Here is a list of some of the main characteristics and relative advantages/disadvantages of structured and unstructured interviews. Please insert appropriate characteristics where these have been omitted:
STRUCTURED |
UNSTRUCTURED |
| Short, simple, pre-worded questions | |
| Seen as more reliable – accurate and replicable | |
| More chance for interviewer to bias results | |
| Interviewer needs less training | |
| Very difficult to repeat in exactly the same way | |
| Most appropriate for simple factual questions | |
| Leads to greater depth of understanding | |
| More likelihood of finding out the view of the issues held by the interviewee | |
| Researcher therefore ‘imposes his/her own views on the research’ | |
| Most used for small number of in-depth detailed interviews | |
| Findings easily collated and analysed | |
| Most likely to give quantitative results |
