant literature on videoconferencing and its use in qualitative research, the result of the analyses remains scattered and lacks a unified framework to capture how researchers have covered the topic. By adopting a systematic approach, this article provides an integrative review of research conducted over the past 25 years. The result is an integrative framework that summarizes knowledge about the strengths and weaknesses of videoconferencing and provides practical guidance for researchers embarking on research projects using this tool.