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Take notes 

Think about the specific things that the team needs to understand, including the goals or objectives of the research.

Write down anything interesting or relevant that you see or hear during the session, incude:

• direct quotes, use quotation marks to show that this is what they said, not your interpretation 
• behaviours and patterns, write ‘appear to’ or ‘seems’ so you know this is your observation 
• design problems or pain points
• ideas and suggestions or gains.

Use a single note for each observation and write exactly what you see or hear not what you think it means. This way, the notes will be unbiased and can represent the voice of the user. If you have recordings, make them available so people can confirm their observations and get verbatim quotes. 

Completing the interview

 Once you’ve finished the interview, it’s a good idea to:  

• thank the participant 
• reconfirm consent 
• make sure any personal information you’ve collected is stored securely, on paper or in recordings
• use your planning checklist and pack away your equipment.

Pay incentives to participants  

Check your agency’s policy on paying people for research participation. Make sure that the incentive is appropriate to the participant’s background and personal circumstances. For example, offer a voucher or gift card for a store that the participant can travel to easily or that they can use online. 

Pay incentives through a recruitment agency  

When you use an agency to recruit participants, the incentive is typically cash or a voucher. The value will depend on the cohort that you are trying to reach and the length of the research session. You can ask recruitment agencies for advice on how much you should give.  

The agency can transfer the incentive to the participants for a fee once the research is complete. Avoid handling cash incentives yourself.

You can ask the agency to hire a venue that has a host who can manage your participants and hand over the cash incentive on your behalf. For example, if your target group is seniors, they may feel more comfortable with a senior host. There is usually an additional cost for this, which you should factor into your research budget.