In contrast to survey questionnaires, qualitative interviewing seeks to go further below superficial responses to uncover the underlying meanings individuals ascribe to events and the complexity of their attitudes, behaviors, and experiences.1
A semi-structured interview is a data collection method that focuses on asking questions within a preplanned topic framework. However, neither the order nor the phrasing of the questions is specified. In semi-structured interviews, structured and unstructured interviews are combined:2
When to use semi-structured interviews most effectively:
Choose the sort of interview that best fits your research needs. This table illustrates the most significant distinctions between the four categories.
Semi-structured interviews have several benefits.3
However, semi-structured interviews have disadvantages as well.4
Due to their frequently open-ended nature, it cannot be easy to construct semi-structured interview questions that elicit the desired information without biasing the responses. Listed below are some pointers:
You can proceed to the subsequent phases if you’ve decided that a semi-structured interview suits your research topic.
As you begin to formulate your research question, you can use leading questions like:
Try to be straightforward and concise, and formulate your queries with clarity. Choose your words carefully if your issue is delicate or could provoke an emotional response. Knowing when and how to ask follow-up or impromptu questions is among the most challenging aspects of conducting this interview. In light of this, it is essential to have a reference manual. In addition, it may be helpful to hypothesize what further questions may develop from your participants’ responses.4
There are several sampling techniques you can employ to select interview participants, including:
It is essential to plan how you will conduct the interview beforehand. It would help to determine whether it will be live or conducted using pen and paper. Additionally, you must choose between phone, in-person, and videoconferencing if the meeting is done in real-time. Keep in mind that each of these approaches has some benefits and drawbacks:5
Maintain as much environmental consistency as possible throughout interviewing to eliminate prejudice. Consider your body language and your tone of speech. Similarly, among the most challenging aspects of semi-structured interviews is maintaining the objectivity of your questions. This can be especially difficult if you ask your participants impromptu questions or follow-ups that are not scripted.4
After completing your interviews, you must assess your findings. For organizational purposes, assign each participant a number or a pseudonym.
Choose between verbatim transcription and intelligent verbatim transcription before beginning the transcribing process.
The subsequent step is to undertake a theme or content analysis. Typically, this entails “coding” words, patterns, or repeated answers and splitting them into labels or groups for a more comprehensive analysis. Because semi-structured interviews are more open-ended, a thematic analysis is more likely than content analysis.
After you’ve analyzed your data, you’ll need to write up your results in a research paper.
The interviewer effect is a bias when an interviewer’s characteristics influence the interviewee’s responses.
1 I. Crinson and M. Leontowitsch, “Semi-structured, narrative, and in-depth interviewing, focus groups, action research, participant observation,” HealthKnowledge, accessed August 23, 2022, https://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/public-health-textbook/research-methods/1d-qualitative-methods/section2-theoretical-methodological-issues-research. 2 Tom Pollock, “The Difference Between Structured, Unstructured & Semi-Structured Interviews,” oliverparks, accessed August 23, 2022, https://www.oliverparks.com/blog-news/the-difference-between-structured-unstructured-amp-semi-structured-interviews. 3 D. Cohen and B. Crabtree, “Semi-structured Interviews,” Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, July, 2006, http://www.qualres.org/HomeSemi-3629.html. 4 “Semi Structured Interviews,” Delve, accessed August 23, 2022, https://delvetool.com/blog/semi-structured. 5 “Welcome to the Evaluation Toolbox,” Evaluation Toolbox, accessed August 23, 2022, http://evaluationtoolbox.net.au/index.php?optioncom_content&viewarticle&id31. |