- In this challenge we'll take our descriptive notes
from the previous challenge and use them
to practice writing effective interview questions.
If you don't have your own descriptive notes,
you can work from my notes located in the
Exercise Files folder here.
Before you can write effective interview questions,
you must have an idea of what you're trying to learn.
From the last challenge, remember we're trying
to discover more about how the layout
of a grocery store affects how and what people purchase.
We've already went to a store and observed
two different people shopping:
Participant A, the structured shopper with a list
in hand, suddenly veered off track
or made impulse purchases,
and Participant B, the wanderer without a list,
randomly looking for items back and forth through the store,
making some impulse purchases.
Now let's use those observations
to inform our interviews and dig a little deeper
into this problem.
You'll begin this challenge by reading back
through your descriptive notes, looking for
any insights or unclear information that might need
a little more clarification.
For example, we observed that Participant B
purchased a lot of pre-made foods
from the different displays set up in the store.
Based on this observation, my hunch is that he
might not have planned on buying these exact items
and was instead enticed to do so
by the placement of the displays.
So I can verify this assumption with an interview.
Try to find at least five observations
that need more clarification or explanation.
The second objective is to generate a list
of general questions that you'd like
to ask your participants.
If I think back to my assumption about Participant B,
I could ask him if the displays enticed him
to buy something he hadn't planned on.
So, I'd like you to write out at least one
general question for each one of your observations.
Having a list of general questions
will give you a rough outline
for how your interview might look.
And don't worry yet if this list feels unrefined.
We'll work on that next.
Now take your list of general questions
and refine them into clear interview questions.
Focus on a balance of closed and open-ended questions
and shoot for writing five to seven questions.
Consider the type of answers your questions are seeking.
If it's quantitative data, then it's probably best
written as a closed-ended question, such as,
"Do you use a shopping list when you
go to the grocery store?"
This is an easy question to ask
and it generates a quick yes, no or sometimes answer.
Quick questions like this are a good way
to start out an interview because they help
to get the conversation going.
If you're looking for more of an opinion,
then you might consider writing an open-ended question.
Open-ended questions are great at getting
qualitative information.
They allow the participant to give more
of an explanation to their answers
and they're great to ask after a couple
of easy close-ended questions, such as,
"Tell me more about what influences you
to purchase a product."
A reply to this question might offer you
some psychological insights that you were unable to observe.
When writing any type of interview question,
the biggest mistake you can make is
writing a leading question, such as,
"Those specialized displays sure do make
that food look enticing.
Did they affect your decision to purchase
the food you hadn't planned on buying?"
By suggesting the displays looked enticing,
we might influence the person to answer yes.
One last piece of advice.
Save your best question, the one you really want
an answer to, for about midway through your interview.
Likely, you'll have your participant's full attention
at this point, and that's the best time
to get an insightful answer.
This challenge should take about 30 minutes to complete.
When you're done, make sure you check out
my solution video and I'll share with you
my interview questions.
Good luck.