Interview techniques of fieldwork

 Interview is a commonly used method of collecting information from people. In many walks of life we collect information through different forms of interaction with others.

      Interview can be conducted face-to-face or over the telephone. This process of asking questions can be either very flexible, where you as the interviewer have the freedom to think about & formulate questions as they come on your mind around the issue being investigated, or inflexible. Interview are classified into different categories according to this degree of flexibility, as-

(i).Unstructured Interview:

Unstructured interview is an interviews in which there is no specific set of predetermined questions, although the interviewers usually have certain topics in mind that they ask during the interview.

Characteristics:

a)     Unstructured interviews are prevalent in both quantitative & qualitative research.

b)    It is flexible interview structure, contents & questions.

(ii).Semi-Structured Interview:

Semi-structure interview is a interviews in which there is specific set of predetermined questions, but the interviewers does not strictly follow the set of predetermined questions & they will ask open-ended questions during the interview.

Characteristics:

a)     Semi-structured interviews are widely used in qualitative research, for example – household research.

b)    A semi-structure interview is open, allowing new idea to be brought up during the interview.

(iii).Structured Interview

Structured interview is an interviews in which there is specific set of predetermined questions, although the interviewers usually using the same wording & order of questions during the interview.

Characteristics:

a)     It provides uniform information, which assures the comparability of data.

b)    It is rigid interview structure, contents, & questions & their wording.

‹Advantage of Interview:

i.)             The interview is more appropriate for complex situations.

ii.)            It is useful for collecting in-depth information.

iii.)          Information can be supplemented.

iv.)          Questions can be explained.

v.)            Interviewing has a wider application.

‹Disadvantage of Interview:

i.)             Interviewing is time consuming & expensive.

ii.)            The quality of data depends upon the quality of the interaction.

iii.)          The quality of data depends upon the quality of the interviewer.

iv.)          The quality of data may vary when many interviewers are used.

v.)            The researcher may introduce his/her bias.

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