HOW TO ACHIEVE A LOGICAL FLOW OF QUESTIONS IN AN INTERVIEW OR DISCUSSION GUIDE

One of the surest ways to decrease interview quality is by using an interview or discussion guide that is not logical in its flow, jumping around unnecessarily. Questions that flow based on logical streams of thoughts, is usually very important to an effective interview.

This article discusses how to achieve a logical flow of questions in an interview or discussion guide.

Why logical flow of question is important?

1)????Logically flowing questions make the interview more natural and effective.

2)????Asking some questions (e.g., sensitive questions) too early in the interview may have a negative effect on the participant’s mood and hence affect their cooperation.

3)????Earlier questions may influence responses to later questions.

For example, it is usually a good practice to first ask about individual opinions before asking about community opinions. This is because people tend to become more confident after noticing that other people have similar opinions and may hence give answers in order to fit within community opinions.

General advice for achieving logical flow of questions.

Having your study objectives and research questions, researchers should take time to think about the logical flow of the interview and arrange questions accordingly.

Ask yourself questions such as: What topics should come first? What topic follows more or less “naturally” etc. The logical flow may also be established during pre-testing of study tools. Hence, the latter should be among objectives of tools pre-testing, with necessary adjustments made accordingly.

Tips for achieving a good flow of questions in an interview guide

1.?????Start with simple questions, such as behavioural or opinion questions or even get-to-know-you questions.

It is also advised to start the interview with more general and interesting questions that may serve to develop rapport. Such questions may not necessarily be directly related to the research topic. A good practice is to start the interview with “get-to-know-you” questions as these usually makes the participant feel valued and put them at ease.

Two examples of getting to know you questions are:

What is your current position?

What do you enjoy most about the work you do?

You can access more than 100 getting to know you questions under the link below:

https://teambuilding.com/blog/get-to-know-you-questions

2.?????Keep questions on more complex, sensitive, or controversial issues towards the end of the guide.

In particular, keep questions about feelings and knowledge towards the end of the interview guide. Questions on feelings may trigger emotions while those assessing knowledge may discourage participants to speak if they feel not knowledgeable about the topic of interest.

3.?????The last question should provide some closure to the interview and leave the respondent empowered.

For examples, asking respondents to provide recommendations for improving the situation may leave them empowered.

Hope you find this article helpful.