A Pilot Study Conducting Online Think Aloud Qualitative Method during Social Distancing: Benefits and Challenges

Abstract

COVID-19 social distancing restrictions provided unprecedented insights into online research methodologies and approaches for both participants and researchers. Field research traditionally conducted face-to-face had to be transferred online, highlighting the great strides made in communication technologies (particularly live video streaming) over the last two decades for online qualitative research. However, dedicated research on these phenomena is tentative, including with regard to specific methods such as Think Aloud. This paper contributes to literature on online Think Aloud in qualitative research, evaluating new insights on its adoption online. It draws on findings from an online piloting study of Think Aloud tasks to explore the implications of using real-time internet video calls via SoIP applications by MS Teams. To assess the online Think Aloud process, this review called upon some of the comments made by participants during the semi-structured interview or comments made during the Think Aloud process, when they were relevant to the online process itself. It focuses on different dimensions of benefits, rapport in the session’s encounter, challenges, and ethical concerns. Overall, the findings indicate that online Think Aloud sessions cannot completely replace in-person sessions for some particular and highly in-depth research areas, but they can greatly facilitate qualitative data collection in most conventional contexts. It is necessary to carry out further studies exploring the use of this and other online approaches and instructions.

Usability study of a smartphone app entitled: Living with Parkinson’s disease

“…After 5 days of using the app each user had an individual meeting. Users performed the tasks and were asked to use the Think aloud technique, that is, talking aloud through the entire process of using the app and executing the tasks [ 17 ]. During the meetings, difficulties and suggestions for solutions were highlighted by the research group, according Nielsen [ 11 ].…”

Online data collection strategies in qualitative nursing research

“…Regarding the reason why the authors decided to opt for an online data collection strategy, the studies by Sousa et al (2021) and Silva et al (2023) pointed to the Covid-19 pandemic as the main reason. The social distancing practices imposed from 2019 onwards forced field research to be moved online, requiring creativity from researchers so that studies were conducted ethically, safely, and robustly (Alhejaili, Wharrad, and Windle, 2022). Santos, P. et al (2023) highlighted the ease of reaching a large number of participants as a reason for conducting the online survey.…”

“…Online surveys have become increasingly relevant and popular (Alhejaili, Wharrad, and Windle, 2022). As our lives in the virtual world become increasingly integrated with the social and cultural life lived in person, any movement that considers online research partial or incomplete is useless (Melo and Dourado, 2022).…”

“…In addition, the Covid 19 pandemic has significantly contributed to the use of online platforms in data collection, as well as in the continuity of research that was once started, but prevented from progressing due to health restrictions. Such tools were already used long before the pandemic, there was already a whole movement towards research reinventing itself with the advent of digital technologies, but this process proved to be much faster after the events that began in China in 2019 (Michelon and Santos, 2002;Alhejaili, Wharrad, and Windle, 2022).…”

Practices and Strategies of Health Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Between Limitations and Opportunities

“…Furthermore, limitations and crises can force us to think anew, to rethink existing routines (see e.g., Samuelson, 2022 in the current Special Issue [ 18 ]), and to address the strengths and weaknesses of existing healthcare and associated systems to develop adequate and effective solutions to both old and new problems and challenges. In addition, the pandemic demands new creative research strategies in frontline healthcare settings, while still ensuring robust, ethical, and safe methods, whilst being carried out at a distance (see e.g., Alhejaili et al, 2022 in the current Special Issue [ 19 ]).…”