Qualitative interview (or qualitative interviewing) is an umbrella data collection method extensively applied under the qualitative research methodology. Data is collected in a form of conversation between a researcher (interviewer) and a research participant (informant or interviewee), guided by an open-ended questionnaire (interview guide). 

Depending on research purpose and research design decisions, qualitative interview guide can differ in its structure and the way how the structure is applied during the interview conversation. There are three main forms of qualitative interviews linked to the degree of structuring the interview questionnaire:

Unstructured interview: It means that interview conversation is highly adaptable and sensible to the ongoing storyline of a research participant. The intention is to focus and elicit research participant’s perspective and subjectively experienced reality with as little pre-conceptions or pre-categorizations as possible. Unstructured interviews come from the tradition of anthropology and sociology; they are common in ethnographic research (also as a part of research design based on (participant) observation method). Unstructured interview form is often associated with in-depth interview. It is allowed that the researcher prepares an initial (opening) question or topic to start the conversation or prepare a list of broad topics to be covered during an interview. The main guidance comes from constantly keeping in mind research purpose and attuning to the natural flow of the conversation as initiated by the research participant. There is a lot of space for spontaneity and possibility to elicit unexpected, unknown aspects of a researched phenomenon using unstructured interviewing. Research participants have more control over the pace and flow of the conversation while the primary role of the interviewer is to actively listen and ask questions to enhance the quality of data. This form has the potential to elicit most nuanced and rich data. At the same time, conducting unstructured interviews is challenging. Each interview tends to be different and individually shaped, thus making data analysis more complicated. Unstructured interviewing requires a lot of time. The interviewer must be highly skilled to be able to balance unstructured flow of the conversation yet at the same time keep it aligned with the research purpose. Moreover, unstructured interviews are focused on participants’ stories and thus will likely elicit sharing quite personal aspects; therefore, a more careful ethical consideration is required.

Semi-structured interview: It is a widely used form of qualitative interviewing across research fields and methodological strategies. Semi-structured interview refers to a balance between a guiding questionnaire of open-ended questions and preliminary vision of the order of questions, while also stressing the flexibility of conversation. It is allowed (and even expected) that the interview will pertain characteristics of a natural conversation, coherently adapting to the storyline of research participant. During the interview, questions or their order can be adapted; it is also expected that new questions will emerge or clarifying, prompting questions will be asked. Semi-structured interviewing provides more consistency across interviews with multiple participants in a research project. At the same time, it does not strictly constrain the perspective of research participants and allows for spontaneity.

Structured interview: This form is also possible in qualitative research. It is important to note that questions remain open-ended. However, it is presumed that questions and their order will be followed more rigidly to ensure higher degree of consistency between the cases. At the same time, this form limits spontaneity and the role of the research participant more constrained. Structured interviews are commonly used when comparison between cases or groups is focal. They are useful when a researcher wants to explore a tentative hypothesis leaning on the perspective of research participants. They can also be used in combination with quantitative research if some aspects need to be explored in more detail.

Short “how to”

While the three forms differ in their level of structuration, conducting qualitative interviews requires a common set of interviewer skills and considerations about interview environment.

Interviewer’s role during an interview can be described as multitasking as throughout the conversation one has to simultaneously:

• ask questions
• actively listen
• analytically interpret the answers
• formulate follow-up, probing, clarifying or other questions necessary to ensure the quality of data and fulfillment of the research purpose
• keep the focus and if necessary, steer the direction of the conversation (in semi-structured and structured interviews in particular)
• observe (and register) non-verbal clues and environment
• take notes
• and solve practical issues

For qualitative interviews to be successful (i.e. ensure that research participants will feel comfortable and secure enough to open-up, be sincere and decide to share (or not to withhold) important information), the interviewer has to build rapport with interviewees and be attentive to each individual story. It is also important to have ability to adjust to the type of communication and mode of expression that fits an individual participant. Avoiding power imbalance between the interviewer and an interviewee is crucial. Finally, interview environment is also important: it should be comfortable to research participant, private and silent enough.

Qualitative interviews commonly last around 60 minutes but can be shorter (e.g. in case of structured interviews) or longer (up to a few hours in case of unstructured interviews). It is generally required to voice-record qualitative interview conversations and then make verbatim transcriptions for data analysis to ensures data accuracy and authenticity. It is also important to register non-verbal information during the conversation (e.g. by making notes) and the transcription (e. g. by indicating laughter, long pauses, change in tone or other non-verbal clues that are important to accurately transmit the meaning of interview conversation). 

Qualitative interviews rely on open-ended questions, meaning that a question does not provide an explicit or implicit suggestion of possible answer alternatives or direction of the answer. It is advised to avoid asking “yes” or “no” questions. Suggested question formulations are “what”, “how”, “who”, “when”, “where”, “in what way”, “why” and similar. Questions (their language, wording, and content) must make sense to research participants and be short, concise, clear. It is also advised to be clear about the intention of each question: does it ask about feelings, facts, actors, roles, values, opinions, stories, knowledge, behavior? Past or present? About a research participant or about other people?

During an unstructured interview, the researcher needs to be particularly attentive to the conversation to interpret interviewee’s narration “on the go” and generate meaningful subsequent questions that are relevant for the purpose and the scope of the research. Ability to listen carefully and good analytical skills to pose subsequent questions are necessary. It is acceptable to have a kind of “reminder list” but the success and quality of unstructured interview largely rely on the knowledge, experience and skills of the interviewer.

During semi-structured interviews, the same interviewing skills remain relevant; however, interview guide helps as the key questions are already formulated and preliminary sequence is thought through. The main challenge for the interviewer is to find the balance between following the guide and following the conversation. Relying solely on the interview guide defies the purpose of semi-structured form – active listening, attentiveness to the participants storyline, on-spot interpretation and asking emerging questions make the semi-structured interviews work well. Structured interview form means the most control on the part of interviewer while a research participant is rather a responding party. However, open-ended form of questionnaire remains, and the conversation should not remind a kind of formal interrogation. The task is still to elicit the subjective perspective of research participants.

The quality of interviews is guided by the criteria applicable to qualitative research methodology. Regardless of the form of an interview, it is important to adhere to data accuracy and credibility (ensuring that collected data accurately represents the perspective, meanings and contexts of research participant); transferability (ensuring detailed enough description of research cases and contexts to make an informed decision about the applicability of findings to similar cases and contexts); transparency (accurate and responsible documentation and reporting of research methodology decisions and research process), and confirmability (ensuring that analysis, interpretation and presentation of the findings is grounded in data and not in researcher’s personal opinion, assumptions or biases). 

Firmin, M. (2008). Unstructured interview. In The SAGE encyclopedia of qualitative research methods (Vol. 0, pp. -). SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412963909.n475

Firmin, M. (2008). Structured interview. In The SAGE encyclopedia of qualitative research methods (Vol. 0, pp. -). SAGE Publications, Inc., https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412963909.n435

Hennink, M., Hutter, I., & Bailey, A. (2020). Qualitative research methods (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications. Google Books 

MAXQDA. (2026). Semi-Structured Interviews: The Comprehensive Guide. https://www.maxqda.com/research-guides/semi-structured-interviews 

(2004). Semistructured interview. In M. S. Lewis-Beck, A. Bryman, T. Futing Liao (Eds.) The SAGE encyclopedia of social science research methods (Vol. 0, pp. 1021-1021). SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412950589.n909 

Media Consumption and the Future of Public Connection, 2004-2005: https://datacatalogue.ukdataservice.ac.uk/studies/study/5631#details

Example data sets

Media Consumption and the Future of Public Connection, 2004-2005: https://datacatalogue.ukdataservice.ac.uk/studies/study/5631#details

• Dr. Inga Gaižauskaitė, Vytautas Magnus University 
• Dr. Ayşegül Balta Özgen, Üsküdar Üniversitesi

Semi-structured interviews are useful for practitioners because they combine preparation with flexibility. The method is based on a set of pre-planned themes or guiding questions, while still allowing the interviewer to adapt the conversation according to the participant’s responses. For journalists, this approach is valuable because it helps maintain focus on key topics while also giving space for unexpected perspectives or new information to emerge during the interview.

For public education instructors and policy practitioners, semi-structured interviews are useful for collecting comparable information from different participants while still understanding individual experiences in context. In areas related to digital politics and inclusion, the method can help practitioners explore common patterns in how citizens engage with digital platforms, political organisations, or civic participation, while also identifying differences between social groups. In projects such as RELINK², semi-structured interviews can support evidence-based analysis by balancing systematic data collection with the flexibility needed to understand complex social realities.