Structured interview

A structured interview (also known as a standardised interview or a researcher-administered survey) is a quantitative research method commonly employed in survey research. The aim of this approach is to ensure that each interviewee is presented with exactly the same questions and this ensures that answers can be reliably aggregated.

Structured interviews are essentially statistical surveys, where the survey is delivered by an interviewer rather than being self-administered (like a questionnaire). Interviewers read the questions exactly as they appear on the survey questionnaire. The choice of answers to the questions is often fixed (close-ended) in advance.

There is a degree of standardization imposed on the data collection instrument. A highly structured questionnaire, for example, is one in which the questions to be asked and the responses permitted subjects are completely predetermined

Structured questionnaires employ "close-ended" questions. These are questions that have their answers outlined. The respondents (or Rs) have to choose their answers from those provided in the questionnaire.

Some basic considerations for framing such a questionnaire are:

Experience required and how long and methods for developing this. Basic levels of education needed. Personality factors. Beliefs and ways of understanding. Interests, hobbies, goals and other drivers. General motivation, for example 'high levels of enthusiasm for customers'. Cognitive abilities, such as logical analysis. Interpersonal skills, including leadership and general teamwork. Process structure. Interaction and dependency on or by other jobs and processes. Organizational structure and reporting. Use of technology and skills needed (also consider trends). Pay scales and methods, including extra elements such as bonuses.

'''These are some generalized considerations. the consideration set differs depending on the objective of the research.'''