Face-to-Face Interviewing

Advantages

By far, the main advantage of the face-to-face interview is the presence of the interviewer, which makes it easier for the respondent to either clarify answers or ask for clarification for some of the items on the questionnaire. Sometimes, interviewers can use visual aids (e.g. so-called show cards) to assist respondents in making a decision or choice. Properly trained interviewers are always necessary lest there be problems such as interviewer bias, which can have disastrous effects on the survey data. Relatively high response rates and an almost absence of item nonresponse are also added bonuses. The opportunity for probing exists where the interviewer can get more detailed information about a particular response.

Disadvantages

In face-to-face interviewing, respondents often are not afforded the time to provide answers that might be thought out thoroughly as compared to a mail or Internet survey. Respondents essentially are expected to give an answer on the spot, which may not be very convenient or very accurate. Privacy issues continue to be a main concern in face-to-face interviews. Respondents need to be able to develop trust in the interviewer in order to disclose sensitive information. Furthermore, it is not nearly as feasible to monitor face-to-face interviews compared to what can be done with telephone interviews. The time to complete a survey project that uses face-to-face interviewing is appreciably longer than that of other data collection modes. In addition, the cost of carrying out face-to-face interviewing can be exorbitant depending on the sample size and the amount of information being collected.

Basic Operational Considerations