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Using a consent form in an interview 

You should start interviews with users by explaining the purpose of the research. Show participants the consent form. 

Explain that they have a choice about what they wish to consent to. Get permission before starting any form of recording, audio, visual or written. 

Sometimes a participant may say something that they don’t feel comfortable sharing. After the interview, ask them again if they are happy for the conversation to be used as part of the research. Make sure they still consent to you using the information. 

Leave a copy with the participant 

Leave a copy of the consent form with the participant at the end of the session. This gives them a record of what they have agreed to. It also lets them know how they can withdraw consent if they want to later. 

Incentives and consent forms

Consent forms and incentive receipts are separate parts of the research process.

Make sure you treat consent as a separate discussion from giving the incentive payment and the receipt, otherwise participants may feel a financial obligation to consent to the research.

Keep personal information secure

There are rules around how the government can use personal information.

You need to make sure the information you collect is secure from misuse or unauthorised access. 

Help people to share their story widely 

It’s important to allow people to protect their privacy. It's also important to help people to share their stories more widely. Many people are very keen for their experiences with governments to be shared with anyone who can help improve them. 

It’s a good idea to create a panel of participants you can reach out to for future research.  

How to write a recruitment brief 

A recruitment brief is a set of instructions sent to an agency to recruit user research participants.

You should send an agency a written brief, even if they’re happy to take instructions over the phone. This will act as a record to look back on if there's problems with the recruitment.

Include in the brief:

• research dates and locations
• time and length of each session 
• amount sessions you wish to do on each date 
• recruitment criteria describing who you will include
• the number of participants you want to recruit 
• accessibility and inclusivity guidelines 
• ethical guidelines, policies and procedures 
• cash incentives to be handled by the agency.

When you create your brief, make it clear that you welcome participants with diverse needs and all levels of digital literacy.  

Create or review the participant screener 

A recruitment screener is used to interview potential participants and include the correct mix of people in your research. If you're working with a recruitment agency, you need to decide who is responsible for creating the screener.  

If the screener is created by the agency make sure it captures what you need. It’s common for there to be misunderstandings.

Make your research inclusive 

To make your research inclusive, anticipate barriers for your users and find ways to overcome them. You can overcome barriers by hosting sessions across different times, days or locations. You can also provide multiple research activities and options.

Barriers to your research can include:  

• the type of activity or the tools used to complete it  
• the time or day you schedule sessions 
• the location of the user research 
• the method you use to recruit your users.  

Number of participants

You will typically interview 1 participant at a time. However, if you’re interviewing people that use a service together, it may be helpful to speak to them as a pair or in a small group.

For example, you might interview:

• family members who help each other 
• members of a team who work together.

Interview length  

Interviews usually take between 30 minutes and 2 hours. The length depends on the complexity of the subject and the number of questions you have.

Longer interviews will give you more detail, but they may make it harder to recruit participants. For long interviews, plan breaks to avoid fatigue or consider splitting the session.

Location for research  

Interviews can take place almost anywhere. You should make sure the participants can access the location. They may need to know how to contact you for entry to the building or use a lift rather than stairs.

Example interview locations:  

• a home or workplace 
• over the phone 
• a research studio 
• a cafe 
• a public library.  

Recruit research participants 

There are different ways to find people to participate in user research. Include current and future users of the service you’re researching.

• plan any incentives you’ll pay to the participants
• arrange interpreters or assistants for participants who need them. 

Prepare consent forms 

Before your interview goes ahead, make sure you have informed consent from the participants  

Think about whether you need to record the session. If you do, make sure the consent forms cover the recording. 

Structure the interview 

Plan your interview structure ahead of time and create a discussion guide to help you and other interviewers stay on track. This will help you and other interviews collect comparable information. Don't follow the discussion guide word for word, instead use it as a guide to stay on topic.

The discussion guide should include:

• introduction script, this tells the participant who you are, introduces the observer or note taker and explains the purpose of your research  
• consent prompt, this reminds you to ask the participant for consent to talk to them and record 
• planning checklists, this makes sure you have all the equipment and facilities you need on the day 
• sort your questions by topic 
• follow-up questions to learn more.

When you’ve created your discussion guide, test your questions and structure by practicing with a colleague, friend or family member. Revise any questions that aren’t clear and re-order your topics if the practice interview doesn’t flow well.

Write the questions  

Work on questions with your team. Open ended questions encourage a full and detailed answer rather than a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

It can be good to start out with a few simple questions to get the participant talking and build rapport. For example, 'Tell us about you and your work?'

Avoid confirmation bias

When writing your questions avoid confirmation bias. Confirmation bias happens when a question directs a participant toward a response that aligns to your pre-existing ideas, opinions or assumptions.

Good starter questions may include:

• 'How do you …' 
• 'What are the different ways you …' 
• 'What do you think about …' 

Plan follow up questions  

Make sure you understand what the participant has said. Use follow up questions if you’re unsure or would like more detail.  

Follow up questions can include:

• ‘You said … when/why/who was that?’ 
• ‘Can you tell me more about …?’ 
• ‘In what way …?’ 
• ‘Could you elaborate on … to help me understand …?’ 

Get the most out of the interview 

During the interview make sure you really listen and show the participant your interest in what they’re saying. To get the most out of the interview: 

• get there early and don’t leave the room during the session
• be mindful of video and audio recordings and what you say during, before and after a session
• keep your main questions in mind and let the conversation develop naturally by digging into new and interesting issues
• take time to adjust to the participants conversation pace and style, don’t change the flow of the interview
• be comfortable with silence
• focus on stories and real examples, avoid generalities and talking about how things ‘should’ happen