Semi-Structured Interview — Guided Qualitative Interviewing

The semi-structured interview is a qualitative data-collection method in which the researcher prepares a set of key questions or topic areas in advance but remains free to probe, follow up, and reorder as the conversation evolves. Unlike structured interviews — which fix every question and sequence — or unstructured interviews — which are entirely open — the semi-structured format balances comparability across participants with the flexibility needed to capture the depth and nuance of individual perspectives. It is the most widely used interview format in social science, health, and education research.