Qualitative health research has been uniquely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Various public health directives will likely remain in place until this pandemic is fully controlled, creating long-lasting impacts on the design and conduct of qualitative health research. Virtual qualitative research provides an alternative to traditional interviews or focus groups and can help researchers adhere to public health directives. In this commentary, we respond to methodological needs created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we explore unique elements of, and recommendations for, the design and conduct of obtrusive virtual qualitative research (online interviews, online focus groups, and email interviews) and demonstrate crucial ethical, recruitment, analytical, and interpretive considerations. Researchers are currently faced with an ethical imperative to advance virtual qualitative research methods and ensure that rigorous qualitative health research continues during this pandemic and beyond. Our discussions provide a starting point for researchers to explore the potential of virtual qualitative research.
Keywords: data collection; email interviews; ethics; methodology; moral perspectives; online focus groups; online interviews; qualitative; research design; virtual research.