Q.Differentiate between an interview and a questionnaire.

An interview and a questionnaire are both self-report methods for collecting information, but they differ in how the responses are gathered and in the flexibility this allows. …

An interview and a questionnaire are both widely used self-report techniques, but they differ in mode of administration, flexibility, and practicality.

Mode: An interview is conducted verbally, generally face-to-face (though sometimes by phone), with an interviewer asking questions and a respondent answering out loud, while a questionnaire is a predetermined set of WRITTEN questions that the respondent reads and answers on paper themselves, without an interviewer present.

Flexibility: In an interview, the interviewer can sense when a respondent has misunderstood a question and can repeat, rephrase or probe for more detail, making it usable even with children or people who cannot read or write; a questionnaire offers no such flexibility, since a respondent who misunderstands a written question has no one to turn to for clarification.

Structure: Interviews can be structured (fixed schedule, close-ended questions) or unstructured (flexible wording and sequence, open-ended questions), while questionnaires similarly use open-ended or closed-ended items, but always in a fixed, predetermined written form. …