A structured interview (also known as a standardised interview or a researcher-administered survey) is a quantitative research method commonly employed in survey research. It is essentially a statistical survey, where the survey is delivered by an interviewer rather than being self-administered. Interviewers read the questions exactly as they appear on the survey questionnaire. The choice of answers to the questions is often fixed (close-ended) in advance. The interviewer cannot probe beyond the answers given.

Advantages

1. Reliable: Each interviewee is presented with exactly the same questions; therefore, answers can be reliably and more easily aggregated.
2. Easy to replicate: Easier to replicate to collect responses from large samples.
3. Quick to conduct: Large sample can be obtained resulting in the findings being representative and having the ability to be generalized to a large population.

Limitations

1. Lack of flexibility: New questions cannot be asked impromptu (i.e. during the interview) as an interview schedule must be followed.
2. Lack of detail: Only closed questions are asked which generates quantitative data. Therefore, researcher won't know why a person behaves in a certain way.

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Sources:
Research Methods in the Social Sciences, Bridget Somekh and Cathy Lewin
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Structured_interview
http://www.simplypsychology.org/interviews.html

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