In-Depth Interview Techniques

Common Techniques to be used during In-Depth Interviews

The WWWWH Method:

Starting with a key theme, go into the 5 W’s and 1 H of the theme. For example:

Key theme: Moving to a new financial institution? Who: Who did you tell about your decision to move to a new financial institution? What: What banks did you look into before making the decision to switch? When: When did you first decide you wanted to leave your previous financial institution? How: How did you go about closing your account? Why: Why did you choose your new financial institution?

The Five Whys:

As you start creating context around your theme you’ll start to hear unexpected things. Things that don’t fit with your understanding of how people think, behave or act. When this happens you’ll benefit from using The Five Whys technique. This is a simple technique. Simply ask “Why?” five times in a row to get to the core of someone’s motivations. This method is also useful when you’ve detected a pattern and you think you’ve learn all you need to know about a certain behaviour. By digging deeper using The Five Whys you may discover that things are more nuanced than you initially thought.

For example:

Participant: “I only pay for groceries with my debit card.” Interviewer: “Why?” Participant: “Because then I know I’m paying with money I have.” Interviewer: “Why?” Participant: “Because I don’t want to go into debt.” Interviewer: “Why?” Participant: “Because, I was in debt 3 years ago, and it sucked.” Interviewer: “Why?” Participant: “Because, I had no free time. I had to work 3 jobs, and could barely hang out with my loved ones. I was stressed and irritable all the time. I became a version of myself I didn’t like.” Interviewer: “Why?” Participant: “Hm, I think because I felt trapped.”

Specifics:

The richness of insight lives in the details, and as such, you can go into specifics of people’s experiences. Here are some ways to do that:

Sequence: Go through an experience step-by-step. Tell participants to pretend they are a documentary maker, and paint you a scene-by-scene ‘video’ of the experience. An example question you can use to elicit a sequence is: Walk me through your morning routine, from when the alarm goes off to when you step out of your home.

Example: Ask about a recent example and have people to go into detail. This helps them get into storytelling mode. For instance: Tell me about your most recent trip to the Apple Store.

Contrasts:

Comparisons of perspectives and experiences are also helpful for pulling out insights. Here are some related techniques:

Look Back: Ask people to compare current vs. past experiences. For example: Does the way you use banks now differ from when you immigrated to the country a year ago? [If so] How?

Peer Comparison: Ask people to compare attitudes and/or behaviours with others they know. Do your siblings use social media differently than you? [If so] Tell me about that.