Understanding the Research Brief

The research brief is the blueprint for your study — it's the document that tells Koji's AI interviewer exactly how to conduct your conversations with participants. Understanding what each section does (and why it matters) helps you create better studies and catch issues before you go live.

What Is the Research Brief?

When you work with the AI Consultant, the conversation produces a structured document called the research brief. You'll see it in the artifact panel to the right of the chat. This brief contains everything Koji needs to run your study: the problem you're investigating, who you want to talk to, how the conversation should be structured, and exactly what questions to ask.

Once you publish your study, the brief becomes the instruction set for the AI interviewer. So what you see in the brief is very close to what participants will experience.

Sections of the Research Brief

Let's walk through each section, what it contains, and what to look for when reviewing.

Problem Statement

This is the core of your study — a concise description of what you're trying to learn and why it matters. It's typically one to three sentences that capture your research question in context.

What to look for:

• Does it accurately reflect what you want to learn?
• Is it specific enough to guide the rest of the brief?
• Does it avoid baking in assumptions or conclusions?

The problem statement sets the frame for everything below it. If this section feels off, the rest of the brief will drift too. Don't hesitate to ask the AI Consultant to revise it, or edit it manually.

Methodology

This section identifies which research framework your study follows. Koji supports several methodologies, each with its own conversational style and analytical lens. You can learn about all of them in our methodology guide.

The methodology affects more than just the questions — it shapes how the AI interviewer follows up, what it probes for, and how it adapts to participant responses. For example:

• Mom Test interviews avoid leading questions and focus on past behavior rather than hypothetical preferences
• Jobs to Be Done interviews dig into the circumstances, motivations, and tradeoffs behind decisions
• Customer Discovery interviews focus on validating problem-solution fit through open exploration

What to look for:

• Does the methodology match the type of insight you need?
• If you're unfamiliar with the chosen methodology, ask the AI Consultant to explain why it recommended it

Target Audience

This section defines who should participate in your study. It includes demographic criteria, behavioral characteristics, or role-based descriptions that help you recruit the right people.

What to look for:

• Is the audience specific enough to recruit? "Small business owners" is broad; "founders of B2B SaaS companies with fewer than 50 employees who launched in the last two years" is actionable.
• Is the audience directly connected to your problem statement? If you're studying onboarding friction, you want people who have recently onboarded — not long-tenured power users.
• Are there any groups you should exclude? Sometimes defining who you don't want to talk to is just as important.

Interview Plan

This is the heart of the brief — the structured conversation guide that the AI interviewer will follow. It typically includes:

Introduction/Warm-Up The opening section sets the tone and builds rapport. It usually includes a brief explanation of the study's purpose (without giving away too much) and some easy warm-up questions to make the participant comfortable.

Core Questions These are the main questions designed to explore your research topic. Each question is crafted to be open-ended, non-leading, and aligned with your chosen methodology. They're ordered to flow naturally — typically starting broad and getting more specific.

Probes and Follow-Ups Under many core questions, you'll see suggested probes. These are follow-up questions the AI interviewer can use to go deeper when a participant says something interesting. Good probes are what separate a surface-level interview from one that yields genuine insight.

Wrap-Up The closing section gives participants a chance to share anything that wasn't covered and ends the conversation gracefully.

What to look for in the interview plan:

• Do the questions flow in a logical order? Would they feel natural in a real conversation?
• Are there too many questions? A 20-minute interview typically supports 5 to 8 core questions with probes. More than that, and you risk rushing through important topics.
• Are the questions open-ended? Watch for yes/no questions that slipped in.
• Do the probes dig into the right things? Probes should uncover motivations, emotions, and specifics — not just ask for more detail.
• Is the language appropriate for your audience? A study about developer tooling should sound different from one about consumer health apps.

Additional Settings

Depending on your study, the brief may also include:

• Interview length — the target duration for each conversation
• Tone and style — guidance on how formal or casual the interviewer should be
• Specific instructions — any custom directions for the AI interviewer, like topics to avoid or areas to emphasize

How to Read the Brief Critically

Reading a research brief is a skill. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you review:

The "So What" Test: For each interview question, ask yourself: "If a participant answers this, will the answer help me make a decision?" If not, the question might not be pulling its weight.

The Flow Test: Read the questions in order, out loud if possible. Do they feel like a natural conversation, or do they jump around? Abrupt topic changes can make participants feel disoriented.

The Bias Check: Look for questions that assume a particular answer. "What frustrated you about the onboarding?" assumes frustration existed. "How would you describe your onboarding experience?" is more neutral.

The Length Check: Count your core questions and estimate how long each one might take, including follow-ups. If your math says the interview will run over your target time, trim before you publish.

The Audience Check: Imagine a specific person from your target audience reading each question. Would they understand it? Would they have something meaningful to say? If the language is too jargony or the questions are too abstract, simplify.

Making Changes

If anything in the brief needs adjustment, you have two options:

1. Chat with the AI Consultant — describe what you want to change, and it will update the brief. This is great for significant structural changes or when you want suggestions.
2. Edit the brief directly — click into any section and modify the text. This is faster for small tweaks like rewording a question or adjusting the target audience description. See our guide on editing the brief manually for details.

Both approaches update the same document, so you can switch between them freely.

When the Brief Is Ready

Your brief is ready to publish when:

• The problem statement clearly captures your research question
• The methodology matches the type of insight you need
• The target audience is specific and recruiteable
• The interview questions flow naturally and avoid bias
• The number of questions fits your target interview length
• You've read through the whole thing at least once and feel confident about it

Once you're satisfied, head over to Publishing Your Study to make it live.