publications, science & theory
We don't pay for rooms, but for people
lönneker & imdahl rheingold salon
An interview with Ines Imdahl has been published in planung&analyse online.
Here is the original article in full:
Ines Imdahl, Managing Director of the qualitative institute rheingold salon, is convinced in an interview with Planung&analyse that there will still be a need for studios, but not to the extent we are used to. Corona has also triggered a change in qualitative research.
Do you still need a studio these days to conduct in-depth qualitative interviews?
If you had asked me that before the Corona crisis, I would have said: “In-depth interviews are definitely not possible without studios.” Today I see things a little differently. Before Corona, we traveled to Hamburg, Munich, Berlin for individual interviews and conducted face-to-face discussions in the studio for up to two hours. Now something has happened during the Corona era that we would never have thought possible: We did everything in video calls: individual interviews and group discussions. When I sit opposite someone, even if it's only online, I can see their reactions and conduct an interview very focused in 1 to 1.5 hours. I have found that this can definitely be described as an in-depth interview.
And what about group discussions? Doesn't that also require interaction between the participants?
We used to conduct group discussions with up to eight people and up to four hours. We try to get the best possible knowledge and feelings out of each participant. Actually, they are eight parallel individual interviews. I play parallel chess. During the Corona period, we also conducted group discussions via video call: 5 to 8 participants plus moderator and customer. The customer was muted. Here is my view: this can be a qualitative survey, but it does not meet psychodynamic standards. In this setting, the spontaneous reactions are lost because the test persons first have to turn themselves on before they can say anything. That's why I went back to the studio for groups, of course with distances and Plexiglas.
What does that mean for studio operators?
Customers can save money with these video calls and even if there is a methodological disadvantage, this will probably be done more and more in the future. This has also been seen in quantitative research. The disadvantages of online research - keyword representativeness - hardly interest any customers. If something doesn't make sense methodologically, it doesn't mean it won't be done. It's about the price and only the price. Studio operators need to prepare for the fact that much less face-2-face research will be done. There are studios that have already adapted and offer broadcasts as standard. Others still charge 500 to 1000 euros for streaming. But that is no longer possible. We have all learned to use the tools for video transmission and know that it is not a big effort. Because even when we are in the studio, many customers still have travel bans or do not want to travel.
Now the studios are open again. The studio operators comply with all hygiene and etiquette rules and inform their customers about this. Will everything be as before now?
In my estimation, it will not be as before. We suffered serious losses in the financial crisis. The order volumes halved at that time; but not the questions. However, the orders never returned to their previous level. The Corona crisis will be similar. Some will probably not survive. There will also be a change in the inner cities. We no longer need these expensive rooms as a precaution. Property owners also have to adjust to this. We will not pay for rooms, but for people.
Does this experience mean a fundamental change for qualitative research?
Definitely for individual discussions. The interviewees can also quickly grab their cell phones and show the refrigerator. These are then ethnographic elements that become possible. Where it doesn't make sense in my opinion are workshops. That's just a collection of individual opinions. That doesn't work well online. A decisive advantage: we no longer travel so much and are therefore faster. This enabled us to massively increase the speed of the surveys. 30 interviews in three days and the evaluation after one week.
