Structured interview: Difference between revisions

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A '''structured [[interview]]''' (also known as a '''standardised interview''' or a '''researcher-administered survey''') is a [[quantitative research]] method commonly employed in [[survey research]]. The aim of this approach is to ensure that each interviewee is presented with exactly the same questions in the same order. This ensures that answers can be reliably aggregated and that comparisons can be made with confidence between sample subgroups or between different survey periods.

Structured interviews are a means of collecting data for a [[statistical survey|statistical survey]]. In this case, the data is collected by an interviewer rather than through a self-administered [[questionnaire]]. Interviewers read the questions exactly as they appear on the survey questionnaire. The choice of answers to the questions is often fixed (close-ended) in advance, though open-ended questions can also be included within a structured interview.

A structured interview also standardises the order in which questions are asked of survey respondents, so the questions are always answered within the same context. This is important for minimising the impact of [[context effects]], where the answers given to a survey question can depend on the nature of preceding questions. Though context effects can never be avoided, it is often desirable to hold them constant across all respondents.

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[[Category:Research methods]]

[[Category:Evaluation methods]]

[[Category:Quantitative research]]

[[zh:结构式访谈]]

Structured [[interviews]] can also be used as a [[qualitative research]] methodology <ref> [http://www.sagepub.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book226668 Kvale & Brinkman. 2008. InterViews, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks: SAGE. ISBN: 9780761925422] </ref>. These types of interviews are best suited for engaging in respondent or [[focus group]] studies in which it would be beneficial to compare/contrast participant responses in order to answer a research question <ref> [http://www.sagepub.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book225567 Lindlof & Taylor. 2002. Qualitative Communication Research Methods, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks: SAGE. ISBN: 9780761924944] </ref>. For structured qualitative interviews, it is usually necessary for researchers to develop an interview schedule which lists the wording and sequencing of questions <ref> [http://www.sagepub.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book9906 Patton. 1991. Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods, 3rd Edition. Thousand Oaks: SAGE. ISBN: 9780761919711] </ref>. Interview schedules are sometimes considered a means by which researchers can increase the reliability and credibility of research data <ref> [http://www.sagepub.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book225567 Lindlof & Taylor. 2002. Qualitative Communication Research Methods, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks: SAGE. ISBN: 9780761924944] </ref>.

==References==

{{Reflist}}