Interviews are most often done one-to-one, but you can also do group interviews and run panels with more people. You might decide to have a separate note-taker so the interviewer can concentrate on the conversation.

You will need:

• to write a discussion guide (we’ll explain how!)
• somewhere to write notes
• an agreed method for capturing notes
• details about the research to send to participants
• a consent form or other way of getting and recording interviewee consent

45 minutes to an hour is usually enough time to get good answers before everyone gets too tired. But that may differ depending on how complicated the subject is. Don’t worry if a conversation finishes early. If you’ve got the information you need, there’s no minimum time limit.

Depending on what you are trying to find out, it can sometimes be useful to have visual prompts or prototypes for the interviewee to respond to.

Writing a discussion guide

A structured discussion guide will make sure the interview flows well, that you ask all the questions you want to, and that you ask the same things of different people.

1. Write down what you want to learn from the interview. This could be a high-level research goal or a list of themes you want to cover.
2. Use this to break up your document with subheadings.
3. Start the conversation by introducing who you are, who you work for, and the context of this conversation.
4. Next, write questions under each subheading.
5. Use open questions that  cannot be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Instead of leading the interviewee towards a particular answer, open questions let them answer however they want to. And their answer can open the conversation up for follow-up questions.
6. Don’t go straight into any big, difficult questions as you may intimidate the interviewee. A good way to break the ice is by asking questions about themselves like ‘Tell me about your typical day.’
7. Get feedback on your discussion guide from others on your team. They might think of some important questions that you’ve missed.

Creating a note taking document

• Use the headings from your discussion guide or simply duplicate the discussion guide.
• Make a space for notes to be written under each heading.
• Make sure it’s clear where the notes should go to make it easy for the note taker.

Participant information letter

A participant information letter (PIL) is an overview of what the project is about. It should give participants enough information to make an informed choice about whether they want to take part. It must be written in clear plain language and will usually be about 2 pages long.

Some things you should include in your Participant Information Letter include:

• What the project and interview is about
• What they will be asked to do if they take part
• Whether they will be getting paid or incentivised in some other way
• What personal information you’ll be collecting and storing (in line with your organisation’s policies)
• Whether their participation will be anonymous and confidential

Writing a consent form

Your consent form goes alongside the participant information letter. On your consent form, ask for confirmation that the interviewee has read the participant information letter and that they have had:

• a chance to ask questions
• their questions answered
• the complaints process explained to them

Check that they understand that they can:

• refuse to answer any question
• withdraw from the interview
• change or withdraw their consent
• complain about anything that happens to them

all without having to give a reason.

If applicable, also check that they understand:

• who you might share information from the interview with
• any risks there might be of taking part in this research
• that the interview will be recorded, what the recording will be used for, and who (if anyone) you might share it with outside your organisation
• that what they say might be included in research reports (using their name, organisation, role, or no attribution at all, depending on what you agree about the level of anonymity)
• you won’t share their personal details with third parties (outside your organisation)
• that you may take photos or video and use them in research reports that you might share with third parties (outside your organisation, who you are working with)

Organise a time and send details

Agree a time for the interview. Send the interviewee all the information they’ll need with plenty of notice. If they feel informed and prepared, they will be more relaxed in the interview.

Include:

• the consent form if you’re using one
• the video conferencing link or directions to a venue
• background information or sample questions

After introductions, check that they have completed the consent form if you’re using one. If they haven’t, you can ask them to complete it there and then.

Make sure the interviewee is comfortable. Let them know that:

• this is a safe space for them to discuss topics without judgement
• you are interested in hearing their perspective even if it is negative
• they don’t have to answer a question if they don’t want to
• they can take a break if needed
• they are free to stop the interview any time without giving you a reason
• they can withdraw consent later if they change their minds (up to the point anything is published, or merged with other information and can no longer be pulled out)

Accessibility

You must make sure your interviews are accessible for your interviewees. This can mean making accommodations for someone’s needs. See our guidelines on running accessible sessions in the introduction for tips on making sure nobody is excluded.

Using your discussion guide

You don’t have to stick rigidly to your discussion guide. It is a guide. Listen and ask follow-up questions. Feel free to jump forward to other questions if they come up naturally. The conversation should feel natural.

If you notice the interviewee going off on an irrelevant tangent, wait for a suitable time to interrupt them, and move onto a new question. ‘I’m just keeping an eye on the clock, and I’d like to move on to…’ is always a handy excuse.

Don’t share your opinion or judgement, you don’t want to bias your research. Silence is okay. The less you say the more the participant will want to fill the space.

If you have a note taker, allow them some time at the end to ask follow-up questions of their own.

Finish up with something that signals you are at the end of the questions you intended to ask. ‘That’s everything from us, is there anything you think we should’ve asked you?’

Explain what will happen next and if you plan to follow up with them, set some expectations of when and why.

Taking notes

There are numerous ways to take notes. Verbatim, or smart-verbatim notes are best because you are recording everything that is said, in the way that it was said.

This:

• reduces the chance of misunderstandings
• makes sure you have captured all the information
• lets you quote people directly later

People can speak quickly, making it hard to get everything down. This is why recording can be useful to refer back to and fill in any gaps. If you miss something the interviewee says, note down the time, so you can easily find the right spot in the recording.

Taking notes and recording the conversation can be trickier if you are interviewing in person rather than online. Focus on capturing specific data, and if you can’t capture verbatim notes, try to get the overall sentiment of each answer.

If you are interviewing multiple people (either in a group session, or in multiple one-to-one interviews), you can use thematic analysis to see what findings are similar across your range of participants.