Are you afraid of Quantitative analysis and not good with numbers? Do not stress yourself and design your research strategy keeping in view the Qualitative analysis research instrument and techniques. There are different methods to collect Qualitative data and one of the most widely accepted one is “Interview”. Interviews have three main types, and you are always free to choose one or all three in your research work. Every type has its advantages as well as disadvantages. We can analyze all by using different tools and techniques. In this article, you can find complete detail about the types of academic interview that you can use in your research. After reading this article you can easily make a choice keeping in view the advantages and disadvantages of different types of academic interviews.
What is an Academic Interview in Research?
An interview is a one-on-one conversation between two persons. The person who is asking questions is an interviewer. The other person who is answering the questions is the interviewee. Most of the time, the format of questions is short and quick answers are expected. But interviews can be of many types based on the research type and goals. The following section will discuss the types of academic interviews in research with their pros and cons.
Types of Interviews
There are three major types of academic interviews. If you don’t know about these types and the differences between them and want to learn about the same, then keep reading. This article will provide you with an overview of all three types.
Structured Interviews
A structured interview is one of the most widely used types of academic interviews used in qualitative research. The interviewer asks a particular set of predetermined questions. Before the interview, the interviewer sends all the questions to the interviewee. The interviewee prepares those questions and answers accordingly. It is how a structured interview moves on. The questions are predetermined and self-explanatory. The researcher can’t make any changes to questions after sending them to the interviewee. No Room for Improvisation.
Types Of Structured Interview
Experts of dissertation writing services UK have further divided the structured academic interviews into two types. A brief description of those types is as follows:
Closed-Ended Interviews
In a closed-ended interview, the interviewer asks a straightforward question. The interviewee has to give the right piece of information. The interviewee may be allowed to choose from alternatives. For example, there could be a question. “ Are you taking drugs recently?” The respondent has to answer only YES or NO in response to these questions.
Open-Ended Interviews
In the second type, i.e., open-ended interviews, the researcher asks questions with several answers. The respondent can also give his opinion on the questions. In other words, you can say it is an opinion-based interview. For example, “Can you talk about the effects of COVID-19 on education?” Here, in this question, the respondent has many options. He can answer this question in several ways. Therefore, it’s an open-ended structured academic interview.
Advantages of Structured Interview
- Due to predetermined questions, the process of the interview is straightforward and efficient
- The researcher can repeat it several times to make the results reliable
- The respondent can give the best and most detailed answers to the questions
Disadvantages of Structured Interview
- Strictness is the main disadvantage of a structured interview. The researcher has to stick to the predetermined questions only
- It can’t provide you with a whole picture of a person.
Semi-Structured Interviews
Semi-structured interviews are more flexible than structured ones. It does not have predetermined questions. Basically, semi-structured interviews have an interview guide. The guide serves as a framework for the discussion. In simple words, the interview has its own set of guidelines instead of questions. The questions are then structured based on those guidelines. Not all the questions in this type of interview are predetermined. Some questions can be predetermined, but it also contains some non-predetermined questions.
Advantages of Semi-Structured Interviews
- Encourage Discussion: This academic interview provides an opportunity for a natural conversation on the topic. It enables the respondents to provide more information about sensitive issues.
- Qualitative data collection: It allows the collection of qualitative data. The interviewer can analyse the data and compare it with the information provided by others.
- Less Stressful: The relaxed nature of discussion makes it less stressful. The interviewee can give his opinion more freely.
Disadvantages of Semi-Structured Interviews
- Distraction: The interview sometimes turns into a dialogue due to its relaxed nature. The researcher should avoid asking those questions that can make him argue with the respondent.
- Skipping important questions: Sometimes, the researcher goes deep he starts ignoring the most critical questions.
Unstructured Interviews
As the name suggests, the unstructured academic interviews are without any guidelines or predetermined questions. The aim of this interview is to provide an open room for discussion. The interviewer already has some questions in his/her mind regarding the topic. But it is for sure that there are no documents in advance to help the interviewer and interviewee. This kind of interview is really difficult to carry out. The lack of structure makes it difficult for respondents, especially young and beginners. A brief description of the advantages and disadvantages is as follows:
Advantages of Unstructured Interviews
- Vast Discussion: It is the most significant advantage of unstructured academic interviews. The respondent can talk about the topic freely, and there will be a comprehensive discussion on the subject.
- Adapting the topics: As an unstructured interview is more flexible, it allows changing topics of discussion. The interviewee adopts the changed topic quickly.
Disadvantages of Unstructured Interviews
- Getting Distracted: Like semi-structured interviews, the fear of distraction is also there. Due to more flexibility, the researcher might the critical questions.
- Problems in analysis: As your questions are different for different respondents, the analysis might become problematic. Varied answers will make it difficult for you to draw a conclusion.
Conclusion
The three types above of academic interviews are essential in gathering qualitative data. The type of interview can depend on the research you are carrying out. Usually, semi-structured interviews are a good choice but again it all depends on your research and what you are trying to find out. Keeping in view the aim of study and benefits of interviews, you easily make a choice.
