Question

Which of the following conditions is ideal for an interview?
1. When you wish to gather very detailed information
2. When it is important to study an individual in natural setting
3. When quick analysis is needed
4. When you wish to check the honesty of an individual

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 2 : When it is important to study an individual in natural setting

Interview as a data collection method:

• Accurate screening. Face-to-face interviews help with more accurate screening. The individual being interviewed is unable to provide false information during screening questions such as gender, age, or race. It is possible to get around screening questions in online and mobile surveys. Online and mobile surveys that offer incentives may actually encourage answer falsification. This also helps in studying the individual in a natural setting. 
• Capture verbal and non-verbal questions- A face-to-face interview is no doubt going to capture verbal and non-verbal ques, but this method also affords the capture of non-verbal ques including body language, which can indicate a level of discomfort with the questions. Adversely, it can also indicate a level of enthusiasm for the topics being discussed in the interview. Let’s discuss an employee job interview, for example.
• Keeping focus- The interviewer is the one that has control over the interview and can keep the interviewee focused and on track to completion. Online and mobile surveys are often completed during time convenient for the respondent, but are often in the midst of other distractions such as texting, reading and answering emails, video streaming, web surfing, social sharing, and more. Face-to-face interviews are in-the-moment, free from technological distractions.
• Capturing emotions and behaviors- Face-to-face interviews can no doubt capture an interviewee’s emotions and behaviors. Similar to not being able to capture verbal and non-verbal ques, online and mobile surveys can also not capture raw emotions and behavior.

Hence, the correct answer is Option 2.