The Importance of an Interview Guide

An interview guide ensures that you and your team cover all necessary aspects, follow a standardized approach, and limit potential biases that can affect the quality of your data. Below, we'll talk about how to create an effective interview guide; if your research methodology doesn't require interviews, still take the time to read through this content as the tips can be helpful to consider within any methodology.

Tips to Remember

Before delving into the interview guide template, it's important to keep a few key considerations in mind:

1. Unnecessary Priming: Be cautious about priming users with specific questions before they engage in tasks. This may influence their responses and direct their attention to certain features. For example a question like "How satisfied are you with the speed and efficiency of our customer service?" might lead participants to focus on the speed and efficiency of customer service, potentially biasing their responses toward discussing any issues or improvements related to speed and efficiency. It may not leave much room for participants to address other aspects of customer service that were not explicitly mentioned in the question.
2. Don't Interrupt: Allow participants time to think through their responses. Interrupting or filling silences can hinder the depth of their answers. Embrace awkward silences during interviews to provide that critical time for more reflective participants to think.
3. Record: Always seek informed consent to record the interactions. Recording sessions aids in onboarding, recall when memory fades, and in delivering direct quotes. At the very least, have someone other than the person conducting the interview take detailed notes.
4. Practice: Your first interview will lead to discoveries of additional questions, problems with existing questions, or flow related issues in your interview format. If possible, conduct a practice interview to glean these insights before proceeding to additional interviews. This can also a helpful strategy in helping with your delivery.

The Interview Guide Template

Your interview guide should be structured to ensure a seamless and informative session. Here's a template to guide you in the creation of your own template:

1. Introduction & Informed Consent: Begin with a warm introduction, introducing yourself and your role. Clearly explain the purpose of the session and the research problem. Assure participants that there are no right or wrong answers, and their responses will be confidential. Seek permission to record the session. Here's a suggested script:
   "Hi there, I’m [Your Name], a researcher at [Your Organization]. Thank you so much for talking with me today; I am excited to have a conversation with you! During this session, we are looking to better understand [Research Problem]. All we are trying to do is better understand your thoughts on the subject. There are no right or wrong answers, so please talk freely. This session should take about [Time Length]. If you feel uncomfortable at any time or need to stop/take a break, just let me know. Everything you say here today will be completely confidential (or to what degree of confidentiality it is). Would it be okay if we recorded today’s session for internal note-taking purposes (or what additional reasons)? Do you have any questions for me? Let’s get started!
2. ‍Questions: List your interview questions, ensuring they align with the objectives of your research problem. Consider the order in which you'll ask these questions, and make sure they flow logically. For example, lets say you have two questions: Question A: "What features do you find most important in a mobile app?" and Question B: "How satisfied are you with the overall user experience of our app?" In the A then B format, participants are more likely to list features they consider important, potentially emphasizing functionality or features that they find valuable. Their responses to the satisfaction question may be influenced by the features they mentioned. Conversely, in the B then A format, participants initially reflect on their satisfaction with the app as a whole. When they subsequently discuss feature importance, their responses may consider how features contribute to their overall satisfaction. Neither of these question orders are wrong, per say, but they can create different perspectives
3. ‍Wrap-up: Conclude the interview with gratitude, acknowledging the participant's valuable input (they took time out of their day to help you after all). While you have them seek their willingness to participate in future research sessions if needed in case there is additional need and provide your contact information for any follow-up. Here's a sample script:
   "Those are all the questions I have for you today. I really appreciate you taking the time. Your feedback was extremely helpful, and I am excited to share it with the team to see how we can improve. Since your feedback was so useful, would you be willing to participate in another research session in the future if needed? Do you have any other questions for me? My direct email is [Your Email], so if you have any questions or additional feedback, please feel free to email me at any time. Again, thank you so much for your time, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day."

Conclusion

An interview guide helps create uniform research sessions. It ensures that you cover all relevant aspects and collect data that is valuable and unbiased. A closing word of caution: the interview guide is a guide not a rigid script. Make sure to stay human in your interaction to keep your participants comfortable and engaged, but don't get so loose you introduce substantial bias in your question asking or miss covering your subject matter during the allotted time.

In the next article, we'll talk about other artifacts and deliverables.

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