Semi-structured interview

In semi-structured interviews there will be central themes to explore but the interviewer does not have to use a strict set of questions.

A semi-structured interview is a method of research used most often in the social sciences. While a structured interview has a rigorous set of questions which does not allow one to divert, a semi-structured interview is open, allowing new ideas to be brought up during the interview as a result of what the interviewee says. The interviewer in a semi-structured interview generally has a framework of themes to be explored.[1]

Semi-structured interviews are widely used in qualitative research;[2] for example in household research, such as couple interviews. A semi-structured interview involving, for example, two spouses can result in "the production of rich data, including observational data."[3]

  1. ^ Knott, Eleanor; Rao, Aliya Hamid; Summers, Kate; Teeger, Chana (2022-09-15). "Interviews in the social sciences". Nature Reviews Methods Primers. 2 (1): 1–15. doi:10.1038/s43586-022-00150-6. ISSN 2662-8449. S2CID 252377501.
  2. ^ Edwards, Rosalind; Holland, Janet (2013). What is qualitative interviewing?. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 2–3. ISBN 9781849668095.
  3. ^ Bjørnholt, Margunn; Farstad, Gunhild R. (2012). "'Am I rambling?' On the advantages of interviewing couples together" (PDF). Qualitative Research. 14 (1): 3–19. doi:10.1177/1468794112459671. S2CID 146748322.