As you start to think about conducting interviews for UX research, you might be wondering: How can I find and recruit people who want to be interviewed? Well, this reading will guide you through just that!

Determine interview goals 

You want to ensure that the interviews you conduct are worthwhile, both for you and for the participants. To make the most of your time together, you need to determine clear goals for the interview. As a UX designer, what do you want to learn from the interviews? Are there certain user problems or pain points that you need to empathize with? 

Here are some examples of common research goals when it comes to empathizing with users: 

  • I want to understand the processes and emotions that people experience around the problem my product is trying to solve.
  • I want to identify common user behaviors and experiences with tasks that my product is trying to address.
  • I want to understand user needs and frustrations as they relate to the product I’m designing. 

Use a screener to select a representative sample of study participants 

The participants you select for a research study should be based on your research goals and the target users of the product you’re designing. The best way to check if potential participants meet the study’s desired characteristics and represent a diverse set of backgrounds is by sending a screener survey.  A screener survey is a detailed list of questions that help researchers determine if potential participants meet the requirements of the research study. 

For the purposes of this course, you aren’t required to create a screener survey, but it is a good tool to be familiar with for the future.

Screening participants often requires collecting demographics, which are the characteristics of a group or individual. Demographics that you might ask about in a screener survey include:

  • Age
  • Geographic location 
  • Job title or industry 
  • Gender

It’s important to recognize that asking demographic questions can be a sensitive and challenging space to navigate. Be conscious and mindful of the questions you ask in screener surveys and how you ask them. Frame questions in a way that is respectful and inclusive, and make questions optional if they ask about demographic data. You might want to preface demographic questions with a short explanation of why the question is being asked. For example, “In the spirit of inclusive design, we are asking these questions to make sure we’re reaching out to a diverse group of people.”

Interviewing participants with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and abilities is extremely important to ensure that your designs are accessible and equitable. As you start recruiting, aim to form a representative sample. A representative sample is a subset of the target population that seeks to accurately reflect the characteristics of the larger group. 

The participants in a representative sample should include user groups that have been commonly underrepresented in previous research. This lack of representation is often the result of biases due to age, race, gender, or ability. Ultimately, the research you conduct should help you create great experiences for all users. 

Although it’s ideal to have a representative sample for research in the workplace, it’s okay if your representative sample isn’t as diverse during this course. Right now, focus on gathering useful data from any sources you have available to you. Creating representative samples often takes additional time, money, and resources that you may not have access to at the moment. Do your best you can with the potential participants in your networks who are available.

Find research participants

At this point, you’ve determined the goals of the interview, written interview questions, and created a screener survey to find a representative sample of study participants. You’re ready to start recruiting participants! 

How and where you find research study participants depends on the company you work for, the type of product you’re designing, time constraints for the research, the project’s budget, and the accessibility of target users. Based on these project details, you can choose from a variety of ways to find research participants. 

  • Personal network. As a UX designer in training, your personal network is a great way to find people to interview! Think about family, friends, or colleagues who fit the demographics of the target users you’re designing for.
  • Existing user base. If you’re conducting research and creating designs for an organization with an existing user base, you’ll likely be able to recruit participants from that group of established connections. This might not be the case for your current project in this program, but recruiting from an existing user base is pretty common in the real world. 
  • Online. Alternatively, if you’re coming up with designs for an imaginary company or a newly established business, the easiest way to recruit participants for your study is online. You can use your own social media to find research participants. Or, there are websites created specifically to connect with research participants, like UserTesting and User Interviews. You can also find online groups that have users with the demographic characteristics that you want to interview. For example, if you’re designing an app for parents, you might find an online group about parenting. Before you post in an online community, make sure to check group rules or ask an administrator for permission to ask for research participation!
  • Hallway testing. If recruiting participants online doesn’t seem like an option, a less formal way to recruit for your study is to ask people in person. You can use a recruiting method known as hallway testing, which means asking people that pass by in the “hallway” to try the product you’re designing. Try to position yourself in a location where you’re most likely to encounter your product’s target audience, like a dog park or a coffee shop. Hallway testing can be effective if you’re recruiting a small number of participants, if you have limited time, or if you want to conduct research for free. However, finding participants in this way is risky because the people you collect feedback from might not have all the characteristics of your product’s potential users.
  • Third-party recruiting agencies. Some organizations have a budget to hire third-party research recruiting agencies. Recruiting agencies are useful because they save you time and can often reach diverse users.   

Reach out to participants

Once you’ve identified potential research participants, send an email that introduces the project and yourself as the researcher. If you have the budget to provide an incentive to motivate or encourage people to participate in a research study, like a gift card, include that in the email, too.

Here’s an example of an email that could be sent to potential research participants:

Hello [Participant Name],

I am currently working on a project for a certificate program where I need to conduct interviews about [explain the project].

Your participation in the research study would be very valuable to help us [summary of project goals]. Details of the study are shared below. 

  • Location: [Address and link to map]
  • Study dates: [Date range]
  • Time: [Time range]
  • Session length: [Estimated length of time for each interview]

With your permission, we will record each interview to help us decide how to improve our product. Recordings will only be shared with project team members for the scope of this project. A consent form is attached to this email that you need to sign and send back. 

If you have any questions, please contact me through email at [your email address]. 

If you are interested in being interviewed, please let me know when you are available between [date range of study] and the hours of [time range of study].

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Prior written consent is required to record an interview, so be sure to attach a consent form to the email. If the participant is a minor or unable to consent under applicable law, then written consent is required from the participant’s parent or guardian. You can use this consent form template for your work in this course.

After you confirm people to interview, it’s a good idea to send email reminders the week before the interview and the night before the interview. This will help ensure that the people you’ve found actually show up for their interview!

Write interview questions

Keeping the goals of the interview in mind, you can write the questions that you’ll ask real people during interviews. The more aligned the interview questions are with your goals, the more useful the data you obtain will be. 

There are a few best practices to keep in mind when writing interview questions:

  • Ask open-ended questions. Open-ended questions allow the person being interviewed to answer freely, instead of with a simple “yes” or “no.” For example, if you’re designing an app to help people find dog walkers, you should ask “Could you describe your experience with finding and scheduling dog walkers?” instead of “Have you ever used an app to find a dog walker?”. Keep in mind that the questions you ask during interviews should not lead or pressure participants towards a desired response; instead, asking open-ended questions lets participants share their true thoughts and perspectives.
  • Keep questions short and simple. It should be easy for interview participants to understand what you’re asking. 
  • Ask follow-up questions. During the empathize phase of the design process, interviews should be conversational, so encouraging participants to elaborate is a best practice. After a participant answers an interview question, try asking them “Why?” or use the phrase, “Tell me more about that” to keep the conversation flowing.
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Research is an essential part of the UX design process and empathizing with users. Taking time to outline the goals for your research and recruit a representative sample of participants will help ensure the feedback you obtain is valuable. Good luck recruiting!