When researchers and participant(s) are not colocated, additional planning is needed to ensure participants are supported before, during, and after data collection. Remote data collection means that the physical processes involved in leaving a faceto- face interview (putting on coats, walking to the exit etc.), when the researcher has the opportunity to talk informally to the participant, check their well-being and bring them back to daily life, are lost. Their absence can be challenging in remote data collection. In the case of interviews using videoconferencing, the fact that the data collection space looks much the same once recording has stopped does not provide a signal that the data collection has ended in the same way as turning off a recording device and leaving a physical room does.

Unlike face-to-face interviews, [videoconferencing] interviews do not include the subsequent exchange when the interaction can wind down on the way out of a building and well-being can be checked in a social milieu. Instead, a process of closure is enacted in the same frame as the interview, and without clear direction from the interviewer, may go unnoticed.(Engward et al., 2022; 6)

As text-based asynchronous data collection is usually conducted over longer periods of time than synchronous methods, exiting the field can be more complex. As noted by Gibson (2020), prolonged access to the researcher can make the boundaries of the research harder to maintain,

Leaving the WhatsApp conversation open for a few days following the interview, in order to allow the participant the option of providing further insights, challenged the traditional boundaries we use to demarcate the beginning and end of an interview. This situation might result in a lack of clarity about what material can and cannot be used in the research(Gibson, 2020: 625-626)

With text-based data collection techniques, the method of any follow-up communication is likely to be the same as it was for data collection. As such, researchers need to be very clear what is being counted as data and what is not. Methods have been developed to ‘contain’ text-based asynchronous data collection, such as email, e.g. by specifying a timeframe, or a maximum number of questions or interactions (Bowden & Galindo- Gonzalez, 2015; Gibson, 2017a). It has been argued that setting such boundaries does not have a deleterious impact on data quality as the greatest amount of data are often communicated during early interactions, but wanes over time (Kivits, 2005). However, setting these boundaries may impact rapport building and trust, MORE INFORMATION and it is important that researchers allow time within their research design to support the creation of a ‘safe space’ for data collection.

Routes to end remote data collection need to planned for from the outset of the research, and participants need to be informed prior to the start of data collection as to how this will be signalled. Depending on the synchronicity of the data collection and the technology used, this may look very different across methods. For synchronous methods, particularly those without video (e.g. telephone), the researcher needs to clearly indicate that recording/data gathering has stopped. For asynchronous methods, ending data collection can involve additional challenges. Whilst researchers might set expectations regarding the duration and volume of exchanges, various factors can extend or reduce the expected parameters of the data collection (e.g. poor network coverage or life events might cause delays in participants’ responses). Closing data collection following extended periods of contact can be particularly challenging to negotiate. Whilst it has been suggested that leaving the data collection space open to further communications can assist with ending lengthy data collection periods, how this additional data will be handled needs to be made clear to participants, and consent for analysing this data should be explicitly sought.

1. How will you prepare participants for the end of data collection?
2. How will you signal to participants that data collection has ended?
3. What follow up contact will you offer, if any, for how long, and why?
4. How will any inappropriate contact from participants beyond the end of the project be handled?