Phone & web interviews, also called telephone in-depth interviews or tele-depth interviews (TDIs), are a cost effective and convenient alternative to in-depth face to face interviews. In practice, the participant and moderator anonymously join a teleconference (e.g. Webex®, Zoom®). With the ability to share screens with the respondent, a stimulus or potential communication can be displayed for their review and feedback.
Additionally, clients who are listening in real-time can interact anonymously with the moderator via a private chat room to ask additional probes or obtain clarification on specific points. Outside of the lack of body language, experience shows that TDIs are as efficacious as IDIs for in-depth deep dive interviews. Phone & web interviews are particularly adapted to individual interviews but can also be applied to a larger group discussion.
