Guide
Four mistakes in open-ended interview questions
What to cut from your interview guide
Four common ways an open-ended interview question goes wrong. Double-barreled questions ask two things at once, hypothetical ones invite optimistic guesses, jargon makes people answer your words, and hypothesis-confirming ones assume the problem exists. Use the list to review an interview guide before fieldwork. Koji can run the finished guide as AI-moderated interviews.
Where this appears
What's in this guide
- Double-barreled questions: Asking what people like and dislike at once. Split it into two questions.
- Hypothetical questions: "Would you use a feature that...?" Ask about past behavior instead.
- Jargon-loaded questions: If people must decode your words, they answer those, not their reality.
- Questions that confirm your hypothesis: Let participants define the problem before you assume it exists.
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<a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/open-ended-interview-question-mistakes"><img src="https://www.koji.so/visuals/open-ended-interview-question-mistakes/open-ended-interview-question-mistakes.png" alt="Listicle of four mistakes that weaken open-ended interview questions: double-barreled, hypothetical, jargon-loaded and hypothesis-confirming questions." width="1200" height="698" /></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/open-ended-interview-question-mistakes">Four mistakes in open-ended interview questions</a>, Koji</p>
