Oral Presentation: Information elicitation in an online chat

Title: Information elicitation in an online chat

Abstract:

Advancements in the digitalisation of intelligence investigations require effective elicitation of information in online contexts. This research aimed to develop a rapport-based information gathering approach to interview human intelligence (HUMINT) sources online. Two versions of a rapport-based interviewing protocol were developed and tested for respective use in situations where some key information is known to the interviewer or not. These protocols draw on evidence-based interviewing practices for eliciting information in face-to-face interviews, such as rapport-building, transfer of control, open prompts, confirmatory claims and elements of motivational interviewing. Participants (N = 202) engaged as HUMINT mock-sources in an immersive online scenario that placed them in an information management dilemma. They strategically disclosed and withheld some information in a subsequent interview, which was conducted in an online chat, using only text-based communication. Rapport-based interviewing approaches elicited significantly more units of information and were perceived more positively by participants, in contrast to participants interviewed using a direct approach. Our data also allow us to examine the extent to which the counter-interrogation tactics present in online intelligence interactions map onto those observed in face-to-face interactions. These findings are relevant for security practitioners tasked with eliciting critical intelligence in online contexts from potentially reluctant sources.