Semi-structured interviews are characterized by which feature?

• A. Fixed set of questions with no deviation
• B. Flexible format allowing conversational exploration
• C. No interviewer present
• D. Written responses only

Answer: (B)

The main idea is balancing guidance with openness: a semi-structured interview uses a prepared set of questions to cover key topics, but invites spontaneous follow-up questions and conversation. This flexibility lets the interviewer probe deeper into interesting responses, seek clarifications, and explore new ideas that arise during the chat, while still keeping enough structure to compare insights across interviews. That conversational exploration is what makes this format distinct from a rigid questionnaire with no deviation or from formats without an interviewer or with only written responses. Start with core topics to cover, but adapt the flow, wording, and emphasis based on how the interview unfolds to capture rich, nuanced data.