Definition of personal interview

market research technique for gathering information through face-to-face contact with individuals. Personal interviews take place in a variety of settings-in homes, at shopping malls, in a business office. This type of research is relatively costly, because it requires a staff of interviewers, but it provides the best opportunity to obtain information through probing for clearer explanations. The personal style (tone of voice, rewording of a question) and biases of each interviewer can affect how the participants respond and how the responses are recorded. It is the best technique to use early on in the research process when the researcher is not yet sure which questions need to be asked, because new and better questions can come out of the dialogue.