Unstructured interviews

What is an unstructured interview?

When the interviewer has a general aim, but questioning is based on answers given by participants. Conversational.

Strengths: interviewees answer….

in their own words as opposed to choosing from categories, more detail.

Strength; interviewers are free…

to set the direction of the interview rather than have fixed categories.

Strength: Research more…

likely to be valid.

Weakness; numbers may be…

limited because of expense, which may affect representativeness.

Weakness; different interviewers…

may get different answers, affecting reliability

Weakness; interviewee’s may…

give answers they think are desirable instead of true.