- Do not add your interviewees as your friend first. Some of them think this is just a onetime event, so it is not necessary to be friends with you.
- When you set up the interview time, be sure that both parties understand the time. (Online activity participants might come from different time zones.) It is better to set up the time as “Second Life time” (PST or PDT).
- Be sure to look into interviewees’ whole profile before the interview. Getting to know the interviewee little bit before the interview starts is important.
- If the interviewee did take the survey, you might have some of his/her information. Do not repeat the same question. Having his/her survey next to you will help the interview go more smoothly.
- Mention how long the interview will take when you are requesting the interview.
- Be sure to ask the interviewee what kind of communication they prefer (text chat or voice chat). Because some people do not want to reveal their voice.
- Where to interview is also important too. You can ask interviewees their preferences, but you should also have a plan if they do not want to choose. It will be good to do the interview in a relaxing and quiet place. Do not choose a live music place; also do not choose a library or museum where people should be quiet.
- IMPORTANT. If you are voice recording your interview, be sure to set up your computer to record the voice from the computer not from the speaker. Because if you record the voice from the speaker, your speaker will send feedback at the same time. Also your recording quality will be very low. (Each computer operation system has a different setting for this, it is not easy to set up. Be sure to do this step when you are doing your IRB, and test it! For more technical detail information please see (voice chat recording preparation)
- Do not assume you know who you are talking to. You cannot understand avatars’ real age, gender, and race. It will be better if you ask the demographic information first.
There are lots of SL interview tips is similar to the interview in the real world. I will provide some more tips for interview in Second Life next time. Stay tune!
InAEA 