17 Principles for Designing Effective Questionnaires and Interviews in User Research
The article outlines 17 essential questionnaire and interview design principles—covering question wording, option construction, and interview conduct—to help designers conduct reliable user research and obtain objective, actionable insights.
While a great designer relies on life experience and empathy to understand user expectations, many newcomers lack sufficient exposure, making it hard to grasp users' mental models; therefore, mastering basic user‑research methods is a must for interaction designers.
Research shows that poorly worded or ambiguous questionnaire items can introduce 20‑30% error, which explains why some dismiss user research as useless; proper questionnaire design is a high‑skill activity.
The following images summarize the 17 questionnaire and interview principles that designers can use as a checklist.
7 Principles for Question Design
Maintain a neutral, non‑leading attitude in the wording.
Avoid specialist jargon; if technical terms are necessary, provide explanations.
Do not ask about issues users are unaware of.
Avoid questions that are difficult for users to recall.
Steer clear of hypothetical or speculative questions.
Be cautious when requesting second‑hand information.
Do not ask questions that are optional or unnecessary.
7 Principles for Option Design
Provide an objective evaluation standard for subjective questions.
Avoid mutually exclusive options.
Ensure the options cover all possible answers.
Define clear boundaries for each answer choice.
Do not hint or lead respondents toward a particular answer.
Encourage respondents to tell stories.
Do not let the user become the designer.
Other 3 Principles
Help users relax before the interview.
Remind them that the interview is not a test.
Pay attention to users' facial expressions and body language during the interview.
These 17 principles can help young designers conduct questionnaires and interviews that yield relatively objective and useful information.
Author Introduction
Rosa
Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Master of Interaction Design
Head of Baidu QUX Experience Evaluation Team
7 years of product design & user‑research experience
Served over forty Baidu product lines in design and experience evaluation
Author of “Design Method Cards”
Speaker at IXDC International Experience Conference workshops
Baidu Intelligent Testing
Welcome to follow.
How this landed with the community
Was this worth your time?
0 Comments
Thoughtful readers leave field notes, pushback, and hard-won operational detail here.