Types of Interviews - AO3

Strength of Structured interviews

Structured interviews reduce experimenter bias and improve reliability, as they are standardised, all participants are asked the same questions in the same order. This means the study can be easily replicated to test for consistency.

Weakness of Structured interviews

Fixed questions limit exploration of individual opinions, reducing internal validity. Rigid formats can force participants into incomplete or simplified answers that don’t reflect their true thoughts, meaning the study may not accurately measure the behaviour or attitudes it aims to investigate.

Strength of Unstructured interviews

Unstructured interviews can encourage openness, which often leads to more honest responses. This strengthens internal validity, because the data collected is more likely to reflect participants’ true viewpoints, rather than fixed pre-planned answer options. In addition, the study being held in a field experiment format can enhance ecological validity, as it mirrors real life situations.

Weakness of Unstructured interviews

Unstructured interviews are time‑consuming to conduct and analyse, making them less practical for large‑scale studies. Their resource demands, such as analytic and time resources, reduces efficiency compared to quicker methods like questionnaires. As a result, while they provide rich insights, interviews are less useful when rapid or widespread data collection is needed.