Process
How to run an in-depth interview in six steps
A six-step process for running an in-depth interview (IDI), the one-on-one, semi-structured conversation researchers use to find the why behind what customers do. It covers the discussion guide, opening broad, probing, avoiding leading questions, letting the participant do 80% of the talking and capturing verbatim quotes. Use it to prepare for your next round of interviews. Koji's AI moderator can run the same guide by voice or text and probe every answer.
Where this appears
What's in this process
- Write a discussion guide, not a script: 5 to 8 open-ended topics, with room for the conversation to breathe.
- Open broad, then narrow: Start with the last time it happened, then drill into specifics.
- Probe past the first answer: The insight is almost never in the first answer. Probe and ladder toward motives.
- Avoid leading questions: Wouldn't it be great if we added X? tells people what to say.
- Let them talk: Aim for the participant talking 80% of the time. Silence invites more.
- Capture verbatims: Record, transcribe and tag every session so themes trace back to real words.
Use this image
Free to use in your docs, decks and posts under CC BY 4.0, as long as you credit Koji with a link to this page. To embed it, paste this into your page:
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<a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/how-to-run-an-in-depth-interview-steps"><img src="https://www.koji.so/visuals/how-to-run-an-in-depth-interview-steps/how-to-run-an-in-depth-interview-steps.png" alt="Process showing six steps for an in-depth interview: write a guide, open broad, probe, avoid leading questions, let them talk and capture verbatims." width="1200" height="831" /></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/how-to-run-an-in-depth-interview-steps">How to run an in-depth interview in six steps</a>, Koji</p>
