Personal interview surveys are used to probe the answers of the respondents and at the same time, to observe the behavior of the respondents, either individually or as a group. The personal interview method is preferred by researchers for a couple of advantages. But before choosing this method for your own survey, you also have to read about the disadvantages of conducting personal interview surveys [3]. In addition, you must be able to understand the types of personal or face-to-face surveys.

Advantages of Personal Interview Survey

1. High Response Rates

One of the main reasons why researchers achieve good response rates through this method is the face-to-face nature of the personal interview survey. Unlike administering questionnaires, people are more likely to readily answer live questions about the subject (for instance, a product) simply because they can actually see, touch, feel or even taste the product.

2. Tolerable Longer Interviews

If you wish to probe the answers of the respondents, you may do so using a personal interview approach. Open-ended questions are more tolerated through interviews due to the fact that the respondents would be more convenient at expressing their long answers orally than in writing.

3. Better Observation of Behavior

Market researchers can benefit from personal interview survey because it presents a greater opportunity to observe the attitude and behavior of the respondents / consumers toward a product.

Disadvantages of Personal Interview Survey

1. High Costs

Face-to-face interview surveys are considerably more expensive than paper-and-pencil questionnaire surveys, online surveys [4] and other types of surveys [5].

2. Time-consuming

Personal interview surveys are not usually time-bounded, so the gathering of data from the respondents [6] can take a longer time. Another thing that makes this method time-consuming is when there is a need to travel and meet the respondents at either single or different locations.

Types of Personal Interview Survey

Basically, there are two-types of personal interview survey according to how the interviewer approaches the respondents: intercept and door-to-door interviews. In an intercept approach, the interviewer usually conducts a short but concise survey by means of getting the sample from public places such as malls, theaters, food courts, or tourist spots. On the other hand, a door-to-door interview survey involves going directly to the house of the respondent and conduct the interview either on-the-spot or at a scheduled date.