Rather with than About - Reshaping Qualitative Empirical Research Methods in Times of Physical Distancing

Face-to-face participatory research and interaction is at the heart of empirical social research. The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting physical distance restrictions had a significant impact on qualitative research. Instantly, conventional qualitative social science methods had to be adapted to 'remote' and digital modes of interaction. The focus of this article is to analyze how and why video-mediated formats such as online conference tools and online whiteboards affect personal interaction, cooperation, collaboration and data acquisition. In a retrospective process, we first inductively defined three characteristics of interaction, namely emplacement, communication and rapport. Conducting research about climate adaptation in coastal regions touches upon a sensitive and emotional topic. Emplacement is a decisive characteristic to understand how identities are built. The combination of verbal and non-verbal communication leads to contextualization, and building rapport is essential for trustful collaboration. To answer the question if video-mediated formats enable a replacement of face-to face formats, we deductively analyze the implications of video-mediated formats used in semi-structured interviews, qualitative social network analysis and focus groups on these characteristics. Our analysis reveals that video-mediated formats are sufficient to gather information but hamper crucial relational and trust-building processes. This implies that, by using video-mediated formats, the content level was hardly exceeded. Compared to face-to-face formats, non-verbal communication, emplacement and rapport are limited using digital formats, with problematic consequences for data generation and its understanding as well as for interaction in terms of trust, lasting relationships, knowledge generation and liability. In brief: Video-mediated formats hold the danger that research is done about participants and not with participants.