Before the interview, the structured interview interviewer makes a detailed and standardized interview outline and interviews the interviewee. The characteristics are: the obtained information is easy to compare and quantify, which can reduce the subjective components in the conversation and prevent the interviewees from answering vague or deviating from the interview outline. When conducting a structured interview, all interviewers should ask questions in a certain order according to the interview outline formulated in advance, and must not deviate from the interview outline at will. Making an interview outline is an important task in conducting a structured interview. The researchers screened the questions to be asked and their possible answers, classified and coded them, and made a unified interview questionnaire. The interview outline can include a few open-ended questions (see questionnaire) and more complex scales and charts for on-site use.
Unstructured visitors don't follow the unified interview questionnaire, but talk freely with the respondents around the research questions. Features are: talk naturally, in-depth understanding of various situations. It is often used in exploratory research. Compared with structured interview, it needs more visitors and more interview time, and the social interaction between visitors and respondents has a more significant impact on the interview survey results. The key to an unstructured interview is to effectively control the conversation and make accurate interview records. Interviewers should actively guide the conversation while maintaining a harmonious conversation atmosphere, and correct the deviation from the research topic or lengthy conversation at any time.
Principles and requirements
The interviewer must undergo strict selection and training, and choose people who are close to the social characteristics of the interviewee as the interviewer. Interviewers must have certain social skills and have a full understanding of the purpose, content, procedures and requirements of the survey and the basic situation of the respondents.
(2) When visiting, the interviewer should bring necessary articles, such as personal identification, letters of introduction from relevant organizations or groups, names and addresses of the interviewees, recording tools, etc. The interviewer's dress should be popular.
(3) At the beginning of the visit, the visitor should explain the purpose and significance of the visit to the interviewee and ensure that the interviewee's reputation and interests will not be damaged. (4) When talking, the interviewer's words and deeds should be natural and approachable, use easy-to-understand language, maintain a neutral position on the questions raised, and pay attention to the interviewee's nonverbal behavior.