Types of interview in research

There are three major types of research interview
Structured interview:  A structured interview is a quantitative research method commonly employed in survey research. The aim of this approach is to ensure that each interview is presented with exactly the same questions in the same order.

• The interviewer asks each respondent the same series of questions.
• The questions are created prior to the interview, and often have a limited set of response categories.
• There is generally little room for variation in responses and there are few open-ended questions included in the interview guide.
• Questioning is standardized and the ordering and phrasing of the questions are kept consistent from interview to interview. 
• The interviewer plays a neutral role and acts casual and friendly, but does not insert his or her opinion in the interview.
• Self-administered questionnaires are a type of structured interview.
• Structured interviews require adherence to a very particular set of rules.
• Each question is read word for word by the researcher without any deviation from the protocol.
• The style is most useful when looking for very specific information.
• Quick and easy to administer
• Questions are created prior to interview
• Limited set of response categories
• It keeps the data concise and reduces researchers bias.

1.       Semi structure: A semi-structured interview is a method of research used 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.

—  These are a bit relaxed than structured interviews.

—  Conversation may stray from guide

—  Interviewers also have the freedom to be more friendly and sociable.

—  Data sets obtained using this style will be larger than those with structured interviews.

—  Open ended questions are included

—  Discussion may diverge from the interview guide

—  One –sided conversation in which the respondent is allowed free rein as long as the interviewer considers that what is being said is , or might be, relevant.

—  With little or no organization

—  Creates rapport and trust between respondent and interviewers.

—  It includes elaboration and explanation of a question.

Unstructured: An unstructured interview or non-directive interview is an interview in which questions are not prearranged. These non-directive interviews are considered to be the opposite of a structured interview which offers a set amount of standardized questions

—  Checklist of topics

—  There is no order and no script

—  The interaction between interviewer and interviewee is more like a conversation.

—  More often used in ethnographies and case studies

—  These are detailed and in depth

—  More valid information about respondent’s attitudes, values and opinions

—  It is more flexible and changeable 

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Research Proposal

A research proposal is a document that presents a plan for a project to reviewers for evaluation. It can be a supervised project submitted to instructors as part of an educational degree (e.g. a Master’s thesis). Its purpose is to convince reviewers that researcher is capable of successfully conducting the proposed research project. Planned project will be successfully completed if the proposal is well written and organized, and carefully planned. The proposal is just like a research report, but it is written before the research project begins. A proposal describes the research problem and its importance, and gives a detailed account of the methods that will be used and why they are appropriate. A proposal for quantitative research has most of the parts of a research report:

1.      Topic of Research                                                                                                                  

2.      Introduction                                                                                                                           

3.      Background study                                                                              

4.      Research question                                                                             

5.      Research objective                                                                            

6.      Research methodology                                                                      

7.      Significance of research                                                                    

8.      Tool for data collection                                                                     

9.      Data processing and analysis                                                            

10.  Time schedule                                                                                    

11.   Bibliography   

It includes a title, an abstract, A problem statement, a literature review, a method or design section, and a bibliography. It lacks results, discussion, and conclusions section. The proposal has a plan for data collection and analysis. It frequently includes a schedule of the steps to be undertaken and an estimate of the time required for each step.

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