Interview

Introduction

The interview has today become one of the most widespread knowledge-producing practices across the human and social sciences in general and also in critical psychology more specifically. The interview exists in a variety of forms ranging from formal interviews, for example, conducted in surveys, through the Internet, over the telephone, or in face-to-face interaction, to more informal conversations conducted for research purposes, for example, as a part of ethnographic fieldwork. Interviews can also be more or less structured. In survey research interviewing, standardized questions are often posed that seek answers that are open to quantitative procedures. Most qualitative interviews, however, are semi-structured. In a semi-structured interview, the researcher provides some structure based on her research interests and interview guide but works flexibly with the guide and allows room for the respondent’s more spontaneous descriptions and narratives. Some interviews have...