Interviews and Surveys

Interviews and surveys gather data directly from users about their needs, attitudes, and experiences, ranging from in-depth conversations to large-scale standardized questionnaires.

Definition

Interviews are conversations in which a researcher elicits information from users through questions, varying in structure, while surveys gather responses from many people through standardized questionnaires; both are self-report methods that capture what users say about their needs, behaviours, and attitudes.

Scope

This topic covers self-report methods in user research: structured, semi-structured, and unstructured interviews; focus groups; and surveys and questionnaires for reaching larger samples. It addresses how to design questions, avoid bias, and interpret qualitative and quantitative responses. It does not cover in-context observation, treated under contextual inquiry and ethnography, nor standardized usability questionnaires used in evaluation, treated under usability metrics and measurement.

Core questions

• When are interviews more appropriate than surveys, and vice versa?
• How are interview and survey questions designed to reduce bias?
• How do structured, semi-structured, and unstructured interviews differ?
• How are self-report data interpreted given their limitations?

Key concepts

• structured, semi-structured, unstructured interviews
• focus group
• survey and questionnaire
• open vs closed questions
• leading questions and bias
• response scales
• sampling
• self-report limitations

Key theories

Interview structure and technique

Interviews range from structured scripts to open-ended conversations; semi-structured interviews balance consistency with flexibility, and good technique, neutral wording, open questions, and active listening, reduces leading and improves data quality.

Survey design and sampling

Surveys can reach large, dispersed samples cheaply but require careful question wording, response scales, and sampling to yield valid, generalizable data and to avoid bias from leading items or unrepresentative respondents.

Choosing the right method

Self-report methods are best for understanding attitudes and stated needs but are weaker for actual behaviour; method-selection frameworks help researchers match interviews, surveys, or behavioural methods to the question and stage of work.

Clinical relevance

Interviews and surveys are among the most common ways teams learn what users want and how they feel, informing product decisions and tracking satisfaction; their value depends on careful question design and on recognizing that what people say can differ from what they do.

History

Interviews and surveys were adopted into HCI from the social sciences as user-centered design grew. Methodological guidance in texts by Lazar, Feng, and Hochheiser and by others standardized their use, and practitioner frameworks helped teams choose among self-report and behavioural methods as UX research professionalized.

Key figures

• Jonathan Lazar
• Jinjuan Heidi Feng
• Harry Hartson
• Christian Rohrer

Seminal works

• lazar2017
• sharp2019
• rohrer2014

Frequently asked questions

When should I use a survey instead of interviews?

Surveys suit gathering data from many people, measuring how common attitudes or behaviours are, and reaching a broad or dispersed population cheaply. Interviews suit going deep into individual experiences and reasoning with a smaller number of people. Many projects use interviews first to understand, then surveys to quantify.

Why are leading questions a problem?

Leading questions suggest a preferred answer, biasing responses and undermining the validity of the data. Good interviews and surveys use neutral, open wording so that respondents share their genuine views rather than the ones they think the researcher wants to hear.