Reference table
Researcher biases in user interviews and how to counter them
A table of seven researcher-side cognitive biases that distort user interviews: confirmation bias, anchoring, framing, leading questions, sampling bias, sponsor bias and the halo effect. For each it gives what the bias does and a specific countermeasure. Use it to review a discussion guide or a study plan before fieldwork. A neutral AI moderator such as Koji asks every participant the same questions the same way, which removes some of these at the source.
Where this appears
What's in this reference table
| Bias | What it does | How to counter it |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmation bias | You seek and remember what confirms your belief | Write down what would change your mind. Let someone without a stake moderate |
| Anchoring bias | You over-rely on the first thing you hear | Synthesize after all interviews and rotate the topic order |
| Framing bias | The wording of a question changes the answer | Ask for behavior: walk me through the last time you used X |
| Leading questions | The phrasing suggests the answer you want | Open with how, what or tell me about. Have a peer review the guide |
| Sampling bias | Your sample doesn't match the people you generalize to | Define the sample frame before recruiting and screen on what matters |
| Sponsor bias | People tell the company what it wants to hear | Hide the sponsor where you can and ask for honest criticism up front |
| Halo effect | One good impression lifts unrelated ratings | Probe for specifics and check claims against usage data |
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:
html
<a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/researcher-side-cognitive-biases-user-interviews-table"><img src="https://www.koji.so/visuals/researcher-side-cognitive-biases-user-interviews-table/researcher-side-cognitive-biases-user-interviews-table.png" alt="Table of seven researcher-side biases in user interviews, from confirmation and anchoring bias to the halo effect, each with what it does and a countermeasure." width="1200" height="1006" /></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/researcher-side-cognitive-biases-user-interviews-table">Researcher biases in user interviews and how to counter them</a>, Koji</p>
