INTERVIEW METHOD
● The word interview comes from Latin and middle French words meaning to
“see between” or” see each other”.
● Interview is the verbal conversation between two people with the objective
of collecting relevant information for the purpose of research.
● According to P.V. Young: Interview is a scientific method through which a
person enters into the life of a stranger.
● The person who answers the questions is called the interviewee and the
person who asks the questions is called an interviewer.
Points should be noted while
having an interview.
● Researchers can ask different types of questions which in turn
generated types of data.
● Interviews will be recorded by the researcher and the data written up
as a transcript (a written account of interview questions and answers)
which can be analysed at a later date.
● The interviewer must ensure to provide special care when
interviewing groups, such as the children.
● The language the interviewer uses should be appropriate.
According to Black and Champion:
● Personal communication :face to face contact, conversational exchange and
verbal interaction.
● Equal status.
● Question are asked and responses received verbally.
● Information is recorded by the interviewer.
● The interview is not necessarily limited to two persons.
● Flexibility in the format of the interview.
STRUCTURE OR STANDARDISED
INTERVIEWS
● Structure interview questions can be open-
ended or closed ended.
● Open-ended questions are those that can be
answered in many ways and allow he
responded to give elaborate, thoughtful
answers.
● Closed-ended questions ask respondents for
specific pieces of information .
SEMI-STRUCTURED
INTERVIEWS
● Falls between structured and
unstructured interview.
● A semi-structured interview is a type of interview
in which the interviewer asks only a few
predetermined questions while the rest of the
questions are not planned in advance.
● Semi- structured interviews may be conducted face
to face, by telephone, videophone etc. but face to
face is probably best.
UNSTRUCTURED OR NON-STANDARDISED
INTERVIEWS
● An unstructured intervi ew is a type of interview
in which the interviewer asks questions which
are not prepared in advance.
● In unstructured interviews, questions arise
spontaneously in a free-flowing conversaton,
which means different candidates are asked
different questions.
● As the interview is unplanned, it has an
informal approach where a friendly
conservation takes placed between the
interviewer and interviewee.
MERITS DEMERITS
● Respondent may worry the information they
● Useful to obtain detailed information about provide will be identifiable.
personal feelings, perception and opinions
● Time consuming and more expensive than
● Data is rich and informative. other methods.
● Participants may be more open than in a a ● Interviewer may need training to conduct
group setting. the interviews .
● Creates friendly atmosphere. ● The respondent may hide some important
● It provide flexibility to interviewer. information due to lack of confidence in the
interviewer.
● HALLO EFFECT: single characteristic of candidate
affects the judgment of interviewer.