Final answer:
In an informal interview, questions are posed conversationally, frequently open-ended, to gather qualitative data that provides deeper insights into an individual's personal experiences, beliefs, and opinions.
Step-by-step explanation:
In an informal interview, questions are posed in response to the answers received, frequently open-ended. This type of interview often resembles a more natural conversation rather than a structured interview with pre-determined questions. Informal interviews allow interviewees to express their thoughts more freely, offering insights into their beliefs, opinions, and personal experiences.
In such interviews, qualitative data is collected, mainly characterized by its subjective nature and its focus on thoughts, opinions, and feelings, rather than on numerical data. Unlike structured interviews, in which each participant is asked the same set of questions and responses are systematically scored, an informal interview is more fluid and adaptive to the conversation's direction. This type of data collection method can often lead to a depth of understanding that is more difficult to achieve with quantitative methods.
For example, when conducting a survey on how individuals plan to use their college education, asking open questions allows for rich, detailed and personal responses that provide a better understanding of the subject's goals and motivations.