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Semi-structured Interviews

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• Danielle Magaldi 3 &
• Matthew Berler 4  

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Open-ended interview ; Qualitative interview ; Systematic exploratory interview ; Thematic interview

The semi-structured interview is an exploratory interview used most often in the social sciences for qualitative research purposes or to gather clinical data. While it generally follows a guide or protocol that is devised prior to the interview and is focused on a core topic to provide a general structure, the semi-structured interview also allows for discovery, with space to follow topical trajectories as the conversation unfolds.

Introduction

Qualitative interviews exist on a continuum, ranging from free-ranging, exploratory discussions to highly structured interviews. On one end is unstructured interviewing, deployed by approaches such as ethnography, grounded theory, and phenomenology. This style of interview involves a changing protocol that evolves based on participants’ responses and will differ from one participant to the next. On the other end of the continuum...

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Magaldi, D., Berler, M. (2020). Semi-structured Interviews. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_857

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How to Conduct and Analyze Semi-Structured Interviews

A semi-structured interview is one of the most effective tools for systematically gathering qualitative and quantitative data. This is a method which allows you to ask predetermined questions, determined, perhaps, by the theoretical framework or theory of change underpinning the project, or by your research hypothesis. It is also one which keeps questions open-ended, to gain a comprehensive view of surrounding information.

Before the semi-structured interview

Selecting an appropriate sample size, or deciding whether to interview the complete treatment group are all important aspects of research design. To do this, you need to consider the characteristics and size of the entire treatment group, and then determine whether a representative sample would be best selected according to some of the attributes, or within sub-groups, or whether taking a randomized sample is best.

Interviewers should be trained, and understand the challenges with asking open ended questions; how to adhere to the research questions and seek specific information, while also not leading respondents to answer a specific way. Remaining engaged while taking notes, and establishing rapport are also important aspects of a good interview technique.

After the semi-structured interview

Once the interviews have been conducted, knowing what to do with this data is key. There are a range of different analytic methods which could be applied to qualitative data, and choosing the right one will depend on the research you are conducting. By definition, qualitative data is categorical, thus, you should already have some idea of the different categories you are working with, and what “strongly agree” or “strongly disagree” might mean in the context of the theory for a given question. Coding and sorting your data to give it meaning is key to a sound analysis. As you designed the questionnaire, you will already have an idea of the value you place on different responses, and what constitutes an improvement in your ordinal data. You will also want to keep track of some of the classification variables which might hold explanatory power in the differences in outcomes, such as gender or age.

Clean the data

You will likely need to spend some time cleaning the data, particularly the ‘open-ended’ questions where the answers may be long, and differ from person to person. If you have had a range of interviewers, you may want to spend some time just reading through all the data to try and gain a consistent view of the picture being painted by the data before beginning with the analysis. Never underestimate the power of ‘eye-balling’ your data. Give it a good read, and long think before commencing with any number-crunching.

Define clear questions

For your more defined questions, it may be simple to represent the findings. Say, for example, you are trying to ascertain the level of resources, and their use across a group of early childhood development centers, some of your questions will ask directly the number of books, toys or games available. This is quantitative information easily shown. You could graph the number of ECD centers which have between 0 – 5 resources, 5 – 10, or more than 10. If you then want to comment on the quality of these resources, you may have your interviewer observe their quality across ranked categories such as ‘new and in excellent condition’; ‘well-used but still with useful life’; illegible, parts missing, very old’. This might be done in conversation with the interviewee, the ECD center worker to ascertain their understanding of the importance of quality and engaging resources. From this data you can easily determine the overall resource need by determining how many of the centers require resources supplementation, but you may wish to apply a deeper analysis to how these resources are perceived by ECD workers. Then there may be questions on use; the frequency and level of engagement. Where frequency may be easy to map (once again you could categorize frequencies and group centers accordingly), you may want to conduct some type of thematic or narrative analysis on the comments regarding how well the children engage with the resources. There will be layers of information. A thematic analysis will allow you to begin to gather themes across a range of comments. You might find themes around reasons why the young children are not engaging adequately such as feeling hungry or tired, or themes around how the significance of engagement is perceived by the ECD practitioners. There are softwares for conducting rigorous thematic analysis through word identification (narrative analysis), or in a small enough sample, you can identify the frequency of themes yourself.

Methods Map

Sage Publishers have a really useful guide, the ‘ Methods Map’ , for defining and mapping various research methods, which begins to guide you in the most appropriate one for your purpose. The map surrounding qualitative data analysis includes a range of analytic methods. From this resource, you can delve into the broader academic literature to understand how various methods may be implemented. Even when using deductive approaches, such as action research where you are not testing a theory, but rather gathering information to form one; approaches where your questions will be more open-ended, and adhere less to a stricture, you will want to systematically analyze the data from these interviews to develop a strong base of information.

If you have a good idea of the overall implementation and research questions you hope to answer as you design the interview, it will then be much easier to understand what to do with your data.  This is why framing your impact and researching methodologies for reaching this impact is such critical groundwork. Researching what ‘good’ looks like in the space that you’re working will assist you in developing appropriate categories for data collection, which are context relevant, and empirically proven. For example, if an empirical study finds that exercise 3 times a week improved well-being, and that frequency of exercise means certain things about mental wellness, and you’re running a program in community wellness, design your categories accordingly.

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Structured, Semi-Structured & Unstructured

The “Big 3” Interview Approaches Explained

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Expert Reviewer: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | July 2024

Interview Approaches 101

• The “Big 3” options
• Structured interviews
• Unstructured interviews
• Semi-structured interviews
• How to make the right choice

The “Big 3” Interview Approaches

When it comes to collecting data by means of interviews, there are three potential approaches you can take:

• Semi-structured
• Unstructured

Naturally, each of these approaches has its strengths and weaknesses , and the right choice will depend on your research aims and research questions. So, let’s dig into each of them to help you find the right option for your study.

Option 1: Structured Interviews

Structured interviews are akin to a well-rehearsed play. Each question is pre-determined , ensuring that every participant is asked the same set in the same order – similar to a survey. This rigidity allows you to achieve a high level of consistency in your approach and makes it easier to compare responses. Naturally, this approach also allows you to move through the interviewing process quite quickly – at least compared to the other options.

All that said, the structured approach can be something of a double-edged sword. Specifically, the emphasis on consistency presents a trade-off in terms of the depth of responses. Moreover, it limits your ability to explore unexpected but potentially relevant topics that crop up naturally during the conversation. In a nutshell then, we can say that the structured interview approach sacrifices flexibility for consistency .

So, when would it make sense to go the structured route?

As you can probably imagine, this approach is useful for projects where you need specific, comparable data from a large number of participants . For example, if your aims involved validating a theory across multiple, relatively large demographic groups, structured interviews could be a good fit. As with all methodological choices though, you’d need to carefully consider your research aims and questions to assess whether this approach would give you the type of data you need.

Option 2: Unstructured Interviews

Next, let’s head to the opposite side of the spectrum and look at unstructured interviews .

With unstructured interviews, the script is thrown out of the window, and the conversation is guided by the participants’ responses . Think of it more as a jazz improvisation rather than a classical concert. With this approach, you, as the interviewer, merely facilitate a free-flowing dialogue , letting your participants’ priorities and viewpoints steer the discussion. As you’d expect, unstructured interviews can do a great job of revealing unexpected insights and richly detailed personal stories.

The downside, of course, is the potential for time-consuming tangents . In some cases, you may also need to hold more than one round of interviews to collect follow-up information. Linked to this is the challenge of managing and analysing the large, diverse dataset that this interviewing approach generates. In other words, it’s once again a tradeoff. In this case, you’re trading consistency for depth and flexibility .

As you’d expect, unstructured interviews are ideal for studies that are exploratory in nature. For example, unstructured interviews could make sense for research aims that involve understanding personal experiences of trauma or the challenging journey of entrepreneurship. So, as always, the suitability of this approach depends on the nature of your research aims and research questions .

Need a helping hand?

Option 3: Semi-Structured Interviews

Last but not least, let’s move to the middle ground and take a look at semi-structured interviews .

As the name suggests, semi-structured interviews provide something of a balance between rigidity and flexibility – in other words, structured and unstructured. In practical terms, semi-structured interviews start with a set of guiding questions but allow the interviewer to digress, probe deeper, and explore emerging themes . Naturally, this sort of flexibility allows you to unearth richer, more nuanced data, and provide insights that a rigid question set might miss.

Sounds like the perfect blend, right?

Well, the challenge with this approach lies in the skill of the interviewer . Specifically, you need to maintain focus on the core questions while also being responsive to the flow of conversation – and managing the clock . This juggling act can be challenging, especially for first-time researchers. It’s easy to get distracted and sidetracked , especially if the participant is particularly chatty. So, you need to be skilled in directing a conversation to pull this approach off.

As you can probably guess, semi-structured interviews are particularly valuable in studies where understanding the diversity of perspectives or experiences is crucial. For instance, in researching the impact of a social policy, you might start with specific questions about the policy and then evolve into exploring its varied effects on individuals’ lives. In principle, semi-structured interviews provide the best of both worlds. But, be careful not to underestimate the skill required to execute these types of conversations well.

How To Choose

To quickly recap, the three types of interviews are structured , semi-structured and unstructured . Choosing the right type of interview for your study hinges on your research aims and questions.

• Structured interviews are a good option when you need clear, comparable data across a relatively large sample.
• On the flip side, if your research is centred on personal experiences or delves into uncharted territories, unstructured interviews can provide flexibility and allow you to capture a high level of depth.
• Last but not least, if your study aims to explore a phenomenon in-depth, while also retaining some level of comparability, semi-structured interviews could be a good fit.

For more information about interviewing stategies and qualitative research in general, be sure to visit the award-winning Grad Coach Blog . Alternatively, if you’d like more hands-on help, check out out Private Coaching service .

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Designing a semi-structured interview guide for qualitative interviews

But what exactly do semi structured interviews mean? What exactly counts as in-depth? How structured are semi-structured interviews?

Daniel Turner

Interviews are a frequently used research method in qualitative studies. You will see dozens of papers that state something like “We conducted n in-depth semi-structured interviews with key informants”. But what exactly does this mean? What exactly counts as in-depth? How structured are semi-structured interviews?

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The term “in-depth” is defined fairly vaguely in the literature: it generally means a one-to-one interview on one general topic, which is covered in detail. Usually these qualitative interviews last about an hour, although sometimes much longer. It sounds like two people having a discussion, but there are differences in the power dynamics, and end goal: for the classic sociologist Burgess (2002) these are “conversations with a purpose”.

Qualitative interviews generally differ from quantitative survey based questions in that they are looking for a more detailed and nuanced response. They also acknowledge there is no ‘one-size fits all’, especially when asking someone to recall a personal narrative about their experiences. Instead of a fixed “research protocol” that asks the same question to each respondent, most interviewees adopt a more flexible approach. However there is still a need “...to ensure that the same general areas of information are collected from each interviewee; this provides more focus than the conversational approach, but still allows a degree of freedom and adaptability in getting information from the interviewee” – MacNamara (2009) .

Turner (2010) (who coincidentally shares the same name as me) describes three different types of qualitative interview; Informal Conversation, General Interview Guide, and Standardised Open-Ended. These can be seen as a scale from least to most structured, and we are going to focus on the ‘interview guide’ approach, which takes a middle ground.

An interview guide is like a cheat-sheet for the interviewer – it contains a list of questions and topic areas that should be covered in the interview. However, these are not to be read verbatim and in order, in fact they are more like an aide-mémoire. “Usually the interviewer will have a prepared set of questions but these are only used as a guide, and departures from the guidelines are not seen as a problem but are often encouraged” – Silverman (2013) . That way, the interviewer can add extra questions about an unexpected but relevant area that emerges, and sections that don’t apply to the participant can be negated.

So what do these look like, and how does one go about writing a suitable semi-structured interview guide? Unfortunately, it is rare in journal articles for researchers to share the interview guide, and it’s difficult to find good examples on the internet. Basically they look like a list of short questions and follow-on prompts, grouped by topic. There will generally be about a dozen. I’ve written my fair share of interview guides for qualitative research projects over the years, either on my own or with the collaboration of colleagues, so I’m happy to share some tips.

  Questions should answer your research questions  Your research project should have one or several main research questions, and these should be used to guide the topics covered in the interviews, and hopefully answer the research questions. However, you can’t just ask your respondents “Can the experience of male My Little Pony fans be described through the lens of Derridean deconstruction?”. You will need to break down your research into questions that have meaning for the participant and that they can engage with. The questions should be fairly informal and jargon free (unless that person is an expert in that field of jargon), open ended - so they can’t be easily answered with a yes or no, and non-leading so that respondents aren’t pushed down a certain interpretation.

Link to your proposed analytical approach  The questions on your guide should also be constructed in such a way that they will work well for your proposed method of analysis – which again you should already have decided. If you are doing narrative analysis, questions should be encouraging respondents to tell their story and history. In Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis you may want to ask more detail about people’s interpretations of their experiences. Think how you will want to analyse, compare and write up your research, and make sure that the questioning style fits your own approach.

Specific ‘Why’ and prompt questions  It is very rare in semi-structured interviews that you will ask one question, get a response, and then move on to the next topic. Firstly you will need to provide some structure for the participant, so they are not expected (or encouraged) to recite their whole life story. But on the other level, you will usually want to probe more about specific issues or conditions. That is where the flexible approach comes in. Someone might reveal something that you are interested in, and is relevant to the research project. So ask more! It’s often useful in the guide to list a series of prompt words that remind you of more areas of detail that might be covered. For example, the question “When did you first visit the doctor?” might be annotated with optional prompts such as “Why did you go then?”, “Were you afraid?” or “Did anyone go with you?”. Prompt words might reduce this to ‘Why THEN / afraid / with someone’.

Be flexible with order  Generally, an interview guide will be grouped into several topics, each with a few questions. One of the most difficult skills is how to segue from one topic or question to the next, while still seeming like a normal conversation. The best way to manage this is to make sure that you are always listening to the interviewee, and thinking at the same time about how what they are saying links to other discussion topics. If someone starts talking about how they felt isolated visiting the doctor, and one of your topics is about their experience with their doctor, you can ask ‘Did you doctor make you feel less isolated?’. You might then be asking about topic 4, when you are only on topic 1, but you now have a logical link to ask the more general written question ‘Did you feel the doctor supported you?’. The ability to flow from topic to topic as the conversation evolves (while still covering everything on the interview guide) is tricky, and requires you to:

Know your guide backwards - literally  I almost never went into an interview without a printed copy of the interview guide in front of me, but it was kind of like Dumbo’s magic feather : it made me feel safe, but I didn’t really need it. You should know everything on your interview guide off by heart, and in any sequence. Since things will crop up in unpredictable ways, you should be comfortable asking questions in different orders to help the conversational flow. Still, it’s always good to have the interview guide in front of you; it lets you tick off questions as they are asked (so you can see what hasn’t been covered), is space to write notes, and also can be less intimidating for the interviewee, as you can look at your notes occasionally rather than staring them in the eye all the time.

  Try for natural conversation   Legard, Keegan and Ward (2003) note that “Although a good in-depth interview will appear naturalistic, it will bear little resemblance to an everyday conversation”. You will usually find that the most honest and rich responses come from relaxed, non-combative discussions. Make the first question easy, to ease the participant into the interview, and get them used to the question-answer format. But don’t let it feel like a tennis match, where you are always asking the questions. If they ask something of you, reply! Don’t sit in silence: nod, say ‘Yes’, or ‘Of course’ every now and then, to show you are listening and empathising like a normal human being. Yet do be careful about sharing your own potentially leading opinions, and making the discussion about yourself.

Discuss with your research team / supervisors  You should take the time to get feedback and suggestions from peers, be they other people on your research project, or your PhD supervisors. This means preparing the interview guide well in advance of your first interview, leaving time for discussion and revisions. Seasoned interviewers will have tips about wording and structuring questions, and even the most experienced researcher can benefit from a second opinion. Getting it right at this stage is very important, it’s no good discovering after you’ve done all your interviews that you didn’t ask about something important.

Adapting the guide  While these are semi-structured interviews, in general you will usually want to cover the same general areas every time you do an interview, no least so that there is some point of comparison. It’s also common to do a first few interviews and realise that you are not asking about a critical area, or that some new potential insight is emerging (especially if you are taking a grounded theory approach). In qualitative research, this need not be a disaster (if this flexibility is methodologically appropriate), and it is possible to revise your interview guide. However, if you do end up making significant revisions, make sure you keep both versions, and a note of which respondents were interviewed with each version of the guide.

Test the timing  Inevitably, you will not have exactly the same amount of time for each interview, and respondents will differ in how fast they talk and how often they go off-topic! Make sure you have enough questions to get the detail you need, but also have ‘lower priority’ questions you can drop if things are taking too long. Test the timing of your interview guide with a few participants, or even friends before you settle on it, and revise as necessary. Try and get your interview guide down to one side of paper at the most: it is a prompt, not an encyclopaedia!

 Hopefully these points will help demystify qualitative interview guides, and help you craft a useful tool to shape your semi-structured interviews. I’d also caution that semi-structured interviewing is a very difficult process, and benefits majorly from practice. I have been with many new researchers who tend to fall back on the interview guide too much, and read it verbatim. This generally leads to closed-off responses, and missed opportunities to further explore interesting revelations. Treat your interview guide as a guide, not a gospel, and be flexible. It’s extra hard, because you have to juggle asking questions, listening, choosing the next question, keeping the research topic in your head and making sure everything is covered – but when you do it right, you’ll get rich research data that you will actually be excited to go home and analyse.

Don’t forget to check out some of the references above, as well as the myriad of excellent articles and textbooks on qualitative interviews. There’s also Quirkos itself , software to help you make the research process engaging and visual, with a free trial to download of this innovative tool. We also have a rapidly growing series of blog post articles on qualitative interviews. These now include 10 tips for qualitative interviewing , transcribing qualitative interviews and focus groups , and how to make sure you get good recordings . Our blog is updated with articles like this every week, and you can hear about it first by following our Twitter feed @quirkossoftware .

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Anuja Cabraal (Phd)

Developing questions for a semi-structured interview

This post came about after a conversation with a colleague and friend who was asking for some ideas on how to develop questions for a semi-structured interview. I provided some ideas and later that day wrote some more things down I thought were worth considering. This three-part series is what came out of that conversation.

There are many different types of interviews, and your approach will depend on your main research question and methodology. Types of interviews can range from structured, semi-structured, narrative and group (though there are others). Not to mention telephone, online and face-to-face. Different interviews will produce different outcomes , and for this reason, it is really important to have a clearly defined research question . The one main research question will determine your method, and any other questions should be sub-questions. It is worthwhile considering the pros and cons of different methods before settling on one, this is a good example for interviews .

In this post, I share some ways that help me think about developing questions for semi-structured interviews. I like to think of the interview schedule like a map for the interview. I see it as a guide to help me ensure I have asked everything I need to in order to help address my main research question.

The table method

When I’m developing questions for a semi-structured interview, I sometimes start with a table. It helps me check that I have all the interview questions needed in order to address the topic.

Main research question here.

You can see it has the main research question at the top like a heading, and each sub-topic/question in a columns. You can include other columns to suit your research. Add whatever helps you formulate the interview questions.

Write down all the questions you can think of and put them in the appropriate column. Don’t worry too much about the wording or order of them at this stage. Some people might prefer to write a list of questions first and then populate the table. This works just as well.

After filling in the questions in this table, you might notice:

• Gaps. You might only have one question for a particular sub-topic, so many want to add another.
• Too many questions: Check for any overlaps or doubling up of questions and decide which ones will work best for the interview and research.

A word on the types of questions

There are so many different types of questions, so I won’t go into full details here. I find the list that Bryman provides very thorough and I highly suggest you take a look (available online). I also wanted to provide four broad categories:

Technical – These are where you ask someone to define things, for example their role, a definition, what a key term means to them.

Reflective questions: Where you want someone to reflect on a topic of idea.

Personal: General personal questions : These are surface level questions such as day to day life, thoughts and opinion on things, and includes general introductory questions.

Deep personal question: Deeper questions ask a person to open up about their feelings or thoughts on something, such as a challenge they may be facing or may have faced in their life. You are essentially asking them to be reflexive. These are best left towards the end of an interview once you have established and build a level of trust and rapport.

Open and closed questions: I’ve been told that closed questions aren’t appropriate for a semi-structured interview, however I think they can be useful. I’ve used closed questions (sparingly) in interviews and have found they have been effective. Do be cautious about using these if the question is sensitive or is there is a stigma attached to it as it may be too confronting. Sometimes this will depend on the interviewee, sometimes on the topic.

You likely won’t use all the different types of questions in every situation. The type of question you ask may need tweaking depending on the interviewee.

The structure of the questions

After you have drafted a list of questions, order them. Try and leave personal and reflective ones towards the middle-end, after there has been more rapport established between the interviewer and interviewee.

Also consider the flow of the interview when trying to identify the order of questions. You want something that flows like a conversation. If you find that one question jumps dramatically from one topic to another, consider re-ordering the questions to try and make them flow better, or insert another one that might be useful for bridging from one topic to another.

Do the check

Once you have your list of questions, look at them and consider:

• Using appropriate language: Ideally, you want to avoid language that is too technical or academic. Keep the language accessible and easy to understand. You don’t want interviewees having to interpret the question or made to feel incompetent. You also don’t want to be seen as talking down to your participants, so getting the tone right is important.
• Phrasing. Check that the types of questions you are asking will elicit the information that you need. You might need a combination of different types of questions in order to fully cover the topic, and this may vary between participants.
• Biases. Our biases can creep into our research in many different ways, one is through our phrasing of a question. Avoid leading questions where assumptions and biases are in the question itself. I see this so often in surveys. An example: Why don’t you like travelling on public transport ? A better question might be How do you feel about travelling on public transport ? There may be times it is appropriate to ask something in a leading way, and this is determined by your research question.

A practice run

I suggest doing a trial mock-interviews with friends or colleagues to see how the interview flows (even if they know nothing about the topic). It helps you get a feel for:

• the flow of the interview
• identifying any gaps in questioning
• Determine if any questions are not working

I remember doing my first mock interview with a friend who was completely clueless about the topic. Even though his responses were not relevant, it showed me that one question did not flow at all. It stood out like a unicorn’s horn. I ended up adding a “bridging” question to help it flow into the conversation.

Not set in stone

The development of the interview schedule is an ongoing process. Keep in mind that an interview is primarily a conversation. Every interview will be different. It will be rare for you to ask the same questions, worded in the same way, and in the same order. That’s why it’s called a guide. It is there to guide you. This is another useful resource if you are looking at how to develop your questions and do the interviews.

In all my years of research, I have never had two interviews the same. In fact, I don’t even always refer to the interview schedule. Though I do look over it at the end to make sure I have covered all the topics I that needed discussion.

Interviews take preparation beyond a good interview guide. As a researcher, we play an active role in the interviewer/interviewee process of knowledge creation. I talk about this more in the second blog post in this series, where reflexivity becomes particularly important.

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Published by Dr. Anuja Cabraal

Writer. Qualitative researcher. View all posts by Dr. Anuja Cabraal

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Methodology

• Types of Interviews in Research | Guide & Examples

Types of Interviews in Research | Guide & Examples

Published on March 10, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on June 22, 2023.

An interview is a qualitative research method that relies on asking questions in order to collect data . Interviews involve two or more people, one of whom is the interviewer asking the questions.

There are several types of interviews, often differentiated by their level of structure.

• Structured interviews have predetermined questions asked in a predetermined order.
• Unstructured interviews are more free-flowing.
• Semi-structured interviews fall in between.

Interviews are commonly used in market research, social science, and ethnographic research .

Table of contents

What is a structured interview, what is a semi-structured interview, what is an unstructured interview, what is a focus group, examples of interview questions, advantages and disadvantages of interviews, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about types of interviews.

Structured interviews have predetermined questions in a set order. They are often closed-ended, featuring dichotomous (yes/no) or multiple-choice questions. While open-ended structured interviews exist, they are much less common. The types of questions asked make structured interviews a predominantly quantitative tool.

Asking set questions in a set order can help you see patterns among responses, and it allows you to easily compare responses between participants while keeping other factors constant. This can mitigate   research biases and lead to higher reliability and validity. However, structured interviews can be overly formal, as well as limited in scope and flexibility.

• You feel very comfortable with your topic. This will help you formulate your questions most effectively.
• You have limited time or resources. Structured interviews are a bit more straightforward to analyze because of their closed-ended nature, and can be a doable undertaking for an individual.
• Your research question depends on holding environmental conditions between participants constant.

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Semi-structured interviews are a blend of structured and unstructured interviews. While the interviewer has a general plan for what they want to ask, the questions do not have to follow a particular phrasing or order.

Semi-structured interviews are often open-ended, allowing for flexibility, but follow a predetermined thematic framework, giving a sense of order. For this reason, they are often considered “the best of both worlds.”

However, if the questions differ substantially between participants, it can be challenging to look for patterns, lessening the generalizability and validity of your results.

• You have prior interview experience. It’s easier than you think to accidentally ask a leading question when coming up with questions on the fly. Overall, spontaneous questions are much more difficult than they may seem.
• Your research question is exploratory in nature. The answers you receive can help guide your future research.

An unstructured interview is the most flexible type of interview. The questions and the order in which they are asked are not set. Instead, the interview can proceed more spontaneously, based on the participant’s previous answers.

Unstructured interviews are by definition open-ended. This flexibility can help you gather detailed information on your topic, while still allowing you to observe patterns between participants.

However, so much flexibility means that they can be very challenging to conduct properly. You must be very careful not to ask leading questions, as biased responses can lead to lower reliability or even invalidate your research.

• You have a solid background in your research topic and have conducted interviews before.
• Your research question is exploratory in nature, and you are seeking descriptive data that will deepen and contextualize your initial hypotheses.
• Your research necessitates forming a deeper connection with your participants, encouraging them to feel comfortable revealing their true opinions and emotions.

A focus group brings together a group of participants to answer questions on a topic of interest in a moderated setting. Focus groups are qualitative in nature and often study the group’s dynamic and body language in addition to their answers. Responses can guide future research on consumer products and services, human behavior, or controversial topics.

Focus groups can provide more nuanced and unfiltered feedback than individual interviews and are easier to organize than experiments or large surveys . However, their small size leads to low external validity and the temptation as a researcher to “cherry-pick” responses that fit your hypotheses.

• Your research focuses on the dynamics of group discussion or real-time responses to your topic.
• Your questions are complex and rooted in feelings, opinions, and perceptions that cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no.”
• Your topic is exploratory in nature, and you are seeking information that will help you uncover new questions or future research ideas.

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Depending on the type of interview you are conducting, your questions will differ in style, phrasing, and intention. Structured interview questions are set and precise, while the other types of interviews allow for more open-endedness and flexibility.

Here are some examples.

• Semi-structured
• Unstructured
• Focus group
• Do you like dogs? Yes/No
• Do you associate dogs with feeling: happy; somewhat happy; neutral; somewhat unhappy; unhappy
• If yes, name one attribute of dogs that you like.
• If no, name one attribute of dogs that you don’t like.
• What feelings do dogs bring out in you?
• When you think more deeply about this, what experiences would you say your feelings are rooted in?

Interviews are a great research tool. They allow you to gather rich information and draw more detailed conclusions than other research methods, taking into consideration nonverbal cues, off-the-cuff reactions, and emotional responses.

However, they can also be time-consuming and deceptively challenging to conduct properly. Smaller sample sizes can cause their validity and reliability to suffer, and there is an inherent risk of interviewer effect arising from accidentally leading questions.

Here are some advantages and disadvantages of each type of interview that can help you decide if you’d like to utilize this research method.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Student’s  t -distribution
• Normal distribution
• Null and Alternative Hypotheses
• Chi square tests
• Confidence interval
• Quartiles & Quantiles
• Cluster sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Data cleansing
• Reproducibility vs Replicability
• Peer review
• Prospective cohort study

Research bias

• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Placebo effect
• Hawthorne effect
• Hindsight bias
• Affect heuristic
• Social desirability bias

The four most common types of interviews are:

• Structured interviews : The questions are predetermined in both topic and order. 
• Semi-structured interviews : A few questions are predetermined, but other questions aren’t planned.
• Unstructured interviews : None of the questions are predetermined.
• Focus group interviews : The questions are presented to a group instead of one individual.

The interviewer effect is a type of bias that emerges when a characteristic of an interviewer (race, age, gender identity, etc.) influences the responses given by the interviewee.

There is a risk of an interviewer effect in all types of interviews , but it can be mitigated by writing really high-quality interview questions.

Social desirability bias is the tendency for interview participants to give responses that will be viewed favorably by the interviewer or other participants. It occurs in all types of interviews and surveys , but is most common in semi-structured interviews , unstructured interviews , and focus groups .

Social desirability bias can be mitigated by ensuring participants feel at ease and comfortable sharing their views. Make sure to pay attention to your own body language and any physical or verbal cues, such as nodding or widening your eyes.

This type of bias can also occur in observations if the participants know they’re being observed. They might alter their behavior accordingly.

A focus group is a research method that brings together a small group of people to answer questions in a moderated setting. The group is chosen due to predefined demographic traits, and the questions are designed to shed light on a topic of interest. It is one of 4 types of interviews .

Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings.

Quantitative methods allow you to systematically measure variables and test hypotheses . Qualitative methods allow you to explore concepts and experiences in more detail.

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• What is a semi-structured interview?

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When designed correctly, user interviews go much deeper than surface-level survey responses. They can provide new information about how people interact with your products and services, and shed light on the underlying reasons behind these habits.

Semi-structured user interviews are widely considered one of the most effective tools for doing this kind of qualitative research , depending on your specific goals. As the name suggests, the semi-structured format allows for a more natural, conversational flow, while still being organized enough to collect plenty of actionable data .

Analyze semi-structured interviews

Bring all your semi-structured interviews into one place to analyze and understand

A semi-structured interview is a qualitative research method used to gain an in-depth understanding of the respondent's feelings and beliefs on specific topics. As the interviewer prepares the questions ahead of time, they can adjust the order, skip any that are redundant, or create new ones. Additionally, the interviewer should be prepared to ask follow-up questions and probe for more detail.

Semi-structured interviews typically last between 30 and 60 minutes and are usually conducted either in person or via a video call. Ideally, the interviewer can observe the participant's verbal and non-verbal cues in real-time, allowing them to adjust their approach accordingly. The interviewer aims for a conversational flow that helps the participant talk openly while still focusing on the primary topics being researched.

Once the interview is over, the researcher analyzes the data in detail to draw meaningful results. This involves sorting the data into categories and looking for patterns and trends. This semi-structured interview approach provides an ideal framework for obtaining open-ended data and insights.

• When to use a semi-structured interview?

Semi-structured interviews are considered the "best of both worlds" as they tap into the strengths of structured and unstructured methods. Researchers can gather reliable data while also getting unexpected insights from in-depth user feedback.

Semi-structured interviews can be useful during any stage of the UX product-development process, including exploratory research to better understand a new market or service. Further down the line, this approach is ideal for refining existing designs and discovering areas for improvement. Semi-structured interviews can even be the first step when planning future research projects using another method of data collection.

• Advantages of semi-structured interviews

Flexibility

This style of interview is meant to be adapted according to the answers and reactions of the respondent, which gives a lot of flexibility. Semi-structured interviews encourage two-way communication, allowing themes and ideas to emerge organically.

Respondent comfort

The semi-structured format feels more natural and casual for participants than a formal interview. This can help to build rapport and more meaningful dialogue.

Semi-structured interviews are excellent for user experience research because they provide rich, qualitative data about how people really experience your products and services.

Open-ended questions allow the respondent to provide nuanced answers, with the potential for more valuable insights than other forms of data collection, like structured interviews , surveys , or questionnaires.

• Disadvantages of semi-structured interviews

Can be unpredictable

Less structure brings less control, especially if the respondent goes off tangent or doesn't provide useful information. If the conversation derails, it can take a lot of effort to bring the focus back to the relevant topics.

Lack of standardization

Every semi-structured interview is unique, including potentially different questions, so the responses collected are very subjective. This can make it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions from the data unless your team invests the time in a comprehensive analysis.

Compared to other research methods, unstructured interviews are not as consistent or "ready to use."

• Best practices when preparing for a semi-structured interview

While semi-structured interviews provide a lot of flexibility, they still require thoughtful planning. Maximizing the potential of this research method will depend on having clear goals that help you narrow the focus of the interviews and keep each session on track.

After taking the time to specify these parameters, create an interview guide to serve as a framework for each conversation. This involves crafting a range of questions that can explore the necessary themes and steer the conversation in the right direction. Everything in your interview guide is optional (that's the beauty of being "semi" structured), but it's still an essential tool to help the conversation flow and collect useful data.

Best practices to consider while designing your interview questions include:

Prioritize open-ended questions

Promote a more interactive, meaningful dialogue by avoiding questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no, otherwise known as close-ended questions.

Stick with "what," "when," "who," "where," "why," and "how" questions, which allow the participant to go beyond the superficial to express their ideas and opinions. This approach also helps avoid jargon and needless complexity in your questions.

Open-ended questions help the interviewer uncover richer, qualitative details, which they can build on to get even more valuable insights.

Plan some follow-up questions

When preparing questions for the interview guide, consider the responses you're likely to get and pair them up with some effective, relevant follow-up questions. Factual questions should be followed by ones that ask an opinion.

Planning potential follow-up questions will help you to get the most out of a semi-structured interview. They allow you to delve deeper into the participant's responses or hone in on the most important themes of your research focus.

Follow-up questions are also invaluable when the interviewer feels stuck and needs a meaningful prompt to continue the conversation.

Avoid leading questions

Leading questions are framed toward a predetermined answer. This makes them likely to result in data that is biased, inaccurate, or otherwise unreliable.

For example, asking "Why do you think our services are a good solution?" or "How satisfied have you been with our services?" will leave the interviewee feeling pressured to agree with some baseline assumptions.

Interviewers must take the time to evaluate their questions and make a conscious effort to remove any potential bias that could get in the way of authentic feedback.

Asking neutral questions is key to encouraging honest responses in a semi-structured interview. For example, "What do you consider to be the advantages of using our services?" or simply "What has been your experience with using our services?"

Neutral questions are effective in capturing a broader range of opinions than closed questions, which is ultimately one of the biggest benefits of using semi-structured interviews for research.

Use the critical incident method

The critical incident method is an approach to interviewing that focuses on the past behavior of respondents, as opposed to hypothetical scenarios. One of the challenges of all interview research methods is that people are not great at accurately recalling past experiences, or answering future-facing, abstract questions.

The critical incident method helps avoid these limitations by asking participants to recall extreme situations or 'critical incidents' which stand out in their memory as either particularly positive or negative. Extreme situations are more vivid so they can be recalled more accurately, potentially providing more meaningful insights into the interviewee’s experience with your products or services.

• Best practices while conducting semi-structured interviews

Encouraging interaction is the key to collecting more specific data than is typically possible during a formal interview. Facilitating an effective semi-structured interview is a balancing act between asking prepared questions and creating the space for organic conversation. Here are some guidelines for striking the right tone.

Beginning the interview

Make participants feel comfortable by introducing yourself and your role at the organization and displaying appropriate body language.

Outline the purpose of the interview to give them an idea of what to expect. For example, explain that you want to learn more about how people use your product or service.

It's also important to thank them for their time in advance and emphasize there are no right or wrong answers.

Practice active listening

Build trust and rapport throughout the interview with active listening techniques, focusing on being present and demonstrating that you're paying attention by responding thoughtfully. Engage with the participant by making eye contact, nodding, and giving verbal cues like "Okay, I see," "I understand," and "M-hm."

Avoid the temptation to rush to fill any silences while they're in the middle of responding, even if it feels awkward. Give them time to finish their train of thought before interrupting with feedback or another prompt. Embracing these silences is essential for active listening because it's a sign of a productive interview with meaningful, candid responses.

Practicing these techniques will ensure the respondent feels heard and respected, which is critical for gathering high-quality information.

Ask clarifying questions in real time

In a semi-structured interview, the researcher should always be on the lookout for opportunities to probe into the participant's thoughts and opinions.

Along with preparing follow-up questions, get in the habit of asking clarifying questions whenever possible. Clarifying questions are especially important for user interviews because people often provide vague responses when discussing how they interact with products and services.

Being asked to go deeper will encourage them to give more detail and show them you’re taking their opinions seriously and are genuinely interested in understanding their experiences.

Some clarifying questions that can be asked in real-time include:

"That's interesting. Could you give me some examples of X?"

"What do you mean when you say "X"?"

"Why is that?"

"It sounds like you're saying [rephrase their response], is that correct?"

Minimize note-taking

In a wide-ranging conversation, it's easy to miss out on potentially valuable insights by not staying focused on the user. This is why semi-structured interviews are generally recorded (audio or video), and it's common to have a second researcher present to take notes.

The person conducting the interview should avoid taking notes because it's a distraction from:

Keeping track of the conversation

Engaging with the user

Asking thought-provoking questions

Watching you take notes can also have the unintended effect of making the participant feel pressured to give shallower, shorter responses—the opposite of what you want.

Concluding the interview

Semi-structured interviews don't come with a set number of questions, so it can be tricky to bring them to an end. Give the participant a sense of closure by asking whether they have anything to add before wrapping up, or if they want to ask you any questions, and then give sincere thanks for providing honest feedback.

Don't stop abruptly once all the relevant topics have been discussed or you're nearing the end of the time that was set aside. Make them feel appreciated!

• Analyzing the data from semi-structured interviews

In some ways, the real work of semi-structured interviews begins after all the conversations are over, and it's time to analyze the data you've collected. This process will focus on sorting and coding each interview to identify patterns, often using a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods.

Some of the strategies for making sense of semi-structured interviews include:

Thematic analysis : focuses on the content of the interviews and identifying common themes

Discourse analysis : looks at how people express feelings about themes such as those involving politics, culture, and power

Qualitative data mapping: a visual way to map out the correlations between different elements of the data

Narrative analysis : uses stories and language to unlock perspectives on an issue

Grounded theory : can be applied when there is no existing theory that could explain a new phenomenon

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Dissertations 4: methodology: methods.

• Introduction & Philosophy
• Methodology

Primary & Secondary Sources, Primary & Secondary Data

When describing your research methods, you can start by stating what kind of secondary and, if applicable, primary sources you used in your research. Explain why you chose such sources, how well they served your research, and identify possible issues encountered using these sources.  

Definitions  

There is some confusion on the use of the terms primary and secondary sources, and primary and secondary data. The confusion is also due to disciplinary differences (Lombard 2010). Whilst you are advised to consult the research methods literature in your field, we can generalise as follows:  

Secondary sources 

Secondary sources normally include the literature (books and articles) with the experts' findings, analysis and discussions on a certain topic (Cottrell, 2014, p123). Secondary sources often interpret primary sources.  

Primary sources 

Primary sources are "first-hand" information such as raw data, statistics, interviews, surveys, law statutes and law cases. Even literary texts, pictures and films can be primary sources if they are the object of research (rather than, for example, documentaries reporting on something else, in which case they would be secondary sources). The distinction between primary and secondary sources sometimes lies on the use you make of them (Cottrell, 2014, p123). 

Primary data 

Primary data are data (primary sources) you directly obtained through your empirical work (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill 2015, p316). 

Secondary data 

Secondary data are data (primary sources) that were originally collected by someone else (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill 2015, p316).   

Comparison between primary and secondary data   

Use  

Virtually all research will use secondary sources, at least as background information. 

Often, especially at the postgraduate level, it will also use primary sources - secondary and/or primary data. The engagement with primary sources is generally appreciated, as less reliant on others' interpretations, and closer to 'facts'. 

The use of primary data, as opposed to secondary data, demonstrates the researcher's effort to do empirical work and find evidence to answer her specific research question and fulfill her specific research objectives. Thus, primary data contribute to the originality of the research.    

Ultimately, you should state in this section of the methodology: 

What sources and data you are using and why (how are they going to help you answer the research question and/or test the hypothesis. 

If using primary data, why you employed certain strategies to collect them. 

What the advantages and disadvantages of your strategies to collect the data (also refer to the research in you field and research methods literature). 

Quantitative, Qualitative & Mixed Methods

The methodology chapter should reference your use of quantitative research, qualitative research and/or mixed methods. The following is a description of each along with their advantages and disadvantages. 

Quantitative research 

Quantitative research uses numerical data (quantities) deriving, for example, from experiments, closed questions in surveys, questionnaires, structured interviews or published data sets (Cottrell, 2014, p93). It normally processes and analyses this data using quantitative analysis techniques like tables, graphs and statistics to explore, present and examine relationships and trends within the data (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2015, p496). 

Qualitative research  

Qualitative research is generally undertaken to study human behaviour and psyche. It uses methods like in-depth case studies, open-ended survey questions, unstructured interviews, focus groups, or unstructured observations (Cottrell, 2014, p93). The nature of the data is subjective, and also the analysis of the researcher involves a degree of subjective interpretation. Subjectivity can be controlled for in the research design, or has to be acknowledged as a feature of the research. Subject-specific books on (qualitative) research methods offer guidance on such research designs.  

Mixed methods 

Mixed-method approaches combine both qualitative and quantitative methods, and therefore combine the strengths of both types of research. Mixed methods have gained popularity in recent years.  

When undertaking mixed-methods research you can collect the qualitative and quantitative data either concurrently or sequentially. If sequentially, you can for example, start with a few semi-structured interviews, providing qualitative insights, and then design a questionnaire to obtain quantitative evidence that your qualitative findings can also apply to a wider population (Specht, 2019, p138). 

Ultimately, your methodology chapter should state: 

Whether you used quantitative research, qualitative research or mixed methods. 

Why you chose such methods (and refer to research method sources). 

Why you rejected other methods. 

How well the method served your research. 

The problems or limitations you encountered. 

Doug Specht, Senior Lecturer at the Westminster School of Media and Communication, explains mixed methods research in the following video:

LinkedIn Learning Video on Academic Research Foundations: Quantitative

The video covers the characteristics of quantitative research, and explains how to approach different parts of the research process, such as creating a solid research question and developing a literature review. He goes over the elements of a study, explains how to collect and analyze data, and shows how to present your data in written and numeric form.

Link to quantitative research video

Some Types of Methods

There are several methods you can use to get primary data. To reiterate, the choice of the methods should depend on your research question/hypothesis. 

Whatever methods you will use, you will need to consider: 

why did you choose one technique over another? What were the advantages and disadvantages of the technique you chose? 

what was the size of your sample? Who made up your sample? How did you select your sample population? Why did you choose that particular sampling strategy?) 

ethical considerations (see also tab...)  

safety considerations  

validity  

feasibility  

recording  

procedure of the research (see box procedural method...).  

Check Stella Cottrell's book  Dissertations and Project Reports: A Step by Step Guide  for some succinct yet comprehensive information on most methods (the following account draws mostly on her work). Check a research methods book in your discipline for more specific guidance.  

Experiments 

Experiments are useful to investigate cause and effect, when the variables can be tightly controlled. They can test a theory or hypothesis in controlled conditions. Experiments do not prove or disprove an hypothesis, instead they support or not support an hypothesis. When using the empirical and inductive method it is not possible to achieve conclusive results. The results may only be valid until falsified by other experiments and observations. 

For more information on Scientific Method, click here . 

Observations 

Observational methods are useful for in-depth analyses of behaviours in people, animals, organisations, events or phenomena. They can test a theory or products in real life or simulated settings. They generally a qualitative research method.  

Questionnaires and surveys 

Questionnaires and surveys are useful to gain opinions, attitudes, preferences, understandings on certain matters. They can provide quantitative data that can be collated systematically; qualitative data, if they include opportunities for open-ended responses; or both qualitative and quantitative elements. 

Interviews  

Interviews are useful to gain rich, qualitative information about individuals' experiences, attitudes or perspectives. With interviews you can follow up immediately on responses for clarification or further details. There are three main types of interviews: structured (following a strict pattern of questions, which expect short answers), semi-structured (following a list of questions, with the opportunity to follow up the answers with improvised questions), and unstructured (following a short list of broad questions, where the respondent can lead more the conversation) (Specht, 2019, p142). 

This short video on qualitative interviews discusses best practices and covers qualitative interview design, preparation and data collection methods. 

Focus groups   

In this case, a group of people (normally, 4-12) is gathered for an interview where the interviewer asks questions to such group of participants. Group interactions and discussions can be highly productive, but the researcher has to beware of the group effect, whereby certain participants and views dominate the interview (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill 2015, p419). The researcher can try to minimise this by encouraging involvement of all participants and promoting a multiplicity of views. 

This video focuses on strategies for conducting research using focus groups.  

Check out the guidance on online focus groups by Aliaksandr Herasimenka, which is attached at the bottom of this text box. 

Case study 

Case studies are often a convenient way to narrow the focus of your research by studying how a theory or literature fares with regard to a specific person, group, organisation, event or other type of entity or phenomenon you identify. Case studies can be researched using other methods, including those described in this section. Case studies give in-depth insights on the particular reality that has been examined, but may not be representative of what happens in general, they may not be generalisable, and may not be relevant to other contexts. These limitations have to be acknowledged by the researcher.     

Content analysis 

Content analysis consists in the study of words or images within a text. In its broad definition, texts include books, articles, essays, historical documents, speeches, conversations, advertising, interviews, social media posts, films, theatre, paintings or other visuals. Content analysis can be quantitative (e.g. word frequency) or qualitative (e.g. analysing intention and implications of the communication). It can detect propaganda, identify intentions of writers, and can see differences in types of communication (Specht, 2019, p146). Check this page on collecting, cleaning and visualising Twitter data.

Extra links and resources:  

Research Methods  

A clear and comprehensive overview of research methods by Emerald Publishing. It includes: crowdsourcing as a research tool; mixed methods research; case study; discourse analysis; ground theory; repertory grid; ethnographic method and participant observation; interviews; focus group; action research; analysis of qualitative data; survey design; questionnaires; statistics; experiments; empirical research; literature review; secondary data and archival materials; data collection. 

Doing your dissertation during the COVID-19 pandemic  

Resources providing guidance on doing dissertation research during the pandemic: Online research methods; Secondary data sources; Webinars, conferences and podcasts; 

• Virtual Focus Groups Guidance on managing virtual focus groups

5 Minute Methods Videos

The following are a series of useful videos that introduce research methods in five minutes. These resources have been produced by lecturers and students with the University of Westminster's School of Media and Communication. 

Case Study Research

Research Ethics

Quantitative Content Analysis 

Sequential Analysis 

Qualitative Content Analysis 

Thematic Analysis 

Social Media Research 

Mixed Method Research 

Procedural Method

In this part, provide an accurate, detailed account of the methods and procedures that were used in the study or the experiment (if applicable!). 

Include specifics about participants, sample, materials, design and methods. 

If the research involves human subjects, then include a detailed description of who and how many participated along with how the participants were selected.  

Describe all materials used for the study, including equipment, written materials and testing instruments. 

Identify the study's design and any variables or controls employed. 

Write out the steps in the order that they were completed. 

Indicate what participants were asked to do, how measurements were taken and any calculations made to raw data collected. 

Specify statistical techniques applied to the data to reach your conclusions. 

Provide evidence that you incorporated rigor into your research. This is the quality of being thorough and accurate and considers the logic behind your research design. 

Highlight any drawbacks that may have limited your ability to conduct your research thoroughly. 

You have to provide details to allow others to replicate the experiment and/or verify the data, to test the validity of the research. 

Bibliography

Cottrell, S. (2014). Dissertations and project reports: a step by step guide. Hampshire, England: Palgrave Macmillan.

Lombard, E. (2010). Primary and secondary sources.  The Journal of Academic Librarianship , 36(3), 250-253

Saunders, M.N.K., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2015).  Research Methods for Business Students.  New York: Pearson Education. 

Specht, D. (2019).  The Media And Communications Study Skills Student Guide . London: University of Westminster Press.  

• << Previous: Introduction & Philosophy
• Next: Ethics >>
• Last Updated: Sep 14, 2022 12:58 PM
• URL: https://libguides.westminster.ac.uk/methodology-for-dissertations

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Home » Blog » Semi-structured interviews: Everything you need to know

Semi-structured interviews: Everything you need to know

• Ryan Inglethorpe
• August 28, 2024

Semi-structured interviews have become an essential tool across various fields, from recruitment to research, due to their unique blend of structure and flexibility. Unlike rigidly structured interviews that follow a strict set of questions, or unstructured interviews that offer little to no guidance, semi-structured interviews strike a balance. They provide a framework of predetermined open-ended questions while allowing the interviewer the freedom to explore responses in greater depth. 

This method enables interviewers to cover key topics consistently across interviews while also adapting to the flow of conversation, making room for unexpected insights and deeper understanding. The semi-structured format helps foster a more natural dialogue, encouraging interviewees to share more freely and providing richer, more nuanced data. 

Whether you’re conducting job interviews, academic research, or user experience studies, semi-structured interviews offer a versatile approach that can be tailored to suit a wide range of contexts. 

What is a semi-structured interview?

A semi-structured interview is a type of interview technique that combines both open-ended and closed questions, allowing for a balance between consistency across interviews and flexibility to explore certain areas in more depth.

The key characteristics of a semi-structured interview are:

Predetermined questions:

The interviewer has a set list of open-ended questions to ask all candidates. This ensures certain topics and areas are covered consistently.

Follow-up questions:

However, the interviewer also has the flexibility to ask follow-up questions based on the interviewee’s responses to explore interesting points further.

Question order flexibility:

While there is a question guide, the interviewer can change the order of questions depending on how the conversation flows.

Room for open discussion:

Semi-structured interviews allow for open-ended back-and-forth dialogue between the interviewer and interviewee, rather than just straightforward question/answer format.

The benefits of using a semi-structured approach include:

• Consistency in core areas explored with each candidate
• Flexibility to dig deeper into relevant areas for that particular candidate
• More natural conversational flow
• Opportunities to uncover details an interviewer may have missed with fully structured questions

Semi-structured interviews strike a balance by having a degree of predetermined structure and consistency while still allowing for spontaneity and the interview to be tailored to each individual.

This technique is commonly used for job interviews, research interviews, and other situations where the interviewer wants some level of standardised questioning combined with the freedom to further probe based on the responses given.

What are the benefits of semi-structured interviews?

There are several key benefits to conducting semi-structured interviews:

Allows for probing and follow-up questions

One of the biggest advantages of semi-structured interviews is the ability for the interviewer to ask follow-up questions and probe deeper on interesting points raised by the interviewee. This flexibility allows the interviewer to gather richer, more detailed information than what highly structured interviews permit.

Builds rapport

The more conversational nature of semi-structured interviews can help build rapport between the interviewer and interviewee. This often puts the interviewee more at ease compared to rigid, inflexible interviews.

Uncovers motivations and attitudes

The open-ended portions of semi-structured interviews enable interviewers to better understand the motivations, opinions, and attitudes behind an interviewee’s responses through further questioning.

Provides comparable data While allowing for flexibility, the predetermined questions in semi-structured interviews provide a baseline level of data that is comparable across multiple interviews for that same target role or research topic.

Manages interview time effectively By having a foundational interview structure, semi-structured interviews help the interviewer manage time effectively while still allowing for open-ended exploration.

The versatility of combining structure and freedom in semi-structured interviews makes this approach valuable for many types of hiring, research, journalistic, and other interview contexts where maximising information-gathering is important.

How does a semi-structured interview differ from other types of interview?

A semi-structured interview differs from a normal/unstructured interview and a fully structured interview in a few key ways:

Compared to an Unstructured/Normal Interview:

• Semi-structured has predetermined questions to cover core topics, while unstructured has no set questions
• The semi-structured approach provides more consistency across interviews by asking the same baseline questions
• However, it still allows for follow-ups and open-ended responses like an unstructured interview

Compared to a Fully Structured Interview:

• Fully structured interviews rigidly follow a standardised set of closed-ended questions
• Semi-structured has open-ended questions that enable more dialogue and probing
• The interviewer can reorder, skip, or provide transition questions in a semi-structured format
• Responses in fully structured interviews are very restricted, while semi-structured allows for elaboration

So in essence, a semi-structured interview falls in the middle of the continuum between the two other formats:

Unstructured ———> Semi-Structured ———> Fully Structured

It combines the consistency and focus of a structured approach with the depth and flexibility of an unstructured approach.

The key differentiators of semi-structured interviews are:

• Having a guide of predetermined open-ended questions
• Allowing space for unplanned follow-up questions
• More give-and-take dialogue between interviewer and interviewee
• More ability to explore interesting topics relevantly as they arise

This provides the “semi” structured nature – having an overall framework while maintaining conversational flexibility.

When should a semi-structured interview be used?

Semi-structured interviews should be used when you want to combine some level of consistency across interviews while also allowing flexibility to explore topics in more depth. Some ideal use cases for semi-structured interviews include:

Job Interviews

For hiring, semi-structured interviews allow you to cover core job requirements through set questions, but also dig deeper into a candidate’s specific experiences, motivations, and qualifications through unplanned follow-ups. This provides richer data for evaluation.

User Research

When conducting user research, semi-structured interviews enable you to understand users’ needs, pain points, and behaviours through planned questions, while leaving room to spontaneously probe interesting insights that arise.

Subject Matter

Expert Interviews If interviewing subject matter experts, you’ll want a set of questions to cover key areas, but the ability to dynamically discuss emergent topics for deeper knowledge gathering.

Case Studies

Case study interviews benefit from a semi-structured approach, where you cover foundational background through structured questions, but leave flexibility to explore unique details and perspectives from different stakeholders.

Academic/Marketing Research

Much academic, consumer, and marketing research relies on semi-structured interviews to balance consistency in data collected with opportunities to uncover unanticipated findings.

Generally, semi-structured interviews work well anytime you need to understand not just straightforward facts, but the reasoning, attitudes, and contexts surrounding those facts. The open-ended nature facilitates a deeper understanding.

Semi-structured interviews in recruitment

In recruitment semi-structured interviews can be effectively used for a variety of roles, particularly those that require in-depth evaluation of a candidate’s skills, experiences, and fit beyond just verifying basic qualifications. Here are some examples of roles where semi-structured interviews are well-suited:

Management and Leadership Roles

When hiring for managerial or executive positions, semi-structured interviews allow you to assess leadership competencies, management style, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit through open-ended questioning. The flexibility enables probing the candidate’s approach to real-world scenarios.

Client-Facing Roles

For roles that involve significant client interaction like sales, account management, or consulting roles, semi-structured interviews help evaluate client service skills, communication abilities, and understanding of client needs through open dialogue.

Creative Roles

Semi-structured interviews are great for assessing creative professionals or innovation roles where you want to understand the candidate’s creative process, idea generation abilities, and innovative thinking beyond just reviewing portfolios.

Technical Roles

While technical skills may be vetted through other means, semi-structured interviews allow you to dive deeper into a candidate’s technical problem-solving approach, ability to communicate complex concepts, and collaboration style.

Senior Individual Contributor Roles

For senior individual contributor roles with high expertise requirements, the open-ended nature enables thoroughly assessing depth of knowledge and specialised experience through exploratory questions.

Cultural Fit Evaluation

Any role where assessing organisational culture fit is critical can benefit from the two-way dialogue and follow-up questioning that semi-structured interviews facilitate.

In general, semi-structured interviews are most valuable for roles that require evaluating more complex competencies, behaviours, thought processes and fit beyond just straightforward skills and experience. The flexible format provides richer data to make well-rounded hiring decisions.

The bottom line

In conclusion, semi-structured interviews offer a powerful method for gathering comprehensive and nuanced information, making them indispensable in various settings, from hiring to research. Their unique combination of predetermined questions and conversational flexibility allows interviewers to maintain consistency across multiple interviews while also delving deeper into areas of particular interest. This approach not only ensures that key topics are covered but also opens the door to discovering unexpected insights that might otherwise go unnoticed in more rigidly structured formats.

The ability to adapt questions based on an interviewee’s responses fosters a more engaging and dynamic dialogue, building rapport and encouraging more candid and detailed answers. This makes semi-structured interviews especially valuable when exploring complex issues, understanding motivations, or evaluating candidates for roles that require more than just a checklist of qualifications. By balancing structure with spontaneity, semi-structured interviews provide a richer, more holistic view of the subject matter, enabling more informed decision-making.

Whether you’re a recruiter seeking the right fit for a role or a researcher aiming to uncover deeper truths, the semi-structured interview offers a versatile and effective tool for extracting meaningful insights, making it a preferred choice in many professional and academic fields.

If you regularly run interviews with candidates then why not check out our How to Interview someone guide.

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Speaker 1: 6 Tips for Analyzing Data from a Semi-Structured Interview So you have completed your semi-structured interview. Well done you. Not sure of what to do now? I will show you how to analyze your data so you can produce meaningful answers to your research question. In qualitative research, data analysis happens at the same time as data collection, and the process is iterative, meaning you return to the data often and each time you do, you become more steeped in the data. It requires ample time for iteration and reflection. There are many different analytical frameworks that researchers use to guide the interpretation of their qualitative data, but that's the subject of another video. For this video, I will simply focus on what you need to do with the interview data you have collected. Immediately after an interview, make notes of the ideas and questions that occur to you. Next, organize and store your data. You must label your data in a way that does not attach participants' names to the data, and store your data in a way that ensures you fulfill the promise of confidentiality you made to the participant at the interview stage. If you want to refresh yourself about collecting data, go back and watch our short video, 6 Tips for Conducting Semi-Structured Interviews. If you have recorded your interview, and I really recommend that you do, then you need to transcribe the audio or video. Transcription is simple but time-consuming. You simply listen to the recording and write down verbatim, i.e. word-for-word, what the participant says. If you want to save time, you could consider using software to help you transcribe or use a transcription service. I have some links below on useful software and transcription services. Once you have your transcript, you are now ready to start interpreting your data. You can do this manually, but if you have a lot of data, say more than 10 interviews, then I strongly advise you use a software program. I use Envivo, and I have put some links to that software. You do need to take the time to learn how to use it, but there are tons of videos online to help you learn fast. I have put some links down below. First, read your transcript and identify themes. Give the theme a name. This process is called coding. Take notes of why you have named the theme in a specific way. These notes are called memos. Note also in your memos any exemplars, i.e. things that you were not expecting and those that surprised you. Once you have completed reading and coding one transcript, repeat the process for other interviews and start to identify themes that recur across your interviews. Then writing up is easy. Just describe the codes, the links between the themes, and any patterns you noticed. You can also compare your themes and patterns to existing theory. Does it agree or disagree? Let's summarize. 1. Immediately after the interview, make notes. 2. Label and store your data. 3. Transcribe your data. 4. Code the data. 5. Identify thematic patterns. 6. Write up your findings. If you found this video useful, please like and hit the subscribe button. Remember to click on the bell so you can be reminded when we upload new videos.

Speaker 2: What is Institute for Development? Institute for Development, IFD, is a qualitative research firm in Sierra Leone, West Africa. We set up our YouTube channel to share what we learn about the research process, policy, and global development during our work because we believe that knowledge from the South is not often shared with the rest of the world. So we're on a mission to share a perspective with you that you may not often get to hear and to collaborate with you to create new ideas. Subscribe now to grow with us. So why is the dude speaking with American accent? We did our research and found the standard North American English accent was the most widely understood across the world. Remember to hit the subscribe button below.

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• Open access
• Published: 01 September 2024

Utilisation of rondavel space by amaXhosa people: a case of Mbhashe local municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

• Africa Ndude 1 &
• Sinenhlanhla Memela 1  

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume  11 , Article number:  1122 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

Metrics details

• Anthropology

Traditional rondavel building patterns, designs and materials have changed due to urbanisation, economic status, globalisation, and modernisation. There is limited understanding of how the architectural change has impacted the utilisation of rondavel space. This study uses the concept of habitus to understand whether the changing design of traditional rondavels has influenced their utilisation, based on a case study of the Mbhashe Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. The data was collected using semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal the habitus of the AmaXhosa people on how they utilise traditional rondavels (family house) for childbirth, placing a deceased’s coffin, sleeping, seating, food preparation, serving and storage, keeping the spear, hosting ceremonies, communicating with ancestors, and interacting with the living. While the influence of contemporary architecture has changed the construction of rondavels, the inhabitants have not resisted changes to the architecture or cultural values as they have found different ways to adapt. Certain old dispositions are adaptable to contemporary structures, but some people are uninterested in adapting elements to the contemporary rondavel. Some habits of utilising traditional rondavels cannot be adapted to the contemporary rondavel because of health and medical innovations.

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Introduction.

Based on archaeological evidence, rondavels have existed since pre-colonial times as a prime settlement form in homesteads in much of South Africa and other African countries, including Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho and Eswatini (Schoenauer 2000 ; Steyn 2006 ). The rondavel is considered as a vernacular architecture: it is built using locally sourced material and forms part of a region’s culture and heritage (OpenHeritage 2016 ). Steyn ( 2006 :1) describes the rondavel as a “drum”, often built with mud and grass-thatched roofs (Fig. 1A ). They are popular indigenous settlements which are still prevalent in the rural areas. While most households have more than one rondavels (Fig. 1B ), some indigenous settlements are now roofed with zinc materials (Fig. 1B ). Going forward, this article refers to indigenous settlements as traditional rondavels.

A traditional rondavel with grass-thatched roof and ( B ) household two rondavels with zinc roof.

Traditional rondavels were used for dwelling and hosting important customary rituals and celebrations in Africa (Steyn 2006 ). Modern day rondavels exist with flat-roofed rectangular buildings or structures built using cement and zinc roofs, which will be referred to as contemporary rondavel design henceforth (Van Vuuren 2017 ).

Steyn ( 2006 ) argues that the change is a result of urbanisation and economic status because people admire urban architecture and can afford their desired building materials. A study by Aikpehae et al. ( 2016 ) reveals that globalisation, urbanisation and modernisation transformed building patterns, designs and materials used for construction. They illustrate how Nigerian building patterns and housing have transformed because of the influence of colonisation (Aikpehae et al. 2016 ). Guerrieri ( 2020 ) adds that migration has allowed the export of architecture and urban planning models from one country to another; hence, we see the same style across countries. The global intercultural contact led to the change in dwellings in southern Africa (Frescura 1981 , 2015 ) where traditional dwellings were constructed using mud, wattle and thatch grass. Missionaries introduced contemporary building constructed using sun brick and mortar with corrugated iron sheet for roofing as well as highveld and parapet housing styles, the contemporary building is illustrated in Fig. 2 .

Illustration of the contemporary building under construction.

Tapiero et al. ( 2024 ) indicates that in Montesinho Natural Park, north-east of Portugal, residents had vernacular buildings constructed using locally available wood, slate stone tiles, lime mortar, schist and granite. The availability of industrialised material and decreasing traditional labour posed a threat vernacular buildings.

The following section discusses the evolution of the traditional and modern rondavel followed by the utilisation of rondavels by amaXhosa people, detailing the study area, research methods, results, discussion and conclusion.

Traditional and modern rondavel evolution

Early African dwellings were caves, stone-walled iron shelters or houses quickly erected and dismantled as nomadic societies followed herds of animals (Frescura, 1981 ; Moremoholo, 2021 ). Frescura ( 1981 ) explains the historical development of dwelling types, presented in Fig. 3 . The earliest traditional dwelling was a beehive hut also known as ngqu-phantsi . It was made up of stakes organised in a circle with their tops arched inward to a point. The stakes were then bound together by hoops and the frame was insulated with thatched grass (Walton, 1949 ). It is possible that the need for more living space resulted in the rondavel, which is a cone-on-cylinder rondavel with a wall and roof. Although its doorway was raised higher compared to the beehive hut, it was still lower than the height of a man. The material used to construct traditional rondavel was either a thatch roof with stones and mud bricks or sticks mixed clay and dung mortar or mud and wattle (Walton 1949 ; Frescura 1981 ; Oliver 2006 ; Moremoholo 2021 ; Onyejegbu et al. 2023 ). These vernacular dwellings were constructed using locally available materials (Tapiero et al. 2024 ).

This figure is covered by Creative Commons licence.

The third iteration of dwelling development was influenced by Western ideas of hipped-on-cone, which had a linear floor plan, rooms divided into rows and triangulation of the thatch roof. The fourth dwelling type was an introduction of the highveld style with iron-sheet roofing and sun brick (Frescura 1981 ).

Western ideas influenced the cone-on-cylinder rondavel design and materials used which included the use of iron-sheet roofing and sun brick. Despite the Western influences, the traditional rondavel still exists while others have modernised (Moremoholo 2021 ; Onyejegbu et al. 2023 ). Vellinga ( 2006 ) notes that the traditional vernacular architecture has not vanished, but has rather merged with modern styles to suit the current circumstances. Tapiero et al. ( 2024 ) argue that the use of modern materials in construction does not compromise the values of the dwelling in the community. They also note that conserving vernacular architecture plays an essential role in the preservation of culture and sustainable practises by optimising energy usage (Tapiero et al. 2024 ). Onyejegbu et al. ( 2023 ) argue that some Nigerian households still have traditional mud huts that were built by their forefathers in commemoration of their culture, tradition and prowess.

Moremoholo ( 2021 ) used a case study of the Sotho community in Makgabeng, a rural area in Limpopo to investigate how indigenous values have been incorporated or retained on houses built using brick and mortar. The findings show that both traditional rondavel and modern dwellings exist and residents were able to adapt values of indigenous rondavel to modern dwellings, including practising ancestral ceremonies.

Smith ( 2022 ) suggests that the modernisation of the traditional rondavel design into contemporary sensibilities reflects the development of awareness of the diverse heritage that connects South Africa to the rest of the African continent and its people. Thus, the integration and adaptation of indigenous values into modernisation promotes self-definition for many South Africans. Moreover, it encourages a deeper appreciation of the connections between South Africa and the rest of the world. Bianco ( 2022 ) states that this hybrid form of building reflects the evolution of local culture and ways of life so that one can imagine new development aspects entrenched in the culture and environment (Bianco 2022 ). Thus, currently, vernacular architecture can be understood as the foundation of the contemporary architectural type that is rooted in integrating local building traditions (Naude 2010 ; Bianco 2022 ). The current study focuses on the amaXhosa people and intends to understand whether the changing design of traditional rondavels has influenced their utilisation.

The utilisation of rondavels by amaXhosa people

The amaXhosa people are predominantly located in the Eastern Cape province (Nyamende 1994 ; Mokhoathi 2021 ). A rondavel in a Xhosa home ( umzi ) typically exists in a cluster of other structures. Umzi , plural imizi , is a collection of physical, social and organic elements constituting a settlement component known as homestead. It typically comprises several rondavels or huts (the family house, with middle huts reserved for children and visitors as well as a traditional dispensary and consultation), an adjacent garden and a kraal with tools and equipment often used in various ways (Perry 2013 ).

The family house ( indlu enkulu ) is the main hut where everyone meets to socialise and prepare, store and eat food (McAllister 2004 ). It is a space where all rituals take place and people communicate with their ancestors (McAllister 2004 ; Mlisa 2009 ). In the past, following the birth of a child in the family house, children and men were prohibited from using the space (Kobo 2016 ). McAllister ( 2004 ) illustrates how the family house is divided, as shown in Fig. 4 .

This figure was reproduced with permission: Ethnology, Department of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh.

The upper part, called entla , is associated with ancestors; an appointed person will commune with the ancestors, and it serves a storage space for meat and beer if there is a ritual planned (McAllister 2004 ; Reeve 2011 ). The right side is the sitting area for men while the left is reserved women. Older people sit next to the door on either side, while the youngest generation often sits next to the upper part of the rondavel (McAllister 2004 ). At the centre is a hearth ( eziko ), where they make fire for cooking (McAllister, 2004 ; Brocious 2021 ). Kobo ( 2016 ) identifies the hearth as a pedagogical space for the girl child to learn food preparation. The way the amaXhosa people utilise the traditional family house can be purported as a gendered space.

A gendered space is “…more attractive for women than for men; men and women use the same space in different ways: some spaces give feelings of comfort and belonging to men, while women feel excluded; in some spaces, women have authority, while other spaces are under male authority” (Fortuijn et al. 2004 : 215). This is a gendered space because of how a spatial order of seating and gender roles in the utilisation of the space is enforced (McAllister 2004 ; Kobo 2016 ).

It should be noted that the number of rondavels in a homestead depends on the family’s needs. In addition to the family house, a rondavel may be reserved as a bedroom for younger family members and to accommodate visitors (Mlisa 2009 ). Moreover, a rondavel may be used by traditional healers for consultations and storing dispensary (umrawule) items. Certain people are often excluded from using such a space. Menstruating women are prohibited from accessing this space while on their cycle because of a belief that they will defile the herbs (Mlisa, 2009 ). The dispensary is only built once a rondavel has been revealed to a potential traditional healer in a dream, and a ritual is performed to officially open the rondavel and the dispensary prior to consultations being held (Mlisa, 2009 ).

Literature is ambiguous as to whether the recorded rondavel uses are performed in traditional or contemporary rondavels and whether the uses are adaptable to current rondavel designs (McAllister 2004 ; Mlisa 2009 ; Perry 2013 ; Kobo 2016 ; Brocious 2021 ). The available literature focuses on understanding traditional rondavel architecture, its utilisation, history and the changes in the design and structure (Schoenauer 2000 ; Steyn 2006 ). Vellinga ( 2006 ) also notes that publications on vernacular architecture are rarely featured and those that are available focus on drawings, forms and material. The impact of changing building designs and structures in traditional space utilisation is inadequately understood. It is against this backdrop that this study uses the concept of habitus to understand whether the changing design and structure of rondavels has influenced the traditional utilisation of rondavel spaces, based on a case study of the Mbhashe Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.

Pierre Bourdieu, a French sociologist who was concerned with what motivates social action and behaviour (Navarro 2006 ), developed the concept of habitus, which refers to the norms, values, habits, dispositions and behaviour of a particular group. Each society has its own habitus. Habitus can then guide how a particular group feels, thinks, acts and uses the space (Bourdieu et al. 2000 ; Navarro 2006 ). Habitus can be a product of past experiences and practices learned from parents, family experiences, and society (Hong and Zhao 2015 ). It is created and reproduced by the structures and practices of society (Bourdieu et al. 2000 ; Navarro 2006 ). People with similar backgrounds (social class, religion, nationality, ethnicity, education and profession) usually share habitus which shapes how individuals perceive or receive the world. It is not fixed; it changes due to circumstances (Bourdieu et al. 2000 ; Navarro 2006 ). However, when change occurs, some within the group may resist the change while others adapt to a new style of doing things. Often, others combine the traits of new and old habitus. Therefore, the theory seeks to provide an in-depth understanding of how people adapt in a changing world and circumstances resulting to change.

Bourdieu used this concept to study how the Algerian habitus changed during the liberation struggle in the 1950s (Bourdieu et al. 2000 ; Navarro 2006 ). He analysed their norms, values, habits, dispositions and behaviour before and after colonisation. He defined Algerian peasantry as a traditional society which believed in:

the importance of group solidarity;

kinship based on patriarchal and patrilineal relationships;

patriarchal division of labour;

marriage as the primary concern of the family; and

an economy governed by pre-capitalist methods such as

subsistence farming,

products not sold but shared by the community

goods exchanged for social capital (i.e. a neighbour will lend you an ox in exchange for fresh produce).

The economy was governed by strict reciprocity and non-payment. The blacksmith was expected to provide each peasantry with all repairs in exchange for goods and services (Bourdieu et al. 2000 ; Navarro 2006 ). Their habitus was passed from generation to generation. As determined by Bourdieu, habitus changes over time due to circumstances. The change in the Algerian habitus was a result of French colonial imposition which introduced a capitalist economy leading to a decline in agricultural activities and the establishment of factories in urban areas (Bourdieu et al. 2000 ; Navarro 2006 ). Due to this increased urbanisation, people started working for wages, which resulted in the development of social classes (Bourdieu et al. 2000 ; Navarro 2006 ). Subsequently, women were granted access to receiving an education and earning a living. Likewise, society was introduced to the concept of bachelorhood, with marriage being an individual choice. Communal living with neighbours sharing their fresh produce evolved into neighbours selling their produce for cash (Bourdieu et al. 2000 ; Navarro 2006 ). Ultimately, the culture of group solidarity was destroyed, and the focus was on individualism.

Bourdieu argues that change can be adopted or resisted, as evidenced in Algeria (Bourdieu et al. 2000 ; Navarro 2006 ). Certain Algerian norms, values, habits, dispositions and behaviours were influenced by innate traditions of peasantry and colonial imposition (Bourdieu et al. 2000 ; Navarro 2006 ). Most older people resisted the change and continued to be trapped in the old way of life.

This study focuses on the traditional family house rondavel with the users’ social activities derived from the norms, values, habits, dispositions and behaviours of amaXhosa. Premised on the concept of habitus used by Bourdieu et al. ( 2000 ) and Navarro ( 2006 ) in the analysis of Algerian peasantry, this study unpacks the utilisation of the traditional family house rondavel before the introduction of contemporary architecture and design changes. Before the introduction of the contemporary architecture, the traditional family house rondavel was spatially divided based on gender and used for childbirth, communicating with ancestors and hosting rituals, serving and storing food and igniting a fire for warmth (McAllister 2004 ; Kobo 2016 ; Brocious 2021 ). This paper intends to understand whether the changing design and structure of rondavels has influenced its utilisation, using the case of Mbhashe Local Municipality.

Mbhashe local municipality

The Mbhashe Local Municipality extends over a geographic area of over 3200 km² and is situated within the Amathole District Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa (Mbhashe Local Municipality IDP, 2016 ; 2023 a). The municipality is named after the Mbhashe River, which tracks between the municipality’s major urban regions of Willowvale (Gatyane), Xhorha and Dutywa, the latter being the administrative centre or municipal headquarters. The municipality has a total population of approximately 240 020 people (Municipalities of South Africa 2023 ), 94% of whom speak the isiXhosa language (Mbhashe Local Municipality IDP, 2016 ; 2023 b). It is a rural region facing various challenges, including poor road infrastructure, high unemployment and inadequate access to essential services such as water and electricity (Mbhashe Local Municipality IDP, 2016 ; 2023 a). It finds significant economic leverage from tourism nodes through coastal, inland and historic or heritage site attractions.

Rondavel structures are prominent in every homestead. Over 66% of households in the municipality are traditional dwellings Footnote 1 , followed by 21 and 5% of households living in brick or concrete block structures and flat blocks, respectively (Mbhashe Local Municipality IDP, 2021 ). However, some households have a modernised rondavel and, more commonly, an octagonal-shape veranda structure, sometimes with an attached garage. Others tend not to have a rondavel at all albeit infrequently. In rural areas, the process of domestic building is not influenced by planning schemes and policies (Oliver 2006 ). Instead, rural architecture is enriched by the surrounding natural environment, local economy and livelihood of villagers (Pirzad and Moghaddam 2023 ). This offers villagers free will to build the type and design of house they desire.

Figure 5 represents the spatial location and geographical extent of Mbhashe Local Municipality in the Amathole District Municipality, with reference to the Eastern Cape Province and South Africa, respectively. The points of interest indicated in the map are examples of homesteads and places across the municipality where:

contemporary rondavels at the Village Lodge in the Dutywa urban region,

rondavel clusters in the homestead of Nqadu great place (Komkhulu ) in rural Willowvale,

Emanzothweni , a multitype dwelling homestead in Bende location, rural Dutywa (Photo: Lilitha Breakfast), and

Kwa-Nonyameko, a multitype dwelling homestead in the Mbhangcolo administration area in rural Willowvale (Photo: Luyanda Ndude).

A map representing a study area—Mbhashe Local Municipality.

Methodology

Ethical clearance was received from Rhodes University. Purposive sampling was used to select a sample population, which included participants of amaXhosa descent with a rondavel structure in their homesteads and residing within the Mbhashe Local Municipality. Ten participants, aged 24–48 years old, were interviewed; they are referred to as Participants 1 to 10 (P01–P10).

Data was collected using participatory mapping and semi-structured interviews consisting of open-ended questions. The interview schedule was developed with a purpose of obtaining an in-depth understanding of the utilisation of rondavels and changes that occurred over time because of the new architectural style. The interviews were conducted face-to-face at the participants’ residences. The participants were also given a rondavel diagram to illustrate the spatial ordering of how the rondavel family house was utilised in the Mbhashe Local Municipality. The results are presented in Fig. 6 .

Spatial ordering of how the amaXhosa family house rondavel was utilized in the Mbhashe Municipality.

The information from the participants' drawings were then used to create Fig. 6 diagram, which was constructed using ArcMap 10.7.1 software for visualisation of the activities undertaken in the family house. The circle represents a typical rondavel floorplan with a diameter of 6 m (3 m radius). The diameter of the rondavel intersects the doorway and therefore dictates the gendered sides. The points in the diagram do not represent actual geometric values, instead they are ordinal representations of circular living in the AmaXhosa family house. Data was analysed and presented using thematic analysis. The concept of habitus guided the development of the themes presented. The first theme related to the amaXhosa habitus and the utilisation of traditional rondavels in the Mbhashe Local Municipality and the second was the amaXhosa habitus and the changing rondavel design in the Mbhashe Local Municipality

In both themes, specialised quotations to highlight some pertinent statements and demonstrate how the participants make sense of the rondavels and their utilisation, using their exact words.

amaXhosa habitus and the utilisation of traditional rondavel in the Mbhashe municipality

The section of findings only focus on the traditional family house rondavel before the introduction of the contemporary architecture. Adapted from McAllister ( 2004 ), the participants were given a circle to explain the use of each space and its purpose. They also revealed some uses that were not presented in earlier sections. First, the spatial division of the family house based on gender was discussed, followed by how the Mbhashe people utilised the family house. Figure 6 illustrates the spatial division between men (right) and women (left) inside the family house. Women married into the family ( makoti ) are forbidden to access the men’s side. The mud bench, known as soze , is built on the men’s side by the door for seating.

Women sit on the floor on handcrafted mats woven from reeds or grass known as ikhukho . Behind the door on the women’s side is a place for childbirth. The participants also alluded to the statement made by Kobo ( 2016 ) that during the birthing process, children and men are prohibited from using the space. They revealed that there was no cultural significance in giving birth at home. Instead, the inaccessibility of health facilities necessitated home births. Booysen ( 2003 ) argues that, in South African rural areas, women give birth at home because health facilities are located remotely to the homesteads and they do not have the means to access them.

Regarding funeral rites, the deceased’s coffin will arrive at the homestead the day before the funeral and a night vigil – a ceremony to honour the deceased—will be held in the family house. The coffin is usually placed on the women’s side and senior women will gather to sleep next to the coffin until the funeral. An elderly family member will burn impepho (incense) and request the ancestors to welcome the deceased. It is believed that if this ritual is not performed, the deceased will not rest in peace.

In households that use the family house for sleeping, designated spaces will be allocated for men and women. A handcrafted mat is used as a base for the foam mattress on both sides. The seating arrangement in the family house is based on seniority, with younger members of the household placed toward the upper layer, as noted by McAllister ( 2004 ). The participants further explained that seniority was not based on age: married women were regarded as senior and women who were not related by blood or matrimony would occupy the upper end of the women’s side. Men’s seating arrangements depend on when one was initiated, with the youngest (the last to go to the bush) towards the upper layer.

McAllister ( 2004 ) and Reeve ( 2011 ) reveal that an appointed person will commune with the ancestors, and store meat and beer in the upper part of the rondavel if there is a ritual. Their findings concur with how the Mbhashe people utilise the space, further indicating that the upper layer is divided into A and B, as shown in Fig. 6 . On the right (men’s side) is where slaughtered meat and beer is stored. It is the responsibility of the men to serve both the meat and beer; hence, it is located on their side. Section B in Fig. 6 is a space in the uppermost end of the rondavel on the women’s side. It contains domestic essentials such as a table and cupboard, crockery, and cutlery and ilitye lokuguba , which is a flat rock which is used to grind food.

In the centre of the family house is a hearth. Kobo ( 2016 ) argues that this is where women are taught to prepare food. The findings of this study also reveal that men also use the space to roast corn. So, there are no gender-based restrictions on the use of this space. The centre also has a pole called intsika , which supports the roof structure. The door is positioned in the lower part of the family house. Section C, illustrated in Fig. 6 , is where the spear ( umkhonto) is kept by sticking it on the roof above the doorway on the men’s side. The spear is used for the slaughter of traditional animals if there is a ritual or ceremony. The spear is believed to obstruct lightning during a storm and is placed in the doorway.

The participants also utilised the rondavel for interacting with each other and the ancestors. Interaction takes place through song and dance during ceremonies. People also interact through spoken word to communicate with or appease ancestors, to socialize with each other by telling stories of love, horror, fiction, and the past, and to play games. The study’s participants expressed clearly how the family house is used which they learned from growing up in rural areas and passed from generation to generation. They have the duty to continue passing this information to the younger members of the family.

amaXhosa habitus and the changing rondavel design in the Mbhashe local municipality

People in the rural areas of the Mbhashe Local Municipality were inclined to architectural change and desire contemporary architecture and luxury, including those who did not currently own it. The contemporary rondavel design was considered progressive, cognisant of the times and, for that matter, the contemporary way of life to which there was a strong inclination to conform: “I too [wish to have a modern house] because these are the houses that are built nowadays, and they make the home beautiful” (P 01).

Notwithstanding, there was a strong consensus to preserve conventional ways of using space and adapt to the contemporary design, including the structure and shape (multi-room), the material used (no longer a thatched roof or mud walls), or hard surfaces (tiles/concrete). The respondents preferred contemporary structures because of their aesthetic and convenience: “…contemporary houses have better aesthetical value, spacious and are functional (e.g., energy consumption, natural lighting)” ( P 09).

Other uses were not adopted in the contemporary house design such as utilising the family house for childbirth because modern women mostly give birth in hospitals and clinics. Statistics South Africa ( 2020 ) revealed that the number of home deliveries has decreased from 14% in 1998 to 4% in 2016 while health facility deliveries have increased from 83.4% in 1998 to 96.7% in 2016 (Statistics South Africa 2020 ). Both 1998 and 2016 home deliveries statistics are indicative of the national level (Statistics South Africa 2020 ).

Placing the deceased’s coffin in the upper part of the family house (section B in Fig. 6 ) was adopted in contemporary rondavel utilisation until the Covid-19 pandemic when people became sceptical of disease transmission. Before the pandemic, the deceased’s body would arrive at home a day before burial, and people would gather for a final ceremony the night before the funeral (night vigil) inside the family house to honour the deceased (Bambalele 2020 ). A South African Covid-19 restriction prohibited corpses being sent home prior to the funeral and the hosting of night vigils (Bambalele 2020 ). This practice has continued since Covid-19 restrictions were relaxed, while others have stopped. However, once the deceased’s coffin arrives on the funeral day, it is taken to the upper part of the family house and a ritual will still be performed where incense is burnt and a request is made to the ancestors to welcome the deceased. Therefore, the cultural significance of the whole process does not rest with the placement of the deceased’s body a day before the funeral but the performance of the ritual.

The presence of mud benches on the men’s side no longer exists. Although the traditional rondavel structure is diminishing in the physical environment, modernisation has certainly swayed people’s sense of feeling, thinking, acting and their use of space. Admittedly, modernisation has not entirely appropriated the Xhosa people’s habitus. Some people were uninterested in adapting to some elements of the contemporary rondavel and house design: “A traditional rondavel must be present in a home. You can make fire, but it is difficult to do that on floor tiles. Still, you perform customs in traditional rondavel” (P 03).

These people continue to use traditional rondavels for the above purposes while also adapting the contemporary rondavel or house design for other uses such as sleeping, unless there is a ceremony when there is no space: “ People do not want to sleep on the floor in the rondavel, and there is no privacy and tile, or cemented floor is cold” (P 04).

While other participants preferred to continue performing traditional ceremonies and communicating with ancestors in the traditional rondavel structure, there were respondents who were open to communicating with ancestors and interacting with the living, and divide space based on gender in the contemporary rondavel – as indicated in Fig. 6 . The cultural strongholds continued to be practiced regardless of the house structure. Therefore, in the absence of a traditional rondavel structure in a homestead, any other house design such as butterfly or flat-roof corner houses can be used for traditional ceremonies: “any house structure can be used as a rondavel; it does not change the culture. It is the same” (P01).

Regarding food preparation, serving and storage, some people used the contemporary rondavel with slight changes for cooking. For example, food is prepared in the family house’s upper part (B section in Fig. 6 ) using a gas or electric stove instead of a hearth at the centre. Others will prepare food and store it in the kitchen of the main house, but people will be served in the contemporary rondavel.

This paper used the concept of habitus to understand whether the changing design and structure of rondavels has influenced its utilisation. Habitus refers to the norms, values, habits, dispositions and behaviours of a particular group, which can then guide how they feel, think, act, and use the space. Habitus can be a product of past experiences and practices learned from parents, family experiences, and society (Hong and Zhao 2015 ). It is created and reproduced by structures and practices of society; it is not fixed and changes over time due to particular circumstances (Bourdieu et al. 2000 ; Navarro 2006 ). The study discussed the amaXhosa people’s habitus on the utilisation of the traditional family house rondavel and how it has been influenced by the introduction of contemporary architectural designs. It is noted that architectural change brought by society does not change cultural norms, values, habits, dispositions and behaviours attached to rondavels but results in finding ways to accommodate and preserve its utilisation in new architectural developments and selectively choosing ideas to be transmitted to the contemporary house design. The cultural norms, values, habits, dispositions, and behaviours attached to rondavels have also been influenced by advancements in health and medical innovation, as well as Covid-19.

The findings revealed the habitus of the amaXhosa people at the Mbhashe Local Municipality. The utilisation of the traditional family house rondavel includes childbirth, placement of the deceased’s coffin, sleeping, seating, food preparation, serving and storage, keeping the spear, hosting ceremonies, communicating with ancestors, and interacting with the living. The amaXhosa habitus is acquired by growing up in the Xhosa society, being taught by parents, and observing how things are done, which has been passed down from generation to generation. The influence of contemporary architecture brought changes in the construction of rondavel.

Home births are no longer practised because of advancements in health and medicine. The placement of the deceased’s coffin in the upper part of the rondavel a day prior to the funeral has been adopted in the use of a contemporary rondavel; however, it is no longer prevalent because of the Covid-19 restrictions. However, on the day of the funeral, the deceased’s coffin is placed in the upper part of the rondavel for a shorter period and a ritual burning incense and asking the ancestors to welcome the deceased is performed because it is a critical cultural practice.

People also do not opt to sleep on the floor unless there is a ceremony. The preparation of food, its serving and storage differs in that there is no hearth in the new contemporary house; so food is prepared in the main house or the upper part of the rondavel. The gendered division of space, hosting ceremonies, communicating and interacting with ancestors has been adopted in contemporary houses too. However, some still prefer to host ceremonies and communicate with the ancestors in traditional rondavels instead.

People have not resisted new architectural designs or changing cultural norms, values, habits, dispositions and behaviours but have found ways to adapt. Certain old dispositions are adaptable to contemporary structures. Also, a study conducted by Moremoholo ( 2021 ) reveals that some indigenous values such as practising ancestral ceremonies can be incorporated or retained in modern house structure. However, some people are not interested in adapting elements to the contemporary rondavel. They would rather have two structures – the current rondavel design and a traditional rondavel to be utilised for uses that cannot be adapted to the contemporary rondavel. The presence of traditional rondavel in modern times is also witnessed even in Nigeria (Onyejegbu et al. 2023 ).

Some cultural norms, values, old habits, dispositions, and behaviours of utilising traditional rondavels were not adapted to the contemporary rondavel because of health and medical innovations such as childbirth and placing the deceased’s coffin in the rondavel. Clearly, some amaXhosa cultural practices are modified but not completely forgotten.

Future studies can focus on profiling architectural designs found in the Mbhashe Local Municipality and investigate their origins and influencing factors. Others could also focus on rondavels utilised by traditional healers to understand how they have been impacted by architectural changes to space utilisation. It will be also interesting to understand why people still opt for traditional rondavels despite the existence of beautiful modern buildings.

Data availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article and additional information is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Correspondence to Sinenhlanhla Memela .

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

The research involves human participants, so Rhodes University has given ethical clearance to this research project. You can request to see the clearance certificate by contacting the Ethics Coordinator ([email protected]). All procedures performed involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Rhodes University Ethical Standards Committee, reference number 2023-7347-7994.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individuals who participated in the study. Participants had to sign an informed consent declaration form, which provided information about the nature and purpose of the study, the benefits and risks, and how data is collected, managed, analysed, presented, and stored. The study uses the concept of habitus to understand whether the changing design of traditional rondavels has influenced their utilisation, based on a case study of the Mbhashe Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. Participating in this research project contributes to the sustainability and preservation of memory. Participants answered questions from the interview schedule. Participation was entirely voluntary, and they were made aware that they could withdraw at any stage without any negative consequences and would not be compensated for participating. Participants were also notified that some use of space might trigger bad experiences and be sensitive or hurtful; should they feel triggered, they can withdraw or not talk about such experiences. Confidentiality and anonymity of records were maintained when presenting the results. The data collected is stored securely, and only used for publication of this journal, if any data collected is to be used by the Researcher for any further study, the participants will be informed in writing. Participants have a right to receive feedback about this research unless they elect not to receive this feedback.

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Ndude, A., Memela, S. Utilisation of rondavel space by amaXhosa people: a case of Mbhashe local municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 11 , 1122 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03649-3

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Received : 13 February 2024

Accepted : 21 August 2024

Published : 01 September 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03649-3

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