The Use of Online Synchronous Interviews as a Data Collection Technique

The viability of the use of instant messaging (IM) clients (e.g. Skype and MSN Messenger) to conduct online synchronous interviews is debatable due to the limitations inherent in computer-mediated communication. This data collection technique was utilized in the researcher's master's thesis project, which explored the concepts of trust and risk in the online hospitality network, The CouchSurfing Project. Semi-structured interviews were conducted over Skype and MSN Messenger with respondents from five different countries. Various challenges and benefits of IM were experienced by the researcher and the respondents. In the opinion of the researcher, it was found that the advantages had outweighed the disadvantages due to the circumstances of the thesis project.