An advantage compared with an unstructured interview is that it is more practical and will produce data that is a little easier to analyse than a completely free-ranging conversation. An advantage compared with structured interviews is that it gives the opportunity to use sensitivity to prevent stress and discomfort for the interviewee, and also avoids missing potentially fruitful data.

The disadvantages are similar to those of unstructured interviews, that this is time-consuming, difficult to conduct and difficult to analyse.