What is a depth interview?

A depth interview is a loosely structured interview that allows freedom for both the interviewer and the interviewee to explore additional points and change direction if necessary. Depth interviews are a qualitative data collection method which offer the opportunity to collect rich, descriptive data about people’s behaviours, attitudes and perceptions, and unfolding complex processes. They can be used as a stand alone research method or as part of a multi method design, depending on the needs of the research.

Depth interviews are normally carried out face to face so that rapport can be created with respondents and body language can be used to add a high level of understanding to the answers. However, the telephone can be used to carry out depth interviews by a skilled researcher with little loss of data and at a tenth of the cost.

The style of the interview will depend on the interviewer. Successful depth interviewers listen rather than talk, have a clear line of questioning and use body language as a cue to building a rapport. The interview is more of a guided conversation than a staccato question and answer session.

The interview is conducted using a discussion guide (as in focus groups) which facilitates the flushing out of the respondent’s views through open ended questioning. As with focus groups, projective techniques can be incorporated into the interview.