The Benefits and Limitations of an Online Qualitative Tracer Study

Abstract

A qualitative tracer study of USIM medical graduates’ performance in the workplace was conducted by performing face-to-face and focus group interviews to evaluate the effectiveness of the current curriculum. This paper discusses the challenges during the data collection stage and the needs to improve data collection strategies in response to the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) by the Malaysian Government. It will also analyse the benefits and limitations when adjusting the data collection strategies. In the beginning, data collection was administered via face-to-face (individual) and focus group interviews. When the MCO was enforced, the interviews were shifted to online methodology. This online adaptation provided the convenience of scheduling interviews and also comfort to the graduates to participate in their homes that normally had better internet access than in the hospitals. The risk of exposure to COVID-19 through face-to-face interactions was therefore reduced. Although the usage of Microsoft Teams was conducive to online recording, some graduates were not able to access the application during their scheduled interviews. As such, Google Meet was employed instead, and the interviews were recorded by using a voice recorder. Besides, the saving in travelling costs for data collection was significant as the extra budget could be allocated for other research expenditure. In this study, Microsoft Teams licence was provided by the university and Google Meet was free of charge. Hence, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity for the adoption of an online data collection method that was not reckoned with at the beginning of this study. Online data collection can therefore be considered for both qualitative and quantitative studies in the future.