UX Research Methods: User Interviews
Interviews are a qualitative research method utilized within User Experience Research and Design as a generative method to explore users' experiences, feelings, and motivations concerning the use of a product or service. Interviews are an integral part of user experience research because they provide researchers with a means of uncovering critical insights by facilitating one-to-one engagement with users.
Types of UX User Interviews
1.Generative Interviews: The process of gathering information on precise and actionable research questions.
Generative interviews are a popular user interview type used early in the developmental phase of the project. Generative interviews involve structured discussions to collect information on precise and actionable research questions.
CONTENT
Introduction
Types of UX User Interviews
When to Conduct User Interviews
User Interview Methods
2.Contextual Interviews: The process of collecting data within a specific context.
Contextual Interviews involve semi-structured research questions to gather specific contextual information through onsite interactions between researchers and users within the user’s defined context or natural environment.
3.Continuous Interviews: The process of regular ongoing data collection.
Continuous interviews occur regularly within a specified interval. Continuous interviews allow researchers to keep in contact with users while collecting critical data during the product development lifecycle, breaks, and beyond.
When to Conduct User Interviews
As outlined by User Interviews, user interviews are best conducted during the exploratory phase of a project, as they provide researchers with a better understanding of the user's life, actions, and interactions relevant to the project or product goals; they can also help identify the user's pain points and areas for improvement early in the design process.
Accordingly, the Nielsen Norman Group also recommends conducting user interviews following a usability test to gather qualitative information about users' observed behaviors related to specific goals and tasks. Additionally, user interviews can be conducted as a supplemental observational strategy within a contextual inquiry study.
A contextual inquiry involves the use of semi-structured interviews to obtain information about the context of use; users are first asked a set of standard questions, followed by observation and interviews while they work in their own environments, thereby allowing researchers to gather more "realistic" data based on real-world experiences.
Compared to other UX research methods, user interviews are often considered an easy method of data collection. According to Nielsen Norman, compelling user interviews should explore the "thoughts, beliefs, mental models, and experiences" of users to address real user problems and pain points to build effective and usable products and services. Therefore, user interviews generally differ in several aspects compared to other UX research methods. For example, focus groups are another popular UX generative research method.
Unlike user interviews, focus groups involve a collective of users organized by researchers and facilitators to gather feedback and information and gauge users' opinions about a product, service, or experience. User interviews, on the other hand, involve one-to-one conversations between a single user and researchers. User interviews allow the researcher to focus on the individual user's experience, motivations, and opinions.
User interviews provide a deeper level of detail and understanding that can be difficult to achieve in focus groups due to group dynamics. One of the most critical aspects of the UX research process is knowing when to utilize a specific research approach or method. Therefore, defining the project's objectives or problem statement before embarking on research is essential, as the project objectives should inform and guide decision-making.
User Interview Methods
Now that we know what user interviews are and their importance. We will dive deeper into the three distinct methods for conducting user interviews. We will learn what each entails and what research circumstances they are best suited to. Choosing a user interview method that reflects your research plan and what you hope to accomplish would be ideal.
1. Unstructured Interviews
Think of an unstructured interview as a casual conversation with someone where the topic of your conversation is relevant to your research. Unstructured interviews happen with few to no interview questions and naturally progress and flow like a natural conversation.
Unstructured interviews can be beneficial if you are researching a topic that may be sensitive for your participants to talk about right away. It doesn't require an interview guide and structure and can be used to build rapport and ease with your participant. Suppose your research requires your participants to discuss emotionally sensitive matters; this style is helpful because it gives your participant the space and comfort to build trust and open up.
Should you choose this method, keep in mind that you will have to conduct various rounds of interviews with participants to get the information you need. Without a standard interview guide, the conversation may stray from the main research topic and lead you into new conversations.
Unstructured interviews may seem intimidating for you as a researcher. Still, the nature of this style can be less intimidating for your participants and, in return, help them to answer organically as the conversation builds.
Best when:
You are an experienced interviewer.
You already have a strong background in the research topic.
Your research focus is exploratory, and you are open to shifting viewpoints.
You are seeking descriptive data.
Your research calls for you to form connections with your participants to feel comfortable enough to reveal more profound and intimate emotions or experiences.
2. Semi Structured Interviews
Semi-structured interviews are an excellent middle ground between having both guidance and freedom as a researcher. Semi-structured interviews can be the best of both worlds because there should be a research structure and guide without specific limits for the interviews. These interviews involve a written research guide to help guide you through the interview process. When creating the interview guide, you may want to be intentional with each question to ensure you get responses and feedback relevant to your research problem or objectives. Think of semi-structured interviews as a guided conversation with boundary lines to define the areas of interest as the conversation develops, which is quite different from unstructured interviews.
Your interview guide should enable you to have an intentional, guided conversation with your participants while leaving room for additional details. You won't have to worry about going through multiple rounds of interviews because your guide will help keep you focused on collecting the information needed to answer your research questions.
Best when:
You are collecting qualitative and open-ended data.
You are exploring participants' thoughts and feelings deeply.
You want to adhere to your research questions while having room to collect unexpected data.
You want to limit distractions and not stray too far from the research topic.
3. Structured Interviews
Structured interviews adhere strictly to an interview guide to help the researcher focus only on a specific set of questions. It's a rigid and inflexible method that does not provide a lot of room for flexibility, leaving few opportunities to explore other topics or areas of interest not included in the pre-determined interview guide.
Structured interviews may be preferable for researchers seeking data on specific information and experiences. Structured interviews allow researchers to tailor interviews strictly within a particular area of focus, which can be advantageous for expedited interviews that do not require follow-up questions or multiple interview sessions. Structured interviews can also be helpful as they may need less time to analyze and transcribe the data generated than unstructured and semi-structured interview methods.
Best when:
You already have a strong understanding of your research topic.
You have limitations with time or resources.
You need to analyze data efficiently and quickly.
You are looking for increased reliability, credibility, and validity.
You want to reduce instances of bias.
Here are a few resources to guide you when choosing an interview type or method, developing an interview guide, and conducting user interviews.
Harvard University’s Strategies for Qualitative interviews
Careerfoundry
Scribbr
Quantifying Interview Participants
One of the problems that UXR projects encounter when utilizing user interviews involves determining how many users to interview to ensure a representative research sample. The number of interview participants needed for user interviews can be tricky to define in concrete terms as the number of participants necessary may vary from project to project; it also depends on the objectives, scope, and duration of the project as well as the available participant pool. Therefore, it is important to discuss the concept of saturation.
Saturation refers to the point at which the research method (interviewing, in this case) can no longer generate new information. Therefore it is essential to acknowledge the limitations of user interviews within UX Research. User interviews are ultimately a self-reflective process, meaning that as much as the researcher wants to explore and understand the motivations and feelings of users, the self-reported nature of these interviews leaves room for some gaps.
Limitations of User Interviews
Firstly, humans have flawed memories and may not recall everything as accurately as possible. Secondly, what is important to the user may drastically differ from what is important to the researcher, so the participant could omit critical details. Thirdly, user interviews can be unpredictable as various participants share a different quantity or quality of information. Lastly and equally important, a significant amount of foundational practice and skill is essential when conducting effective user interviews as a UX researcher.
Consequently, when utilizing user interviews in UX research, following a research guide tailored to the project or problem you are trying to solve is crucial. Below are some general guidelines and best practices for conducting user interviews.
Best Practices: User Interviews
Define or set the project's goal: set a realistic, well-defined, concrete goal related to the project's main objectives.
Example: How do GSU students feel about the new panther card payment system?
Prepare your interview questions ahead of time: This is your chance to ensure that the interview will focus on areas of interest relevant to your project. You are expected to have follow-up questions during the interview, varying according to the user and the information shared. However, preparing your interview questions before the interview constitutes a crucial practice for your interview session. According to the Nielsen Norman Group, preparing your interview questions before the interview ensures the following:
Ability to get your team's feedback about the questions.
Ability to ask users the right questions relevant to the project objectives.
Ability to formulate clear and non-leading questions while avoiding vague or closed questions
Choose an appropriate location for the interview: while user interviews can be conducted in various environments, it is important to prioritize comfort and convenience for everyone involved.
When choosing a location, you should consider the context of the location.
Do you want the interviews conducted in the users' natural environment, such as in their homes or workplace? Or in a research lab or facility?
Create a rapport with the user : making the user feel as comfortable as possible is important. However, please note that it is vital to maintain a professional relationship between the interviewer and the user at all times. The user does not have to consider the interviewer to be a friend, but the relationship should ideally be cordial to facilitate trust and honesty during the process. Below are some helpful tips for developing strong communication skills for effective interviews:
Reach out to the prospective interviewee ahead of the interview session.
If the interview is conducted virtually, ensure that participants have the information they will need to access the interview session.
If possible, have another researcher or assistant take notes during the interview so that the other researcher can focus on the conversation and other non-verbal cues.
Before the interview, conduct test runs with the technology and software (if any) that will be used for the interview.
Before the interview begins, be sure to obtain consent and inform the interviewee about the purpose of the interview, the interviewee's rights, the data privacy policy, and data management concerns.
Start by asking easy general questions as the interview progresses toward specific, more profound questions.
Do not rush or interrupt the interviewee. Allow them the space to finish their thoughts and convey their experiences.
Keep digressions and topics unrelated to the research at a minimum to keep the interview on track.
Show empathy and make the interviewee feel heard by maintaining eye contact, nodding frequently, taking notes, and acknowledging them.
As the interview draws to a close, let the participant know that the interview will be wrapping up and give the participant room to share their final thoughts.
User interviews can be powerful for generating important insights, discovering new opportunities, and solving problems. It is an incredibly flexible and adaptable UX research method, and when conducted effectively, user interviews can help researchers generate new ideas. User interviews can also complement other UX research methods to thoroughly investigate the users' experiences and needs.
UX Research Tools & Resources
Qualitative research methods can generate a monumental amount of data and new information. Consequently, it is critical to organize the research data properly according to data privacy and management standards for analysis, synthesis, and presentation.
Below are some recommended tools and resources for conducting user interviews:
Virtual video conference and recording:
Research Repositories, Documentation, and Analysis:
Resources:
Thank you for reading!
This article is a collaborative effort between myself (Bolu Oluleye) and Ashley Rose Silva. It was published online for the UX Research and Design Department at Georgia State University's internal website on February 23rd, 2023.