Unstructured Interview — Open-Ended In-Depth Interview

An unstructured interview is a qualitative data-collection method in which the researcher enters the conversation with a broad topic or grand-tour question rather than a fixed questionnaire, allowing the participant to direct the flow and depth of the discussion. The approach prioritises the participant's own conceptual categories and narrative logic over the researcher's pre-formed agenda, making it especially powerful for exploratory inquiry into unfamiliar or complex social phenomena.