Question

Define Interview method. Discuss its types.

Hint:

Types: structured, semi-structured, unstructured; also personal, telephonic and group interviews.

Answer 1

Step 1: Definition:
The interview method is a technique of primary data collection in social research in which the investigator (interviewer) directly interacts with the respondent, asking questions verbally to gather information on the research topic.

Step 2: Types by structure:
Structured interviews use a fixed, pre-decided set of questions asked in the same order to every respondent, allowing easy comparison and quantification; unstructured interviews are flexible and conversational, with no fixed question format, allowing deeper, open-ended exploration of the topic.

Step 3: Other types:
Semi-structured interviews combine both approaches (a core set of fixed questions plus flexible follow-ups); interviews are also classified by mode as personal/face-to-face, telephonic, and (increasingly) online/video interviews, and by number of participants as individual or group (focus-group) interviews.

Final Answer:
The interview method is a face-to-face (or remote) data-collection technique, classified mainly into structured, unstructured and semi-structured types, and further into personal, telephonic and group interviews depending on mode and participants.