Virtual reality as an immersive projective and autodriving advancement technique

Abstract

The COVID‐19 lockdown posed challenges for traditional qualitative researchers, as well as opportunities for innovative qualitative research. While online interviews and focus groups via video conferencing platforms were the most widely used methods, Zoom Fatigue also occurred, hampering some participants' experiences and eventually impacting data quality. Incorporating virtual reality (VR) was one possible solution. This study explores the experiences and involvement of family participants in a qualitative research study using VR during the COVID‐19 pandemic lockdown. The research aims to assess the impact of VR on data quantity and quality, as well as the depth of insights compared to traditional methods without VR. The study employs VR roleplay and autodriving methods to elicit family participant engagement. The findings suggest that the application of VR in autodriving improves data quality and quantity while also making the research process more enjoyable for participating parents and children. The results indicate that VR holds significant potential for advancing qualitative research methodology, especially for previously underrepresented groups such as children.