Electronic forms of communication—including email, texting, and social media platforms—have increased the speed and ease of communication. Yet, a rise in non-response and ghosting (when someone ceases communication without an explanation) has been documented across contexts, from romantic dating to quantitative research studies. Surprisingly, the rise of electronic communication has received little attention in the methodological literature for qualitative researchers. Based on an analysis of virtual and face-to-face recruitment in two qualitative studies I conducted, I find that ghosting is a routine feature of digital recruitment. There are situational contexts in which ghosting is more common, including lags in the timing of communication and requests that are too overwhelming. “Old-school” methods, such as seeking sponsorship, strategizing outreach, and building rapport, can be adapted to help researchers capitalize on the benefits of electronic communication technologies in recruitment.

中文翻译：

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幽灵：数字时代进行定性研究的挑战

电子通信形式（包括电子邮件、短信和社交媒体平台）提高了通信的速度和便利性。然而，从浪漫约会到定量研究，各种情况下都记录了无回应和重影（当某人在没有解释的情况下停止沟通时）的增加。令人惊讶的是，电子通信的兴起在定性研究人员的方法论文献中很少受到关注。根据我进行的两项定性研究中对虚拟招聘和面对面招聘的分析，我发现重影是数字招聘的一个常规特征。在某些情况下，重影现象更为常见，包括沟通时间的滞后和过于繁重的请求。寻求赞助、制定推广策略和建立融洽关系等“老派”方法可以用来帮助研究人员利用电子通信技术在招募方面的优势。