Build a semi-structured interview guide
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Interview-guide templates, consent scripts, and probing-question banks from QDA with ChatGPT and QualCoder. We’ll email you the download link.
What makes a good interview guide
A semi-structured guide is a scaffold, not a script. It keeps you covering the same ground across participants while leaving room to follow what matters to them:
- Open with trust — purpose, consent, recording, confidentiality, and that there are no right answers.
- Warm up with easy, concrete questions before the harder ones.
- Ask open, non-leading core questions — “Tell me about…”, “Walk me through…” — and let probes do the depth.
- Close by inviting anything you missed, then thank them.
- Pilot and time it — fewer, richer questions beat a long list of narrow ones.
This builder gives you a solid starting scaffold with generic probes; tailor the wording to your participants and your theoretical framing, and have your supervisor review it before fieldwork.
Frequently asked questions
How do I structure a semi-structured guide?
Opening (purpose + consent) → warm-up → core topics with open questions + probes → closing. Keep core questions open and non-leading.
What is a probe?
A short, non-leading follow-up for depth — “Tell me more,” “What was that like?”, “Can you give an example?”
How many questions?
Fewer than you think — a handful of open questions per topic plus probes usually beats a long narrow list.
Should I pilot it?
Yes — a pilot catches leading/confusing questions and checks timing before you collect real data.
Does it store anything?
No. The guide is built entirely in your browser; nothing is uploaded or saved.