- An interview is basically a guided conversation between the researcher and the respondent.
- Interviews involve a more direct interaction between the researcher and the respondent than questionnaires.
- There is one to one interaction between the subject and the researcher.
- It can be face-to-face, telephonic or group interview.
Structured Interview
- The sequence of questions is pre-decided and the responses are recorded.
- It is suitable for quantitative and positivist research.
- It standardises interview as much as possible.
- They are more objective in their approach.
Unstructured Interview
- The are no fixed questions or supplementary questions to be asked.
- More appropriate for eliciting attitudes and opinions.
- It has extreme flexibility of format.
Advantages
- More flexible than other tools like questionnaires.
- They can cover large samples as compared to participant observation.
- They are also a good method to combine with overt participant observation in order to get respondents to further explain the meanings behind their actions (unstructured Interview).
Disadvantages
- Interview bias, responder bias, situation bias, etc.
- It is difficult to quantify data, compare answers and find stats.
- Suffers from problems of validity and reliability. Change in interviewer can result in important changes in information provided.
- Respondents often make such answers which they think will present their best image. – social desirability bias.
- Narrow in their scope.
- Language including dialectics and individual accent is another barrier.