What is a semi-structured interview?
Semi-structured interviews actually began in the health care industry as a way to get more detailed information from patients and focus groups beyond the basic questionnaire. This makes sense, as qualitative interviews are one of the most effective ways to accurately understand what a person is experiencing. Many people conducting research studies, social sciences students, for example, also conduct semi-structured interviews to get answers about people's real-world experiences.
Like any job interview, a semi-structured interview is designed to determine whether or not a candidate fits the job placement that they have applied for. You can conduct a semi-structured interview in many different ways: face to face, over the phone, group interview, and even through remote working tools like Zoom. Interview data is still collected via general questions and the candidate will still be expected to provide relatively quick answers, but the difference is that they will be open-ended questions.
This enables the interviewer to follow up with questions that aren’t planned and answer freely in their own words. This style of qualitative interviewing creates a back-and-forth dialogue that can make it much easier to assess a person’s knowledge and ability to do their job. Of course, though, this will be done with the aim of gathering specific information that the interviewer needs to make their final decision.
Who is responsible for a semi-structured interview?
Just like in a structured interview, the moderator will be responsible for each aspect of a semi-structured one. They will ask leading questions to get the answers they want, often coming up with new questions to ask on the fly.
Of course, though, this doesn’t mean that the candidate isn’t responsible for their own end of the interview. Good candidates will be responsive to the questions they are asked, going into detail and even asking their own questions. This enables a conversation to form, and this has been shown to be very successful in a lot of cases.
What is the semi-structured interview format?
In most cases, semi-structured interviews will have a less rigid format than structured ones. Once one of the prepared questions has been asked, the interviewee will be able to control the format of the interview somewhat. They can choose to answer questions in-depth or ask their own questions to show their understanding.
This can make it feel as though there is no format at all, though this isn’t the case. The format will still involve asking questions, though they won’t have definite answers and will often be impossible for respondents to get wrong.
What is the purpose of semi-structured interviews?
The main purpose of semi-structured interviews is to collect qualitative data about job candidates that have applied for a role. This methodology has been designed to make it possible for candidates to take the initiative and show their knowledge face-to-face, without being asked questions directly. This type of interview can lead to deeper discussions and help you get to know your candidates better. The data you collect will help you decide if they have the right skills for the role and whether or not they will be a cultural fit for the company.
This makes unstructured interviews a powerful tool for both employment and research methods, with data collection being much easier when candidates are able to provide it without being directly prompted. Of course, though, this means that moderators must be paying attention to collect the data that they need.
However, analysing the data from these interviews is like analysing any other qualitative research. It can be helpful to take notes in order to remember the context behind the in-depth interview.