Abstract:

This paper explores the use of WhatsApp voice notes as a data collection tool during a project about parental shared reading with young children in Abu Dhabi. The project has at its core the purpose of fathers sharing picture books with their young children aged four to six, and reporting on how each reading session went via WhatsApp voice notes to form an oral journal based on prompts provided by the research team, while overall taking a mixed methods approach, with participants completing surveys, attending workshops, completing focus group interviews. Participants are requested to send at least one voice note per week over the four-week duration of the project. Within the context of the UAE, which has a long tradition of storytelling and a strong and enduring oral cultural tradition (Olaniran, 2009; Picton, 2010), and is also a country where the present-day population are digital natives are digital natives (Dickson et al., 2019), the authors chose oral journalling as a culturally appropriate method of data collection. Participants communicate with the research team via a project-dedicated phone, and messages are auto-saved and documented using the WhatsApp web tool to ensure safe password-protected download and storage, as recommended by Mavhandu-Mudzusi et al. (2022). Their recent study on the use of WhatsApp tools in a similar manner indicated that voice notes tend to yield better quality and more in-depth responses than written text messages. Furthermore, they emphasize that the use of such digital tools, while unconventional, can be seen as an opportunity for researchers to obtain richer data in a more efficient way than possible before. With the digital landscape ensuring advanced levels of internet connectivity in the UAE (Majumdar & Pujari, 2022), it is an ideal setting to trial the use of voice notes as an oral journal in a culturally appropriate manner. Initial analysis of the data indicate that participants are enjoying the use of voice notes, and find it convenient and time-effective, thus reducing the burden on participants which is an important consideration in any research study. Participants also report that the task allows them to express how they feel as they would in everyday life, and that the communication from the research team via the same platform allows them to feel satisfied that they are participating as fully as possible.

References:
[1] Dickson, M., Fidalgo, P., & Cairns, D. (2019). The ‘S’and ‘T’in STEM: Integrating Science and Technology in Education in the UAE. Education in the United Arab Emirates: Innovation and Transformation, 95-111.
[2] Majumdar, S., & Pujari, V. (2022). Exploring usage of mobile banking apps in the UAE: a categorical regression analysis. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 27(3), 177-189.
[3] Mavhandu-Mudzusi, A. H., Moyo, I., Mthombeni, A., Ndou, A., Mamabolo, L., Ngwenya, T., ... & Netshapapame, T. (2022). WhatsApp as a Qualitative Data Collection Method in Descriptive Phenomenological Studies. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21, 16094069221111124.
[4] Olaniran, B. A. (2009). Culture, learning styles, and Web 2.0. Interactive Learning Environments, 17(4), 261-271.
[5] Picton, O. J. (2010). Usage of the concept of culture and heritage in the United Arab Emirates–an analysis of Sharjah heritage area. Journal of heritage Tourism, 5(1), 69-84.

Keywords:

Oral journal, qualitative research, reading, culturally appropriate, WhatsApp.