structured and unstructured interview

1. Structured and
unstructured interviews

2. by
 Ahsan Mubeen

3. Interview
 An interview is formal meetings between two people (the interviewer and
the respondent) where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain
information
 An oral examination of an applicant for a job or for different purposes.

4. Types of interviews
 Structured Interviews
 Unstructured Interviews

5. Structured interview
 Definition
Interviewer gives a set of predetermined questions to the respondent.
 Quantitative Approach
 Aim
• Measures facts, attitudes, knowledge, behavior
• Finding accurate information without influences from the researcher
• interviewer and respondent have minimum interaction and no distraction,
• strict control over interview so there is no flexibility.

6. Structured interview
 Concern While Conducting Interviews
i. Keeping control of how questions are asked
ii. Using the same questions for all interviewees
iii. Following a fixed order
iv. Using a rating scale or tick box
v. Ethical considerations

7. Structured interview
 How to conduct
I. Telephone
II. Face-to-face

8. Structured Interviews
Strengths
 Control
 Can ensure questions are fully
understood
 Equal opportunity for the respondent
to show their skill
Weaknesses
 Respondent have to give the answer
from the selected options of
interviewer
 Limit freedom to talk
 time consuming

9. Unstructured Interviews
 Definition
 repeated face-to-face encounters between the researcher and the informants
directed toward understanding informants’ perspective on their lives,
experiences, or situations as expressed in their own words
 Qualitative interviewing
 Non-directive interviewing
 Non-standardized interviewing
 Open-ended interviewing
 In-depth interviewing

10. Unstructured Interviews
 To conduct a good interview
 Be nonjudgmental
 Ask open questions
 Allow people to speak
 Be a good listener
 Tolerate the silence
 Probe when it is appropriate
 Make sure you have the right understanding

11. Unstructured Interviews
 Aim/Logic
 Important to the participants
 What meaning the phenomenon under study has to
them
 Their point of view
 Their understanding and experiences

12. Unstructured Interviews
Strengths
 Rich data
 Understand what is important to the
participant
 General understanding of provided
when little is know about the issue
 Important concepts are uncovered
that can eventually guide future
enquiries
Weaknesses
 People say and do different things in
different situations
 Language barriers
 Time consuming
 Researcher’s bias
 Little control
 Attention not focused on a given issue
 Very little factual information provided