In an interview, which type of questions encourages spontaneous and unstructured responses?

Open-ended questions are designed to elicit responses that are detailed and expansive, allowing the respondent to share their thoughts, opinions, and experiences in their own words. This type of question provides the interviewee with the freedom to express themselves fully, rather than confining their responses to a simple "yes" or "no," which is typical with closed-ended questions.

By inviting a more narrative form of reply, open-ended questions foster a conversational flow, often leading to deeper insights and a more comprehensive understanding of the interviewee's perspective. This is particularly beneficial in qualitative research settings, where the aim is to gather rich, qualitative data. In contrast, techniques like closed-ended questions limit responses, leading questions may bias responses, and probing questions seek to dig deeper into specific answers rather than encouraging broad and spontaneous replies.