background research for formal interview

Interview Background Research: The Key to Preparing for an Interview

Use these tips for interview background research

Here are some of the key areas to research when preparing for an interview. You can use the tips mentioned here to carry out interview background research.

You’ve just been invited to interview for your dream job. After the initial excitement wears off, for many life sciences professionals there comes a sense of impending dread. Do you feel confident that you can ace an interview? What steps would you go through to get prepared for the interview? It’s common for people to feel overconfident about their skills, background and overall interviewing ability. This can lead to having underwhelming interviews because of a lack of interview background research, with long awkward pauses that don’t yield job offers.

A recent BioSpace survey of organizations asked, “What would you like to see improve on the candidate’s end when going through the recruiting/interviewing process?” 65% of respondents selected “background research/learn to inform themselves on the company.” This was somewhat surprising because many jobs within life sciences industries are research focused. So why aren’t many candidates bringing that same skillset to the interviewing process? It’s highly possible that beyond the basics, many professionals don’t know what they should be researching. Here are some of the key areas to research when preparing for an interview.

Here’s How to Do Interview Background Research

Company / Organization- Obtaining interview background information on the company you’re applying with, is what most people think of when it comes to interview research. How long has the organization been in existence? What are their primary products and services? Who are their main competitors in the marketplace? What major changes has the organization gone through in the last few years? Being up to date on the company will set you apart from a large percentage of other candidates.

Industry- You can take your research a step further by diving into the details of what’s going on in the organization’s industry. Have there been any regulatory changes or new laws put in effect? How do they rank amongst their competitors? Are they considered a leader in the industry? If you can speak to how the company relates to the industry, your interviewer will know that you are serious about the opportunity to work for the company. Asking follow-up questions about the organization’s standing in the industry also shows that you can be a big picture thinker.

Current Events- Other than interview background information you must know what current events are going on in the news that could impact the success of the company? Are there any international situations that might influence the productivity or revenue of the organization? Being aware of what’s going on nationally and globally, positions you as a serious professional who can think critically about the company. Inquiring about how a current event might affect the organization, displays a deeper level of understanding about the business.

Your Value Proposition- Now that you’ve done all of this fact-finding, putting it together in a way to support your candidacy for the job is ideal. In knowing all that you’ve found out about the company, how are you the best fit for the job? Are your research and investigative skills stellar? Have you been successful during times of change? What about you is different than the other professionals being considered? Focus on your unique value proposition that supports your understanding of the organization’s position in the marketplace.

According to a BioSpace survey of companies, 65% indicated that job candidates could improve on “interview background research/learn to inform themselves on the company.” There is a wealth of information including news and specific profiles on the BioSpace website. Finding details on the organization that you’re applying for and their industry is important. Reviewing current events that might influence operations and/or strategy of the company is also a good idea. Finally, incorporating what you’ve learned into your own unique value proposition for the job can leave a lasting impression on your interviewer. What is one area you’d like to research before your next job interview?

Porschia Parker is a Certified Coach, Professional Resume Writer, and Founder of Fly High Coaching . (https://www.fly-highcoaching.com) She empowers ambitious professionals and motivated executives to add $10K on average to their salaries.

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Oral History Toolkit

• Oral History Toolkit Introduction

Background Research

Interview equipment, developing interview questions, legal and ethical considerations.

• Stage 2: The Interview
• Stage 3: Post-Interview

Preparing for an oral history interview is perhaps the most important step in the oral history process. Once you have decided upon a topic or event in history, you will need to locate a narrator (also called the interviewee) whose experiences are relevant to your topic. Quality research can create rapport with the narrator and hone interview questions that inspire storytelling. You should read both primary and secondary sources related to the era, topic, or theme of your interview.

According to the Oral History Association, "Oral history interviews seek an in-depth account of personal experience and reflections, with sufficient time allowed for the narrators to give their story the fullness they desire. The content of oral history interviews is grounded in reflections on the past as opposed to commentary on purely contemporary events" ( Oral History Association ).

Preparing for an oral history interview typically involves the following components, which are explained in more detail in the sections below:

• Background research of both the narrator and the event or topic
• Reserve or obtain interview equipment
• Develop a set of questions to guide or frame the interview
• Consider the legal and ethical implications of the oral history project

To be prepared for the interview, conduct careful research that is both subject-focused and that contextualizes your narrator within the circumstances of the event or time period you are studying. To begin with you will need to know what you are trying to learn. Come up with a concise sentence or two that summarizes your project and that will help you explain to potential narrators what you hope to accomplish. 

Doing background research requires considering information that already exists on your research topic. For example, if you wanted to learn more about a politician, you might want to consider campaign literature (including pins, brochures, posters, and so on); political documents; and perhaps other biographies or interviews that already exist. Likewise, if your focus is on a particular event or time period in history, you will want to consult newspaper accounts, perhaps economic data, any records pertaining to the event you are studying. As another example, if you are using oral history to collect and preserve your family history, you may want to draw from scrapbooks, photographs, family heirlooms, diaries, etc.

Many primary sources and archived interviews are available at  The Claremont Colleges Library . See the "Resources" tab on the navigation menu for links to the oral history collections at the Honnold/Mudd Special Collections and links to the oral history archives of The Claremont Colleges Digital Library.

Questions that can help you prepare for your interview may include:

• Why am I interviewing this person?
• What do I hope to learn?
• What events or topics do I want to document?
• How will I use the interview data to illustrate a point or further my argument?

An important step in the interview process is a non-recorded pre-interview meeting. This step occurs after you have found an appropriate narrator who has agreed to work with you. The purpose of the non-recorded pre-interview meeting is to establish report and to learn as much as you can before the formal interview. Talking informally with your narrator can help you decide what questions to ask during the interview and provides the narrator with important information about the interview purpose and process. This pre-interview meeting can be done over the phone or email, but in person is best. Things you will want to let your interviewee know before the interview might include:

• The purpose of the interview
• How you will use the interview data
• Approximate length of interview and where you will meet (this is a good time to schedule the interview)
• Where the interview and accompanying materials will be stored and who will have access to these records.

Renting Equipment: If you are using equipment from your in department or institution, be sure to reserve it early enough to use it twice: once to become familiar with the equipment, and then for the interview itself. Equipment rental tends to be for a very short period (1 day or a certain number of hours) and the equipment will be in great demand if you are doing your oral history project as a class assignment.

Choosing the appropriate equipment for your purpose and budget is also an important part of preparing for your interview. Considerations should not only include your purposes, but also the long-range issues of access and preservation.

Basic Equipment Checklist:

• digital recorder
• 1 or 2 external microphones
• A minimum of 4GB storage device

Digital Recorders : The Claremont Colleges Library requires that audio recordings be recorded in .WAV file format with a minimum quality of 44.1khz 16 bit (CD quality) . The better the quality, the better the recording will be for archival purposes. Thus, in considering the recording equipment you can rent, use, or purchase, be sure the recorder will be durable and reliable. It is possible to use your computer or mobile device, but you want to ensure that recordings are of sufficient quality and format. 

Note : If you are thinking about using a video recording device, you may want to refer to Oral History in the Digital Age (see the "Ask Doug" resource).

External Microphones : Good microphones are necessary for clear sound. Lapel microphones are ideal as they can eliminate much of the  background noises. You may wish to have one for your interviewee and one for yourself, or you may wish to use one microphone positioned evenly between you both during the interview. Even if you use your computer or mobile device, you will want to use an external mic.

Minimum of 4GB Storage : Recording at the highest quality settings of your recorder will take up more file space, so be sure to have enough storage. As an example, 4GB of storage will hold approximately 2 - 6 hours of interview depending on your quality settings. Create multiple back-up copies and store them in different locations (i.e. cloud storage, a thumb drive, and your computer hard drive).

►  Be sure to familiarize yourself with your equipment before the interview!

There are a number of excellent resources to aid you in developing your questions, some of which are posted on the "Resources" page of this guide. Briefly, you will want to develop two types of questions: those that obtain factual information about your narrator/interviewee, and questions that will assist your narrator/interviewee in remembering particular events or circumstances.

Biographical Data : Although you likely obtained much of the biographical information about your narrator/interviewee during the pre-interview meeting, it is standard practice to ask some of these questions at the beginning so that your narrator/interviewee can get comfortable with the interview process and equipment. Remember to be sensitive to your narrator's needs; some people are not comfortable disclosing age or other personal information.

► You may be interested in the Narrator/Interviewer Fact Form and/or a more detailed Life Story Form.

Open Questions : As the interview progresses your questions may become more concrete and may address more sensitive information. These typically include open questions—meaning that the questions cannot be answered by simply yes or no, or other finite response. Open questions probe for information and seek to trigger stories and memories from your narrator/interviewee.  Examples include the typical journalistic what, where, when, who, and how. But they will also include  phrases such as:

Questions are not meant to be followed rigidly; they are a jumping off point for your narrator's stories and memories. Part of the value of Oral Histories is that stories often wander off topic to memories we would not have known to ask about and that greatly enrich the overall project.

Note: Objects and photographs can also help to trigger memories, so invite your narrator/interviewee to bring any materials that might help them to explain or describe events. Your narrator/interviewee may even wish to donate such materials to be part of the oral history archive established for your project.

Beginning in 2018, the federal guidelines for Institutional Review Boards (IRB) updated "scholarly and journalistic pursuits" as no longer needing IRB approval. The tab for "IRB" listed on the navigation menu provides links and policy overviews. It is a good idea to become familiar with campus and departmental policies. Other legal and ethical considerations may involve a number of aspects of your project, including:

• meeting locations
• personal boundaries
• emotional reactions
• anonymity requests
• dissemination and access

Location : Meeting locations   should be safe and comfortable for both parties. You may be able to reserve a conference or other room at your institution or your interviewee may wish to interview at his or her home. Wherever you meet, it's a good idea to be sure someone else knows your location.

Boundaries : Respecting narrator rights and boundaries means understanding that your interviewee may choose to withhold information, may change his or her mind about the interview or even allowing dissemination after they have agreed to do so. You will need to be prepared to honor any requests your narrator makes, including asking to remain anonymous . Remeber to honor these requests in the transcript and write-up of the interview as well. 

Emotion : It is not unusual for you or the narrator to be emotionally moved by the interviewee's stories and memories. If appropriate, temporarily stop the recording and allow your interviewee to regain composure. Perhaps your narrator will want a change of subject. Check in with your narrator and ensure that he or she is comfortable continuing with the interview at that time. You may need to reschedule.

Dissemination and Access: Because one of the primary objectives of oral history is making the information available to the public, you will want discuss this aspect of the project with your interviewee beforehand, and again during the interview. The narrator retains all rights to their interviews until and unless they transfer those rights. You may wish to offer your narrator an opportunity to discuss your transcript and/or project draft and they may wish to receive a copy of your final project. 

• << Previous: Oral History Toolkit Introduction
• Next: Stage 2: The Interview >>
• : Dec 19, 2023 4:10 PM
• URL: https://libguides.libraries.claremont.edu/ohtoolkit

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Methodology

• Types of Interviews in Research | Guide & Examples

Types of Interviews in Research | Guide & Examples

Published on March 10, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on June 22, 2023.

An interview is a qualitative research method that relies on asking questions in order to collect data . Interviews involve two or more people, one of whom is the interviewer asking the questions.

There are several types of interviews, often differentiated by their level of structure.

• Structured interviews have predetermined questions asked in a predetermined order.
• Unstructured interviews are more free-flowing.
• Semi-structured interviews fall in between.

Interviews are commonly used in market research, social science, and ethnographic research .

Table of contents

What is a structured interview, what is a semi-structured interview, what is an unstructured interview, what is a focus group, examples of interview questions, advantages and disadvantages of interviews, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about types of interviews.

Structured interviews have predetermined questions in a set order. They are often closed-ended, featuring dichotomous (yes/no) or multiple-choice questions. While open-ended structured interviews exist, they are much less common. The types of questions asked make structured interviews a predominantly quantitative tool.

Asking set questions in a set order can help you see patterns among responses, and it allows you to easily compare responses between participants while keeping other factors constant. This can mitigate   research biases and lead to higher reliability and validity. However, structured interviews can be overly formal, as well as limited in scope and flexibility.

• You feel very comfortable with your topic. This will help you formulate your questions most effectively.
• You have limited time or resources. Structured interviews are a bit more straightforward to analyze because of their closed-ended nature, and can be a doable undertaking for an individual.
• Your research question depends on holding environmental conditions between participants constant.

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Semi-structured interviews are a blend of structured and unstructured interviews. While the interviewer has a general plan for what they want to ask, the questions do not have to follow a particular phrasing or order.

Semi-structured interviews are often open-ended, allowing for flexibility, but follow a predetermined thematic framework, giving a sense of order. For this reason, they are often considered “the best of both worlds.”

However, if the questions differ substantially between participants, it can be challenging to look for patterns, lessening the generalizability and validity of your results.

• You have prior interview experience. It’s easier than you think to accidentally ask a leading question when coming up with questions on the fly. Overall, spontaneous questions are much more difficult than they may seem.
• Your research question is exploratory in nature. The answers you receive can help guide your future research.

An unstructured interview is the most flexible type of interview. The questions and the order in which they are asked are not set. Instead, the interview can proceed more spontaneously, based on the participant’s previous answers.

Unstructured interviews are by definition open-ended. This flexibility can help you gather detailed information on your topic, while still allowing you to observe patterns between participants.

However, so much flexibility means that they can be very challenging to conduct properly. You must be very careful not to ask leading questions, as biased responses can lead to lower reliability or even invalidate your research.

• You have a solid background in your research topic and have conducted interviews before.
• Your research question is exploratory in nature, and you are seeking descriptive data that will deepen and contextualize your initial hypotheses.
• Your research necessitates forming a deeper connection with your participants, encouraging them to feel comfortable revealing their true opinions and emotions.

A focus group brings together a group of participants to answer questions on a topic of interest in a moderated setting. Focus groups are qualitative in nature and often study the group’s dynamic and body language in addition to their answers. Responses can guide future research on consumer products and services, human behavior, or controversial topics.

Focus groups can provide more nuanced and unfiltered feedback than individual interviews and are easier to organize than experiments or large surveys . However, their small size leads to low external validity and the temptation as a researcher to “cherry-pick” responses that fit your hypotheses.

• Your research focuses on the dynamics of group discussion or real-time responses to your topic.
• Your questions are complex and rooted in feelings, opinions, and perceptions that cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no.”
• Your topic is exploratory in nature, and you are seeking information that will help you uncover new questions or future research ideas.

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Depending on the type of interview you are conducting, your questions will differ in style, phrasing, and intention. Structured interview questions are set and precise, while the other types of interviews allow for more open-endedness and flexibility.

Here are some examples.

• Semi-structured
• Unstructured
• Focus group
• Do you like dogs? Yes/No
• Do you associate dogs with feeling: happy; somewhat happy; neutral; somewhat unhappy; unhappy
• If yes, name one attribute of dogs that you like.
• If no, name one attribute of dogs that you don’t like.
• What feelings do dogs bring out in you?
• When you think more deeply about this, what experiences would you say your feelings are rooted in?

Interviews are a great research tool. They allow you to gather rich information and draw more detailed conclusions than other research methods, taking into consideration nonverbal cues, off-the-cuff reactions, and emotional responses.

However, they can also be time-consuming and deceptively challenging to conduct properly. Smaller sample sizes can cause their validity and reliability to suffer, and there is an inherent risk of interviewer effect arising from accidentally leading questions.

Here are some advantages and disadvantages of each type of interview that can help you decide if you’d like to utilize this research method.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Student’s  t -distribution
• Normal distribution
• Null and Alternative Hypotheses
• Chi square tests
• Confidence interval
• Quartiles & Quantiles
• Cluster sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Data cleansing
• Reproducibility vs Replicability
• Peer review
• Prospective cohort study

Research bias

• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Placebo effect
• Hawthorne effect
• Hindsight bias
• Affect heuristic
• Social desirability bias

The four most common types of interviews are:

• Structured interviews : The questions are predetermined in both topic and order. 
• Semi-structured interviews : A few questions are predetermined, but other questions aren’t planned.
• Unstructured interviews : None of the questions are predetermined.
• Focus group interviews : The questions are presented to a group instead of one individual.

The interviewer effect is a type of bias that emerges when a characteristic of an interviewer (race, age, gender identity, etc.) influences the responses given by the interviewee.

There is a risk of an interviewer effect in all types of interviews , but it can be mitigated by writing really high-quality interview questions.

Social desirability bias is the tendency for interview participants to give responses that will be viewed favorably by the interviewer or other participants. It occurs in all types of interviews and surveys , but is most common in semi-structured interviews , unstructured interviews , and focus groups .

Social desirability bias can be mitigated by ensuring participants feel at ease and comfortable sharing their views. Make sure to pay attention to your own body language and any physical or verbal cues, such as nodding or widening your eyes.

This type of bias can also occur in observations if the participants know they’re being observed. They might alter their behavior accordingly.

A focus group is a research method that brings together a small group of people to answer questions in a moderated setting. The group is chosen due to predefined demographic traits, and the questions are designed to shed light on a topic of interest. It is one of 4 types of interviews .

Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings.

Quantitative methods allow you to systematically measure variables and test hypotheses . Qualitative methods allow you to explore concepts and experiences in more detail.

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• Interview Research

Research Methods Guide: Interview Research

• Introduction
• Research Design & Method
• Survey Research
• Data Analysis
• Resources & Consultation

Tutorial Videos: Interview Method

Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research

Goals of Interview Research

• Preferences
• They help you explain, better understand, and explore research subjects' opinions, behavior, experiences, phenomenon, etc.
• Interview questions are usually open-ended questions so that in-depth information will be collected.

Mode of Data Collection

There are several types of interviews, including:

• Face-to-Face
• Online (e.g. Skype, Googlehangout, etc)

FAQ: Conducting Interview Research

What are the important steps involved in interviews?

• Think about who you will interview
• Think about what kind of information you want to obtain from interviews
• Think about why you want to pursue in-depth information around your research topic
• Introduce yourself and explain the aim of the interview
• Devise your questions so interviewees can help answer your research question
• Have a sequence to your questions / topics by grouping them in themes
• Make sure you can easily move back and forth between questions / topics
• Make sure your questions are clear and easy to understand
• Do not ask leading questions
• Do you want to bring a second interviewer with you?
• Do you want to bring a notetaker?
• Do you want to record interviews? If so, do you have time to transcribe interview recordings?
• Where will you interview people? Where is the setting with the least distraction?
• How long will each interview take?
• Do you need to address terms of confidentiality?

Do I have to choose either a survey or interviewing method?

No.  In fact, many researchers use a mixed method - interviews can be useful as follow-up to certain respondents to surveys, e.g., to further investigate their responses.

Is training an interviewer important?

Yes, since the interviewer can control the quality of the result, training the interviewer becomes crucial.  If more than one interviewers are involved in your study, it is important to have every interviewer understand the interviewing procedure and rehearse the interviewing process before beginning the formal study.

• << Previous: Survey Research
• Next: Data Analysis >>
• Last Updated: Aug 21, 2023 10:42 AM

Using an interview in a research paper

Consultant contributor: Viviane Ugalde

Using an interview can be an effective primary source for some papers and research projects. Finding an expert in the field or some other person who has knowledge of your topic can allow for you to gather unique information not available elsewhere.

There are four steps to using an interview as a source for your research.

• Know where and how to start.
• Know how to write a good question.
• Know how to conduct an interview.
• Know how to incorporate the interview into your document or project.

Step one: Where to start

First, you should determine your goals and ask yourself these questions:

• Who are the local experts on topic?
• How can I contact these people?
• Does anyone know them to help me setup the interviews?
• Are their phone numbers in the phone book or can I find them on the Internet?

Once you answer these questions and pick your interviewee, get their basic information such as their name, title, and other general details. If you reach out and your interview does not participate, don’t be discouraged. Keep looking for other interview contacts.

Step two: How to write a good question

When you have confirmed an interview, it is not time to come up with questions.

• Learning as much as you can about the person before the interview can help you create questions specific to your interview subject.
• Doing research about your interviewee’s past experience in your topic, or any texts that they have written would be great background research.

When you start to think of questions, write down more questions than you think you’ll need, and prioritize them as you go. Any good questions will answer the 5W and H questions. Asking Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How questions that you need answered for your paper, will help you form a question to ask your interviewee.

When writing a good question, try thinking of something that will help your argument.

• Is your interviewee an advocate for you position?
• Are they in any programs that are related to your research?
• How much experience do they have?

From broad questions like these, you can begin to narrow down to more specific and open-ended questions.

Step three: The interview

If at all possible, arrange to conduct the interview at the subject’s workplace. It will make them more comfortable, and you can write about their surroundings.

• Begin the interview with some small talk in order to give both of you the chance to get comfortable with one another
• Develop rapport that will make the interview easier for both of you.
• Ask open-ended questions
• Keep the conversation moving
• Stay on topic
• The more silence in the room, the more honest the answer.
• If an interesting subject comes up that is related to your research, ask a follow-up or an additional question about it.
• Ask if you can stay in contact with your interview subject in case there are any additional questions you have.

Step four: Incorporating the interview

When picking the material out of your interview, remember that people rarely speak perfectly. There will be many slang words and pauses that you can take out, as long as it does not change the meaning of the material you are using.

As you introduce your interview in the paper, start with a transition such as “according to” or other attributions. You should also be specific to the type of interview you are working with. This way, you will build a stronger ethos in your paper .

The body of your essay should clearly set up the quote or paraphrase you use from the interview responses,. Be careful not to stick a quote from the interview into the body of your essay because it sounds good. When deciding what to quote in your paper, think about what dialogue from the interview would add the most color to your interview. Quotes that illustrate what your interviewer sounded like, or what their personality is are always the best quotes to choose from.

Once you have done that, proofread your essay. Make sure the quotes you used don’t make up the majority of your paper. The interview quotes are supposed to support your argument; you are not supposed to support the interview.

For example, let’s say that you are arguing that free education is better than not. For your argument, you interview a local politician who is on your side of the argument. Rather than using a large quote that explains the stance of both sides, and why the politician chose this side, your quote is there to support the information you’ve already given. Whatever the politician says should prove what you argue, and not give new information.

Step five: Examples of citing your interviews 

Smith, Jane. Personal interview. 19 May 2018.

(E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2018).

Smith also claimed that many of her students had difficulties with APA style (personal communication, November 3, 2018).

Reference list

Daly, C. & Leighton W. (2017). Interviewing a Source: Tips. Journalists Resource.

Driscoll, D. (2018 ). Interviewing. Purdue University

Hayden, K. (2012). How to Conduct an Interview to Write a Paper . Bright Hub Education, Bright Hub Inc.

Hose, C. (2017). How to Incorporate Interviews into Essays. Leaf Group Education.

Magnesi, J. (2017). How to Interview Someone for an Article or Research Paper. Career Trend, Leaf group Media.

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Qualitative research method-interviewing and observation

Shazia jamshed.

Department of Pharmacy Practice, Kulliyyah of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuantan Campus, Pahang, Malaysia

Buckley and Chiang define research methodology as “a strategy or architectural design by which the researcher maps out an approach to problem-finding or problem-solving.”[ 1 ] According to Crotty, research methodology is a comprehensive strategy ‘that silhouettes our choice and use of specific methods relating them to the anticipated outcomes,[ 2 ] but the choice of research methodology is based upon the type and features of the research problem.[ 3 ] According to Johnson et al . mixed method research is “a class of research where the researcher mixes or combines quantitative and qualitative research techniques, methods, approaches, theories and or language into a single study.[ 4 ] In order to have diverse opinions and views, qualitative findings need to be supplemented with quantitative results.[ 5 ] Therefore, these research methodologies are considered to be complementary to each other rather than incompatible to each other.[ 6 ]

Qualitative research methodology is considered to be suitable when the researcher or the investigator either investigates new field of study or intends to ascertain and theorize prominent issues.[ 6 , 7 ] There are many qualitative methods which are developed to have an in depth and extensive understanding of the issues by means of their textual interpretation and the most common types are interviewing and observation.[ 7 ]

Interviewing

This is the most common format of data collection in qualitative research. According to Oakley, qualitative interview is a type of framework in which the practices and standards be not only recorded, but also achieved, challenged and as well as reinforced.[ 8 ] As no research interview lacks structure[ 9 ] most of the qualitative research interviews are either semi-structured, lightly structured or in-depth.[ 9 ] Unstructured interviews are generally suggested in conducting long-term field work and allow respondents to let them express in their own ways and pace, with minimal hold on respondents’ responses.[ 10 ]

Pioneers of ethnography developed the use of unstructured interviews with local key informants that is., by collecting the data through observation and record field notes as well as to involve themselves with study participants. To be precise, unstructured interview resembles a conversation more than an interview and is always thought to be a “controlled conversation,” which is skewed towards the interests of the interviewer.[ 11 ] Non-directive interviews, form of unstructured interviews are aimed to gather in-depth information and usually do not have pre-planned set of questions.[ 11 ] Another type of the unstructured interview is the focused interview in which the interviewer is well aware of the respondent and in times of deviating away from the main issue the interviewer generally refocuses the respondent towards key subject.[ 11 ] Another type of the unstructured interview is an informal, conversational interview, based on unplanned set of questions that are generated instantaneously during the interview.[ 11 ]

In contrast, semi-structured interviews are those in-depth interviews where the respondents have to answer preset open-ended questions and thus are widely employed by different healthcare professionals in their research. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews are utilized extensively as interviewing format possibly with an individual or sometimes even with a group.[ 6 ] These types of interviews are conducted once only, with an individual or with a group and generally cover the duration of 30 min to more than an hour.[ 12 ] Semi-structured interviews are based on semi-structured interview guide, which is a schematic presentation of questions or topics and need to be explored by the interviewer.[ 12 ] To achieve optimum use of interview time, interview guides serve the useful purpose of exploring many respondents more systematically and comprehensively as well as to keep the interview focused on the desired line of action.[ 12 ] The questions in the interview guide comprise of the core question and many associated questions related to the central question, which in turn, improve further through pilot testing of the interview guide.[ 7 ] In order to have the interview data captured more effectively, recording of the interviews is considered an appropriate choice but sometimes a matter of controversy among the researcher and the respondent. Hand written notes during the interview are relatively unreliable, and the researcher might miss some key points. The recording of the interview makes it easier for the researcher to focus on the interview content and the verbal prompts and thus enables the transcriptionist to generate “verbatim transcript” of the interview.

Similarly, in focus groups, invited groups of people are interviewed in a discussion setting in the presence of the session moderator and generally these discussions last for 90 min.[ 7 ] Like every research technique having its own merits and demerits, group discussions have some intrinsic worth of expressing the opinions openly by the participants. On the contrary in these types of discussion settings, limited issues can be focused, and this may lead to the generation of fewer initiatives and suggestions about research topic.

Observation

Observation is a type of qualitative research method which not only included participant's observation, but also covered ethnography and research work in the field. In the observational research design, multiple study sites are involved. Observational data can be integrated as auxiliary or confirmatory research.[ 11 ]

Research can be visualized and perceived as painstaking methodical efforts to examine, investigate as well as restructure the realities, theories and applications. Research methods reflect the approach to tackling the research problem. Depending upon the need, research method could be either an amalgam of both qualitative and quantitative or qualitative or quantitative independently. By adopting qualitative methodology, a prospective researcher is going to fine-tune the pre-conceived notions as well as extrapolate the thought process, analyzing and estimating the issues from an in-depth perspective. This could be carried out by one-to-one interviews or as issue-directed discussions. Observational methods are, sometimes, supplemental means for corroborating research findings.

The Interview Method In Psychology

Saul McLeod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

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Interviews involve a conversation with a purpose, but have some distinct features compared to ordinary conversation, such as being scheduled in advance, having an asymmetry in outcome goals between interviewer and interviewee, and often following a question-answer format.

Interviews are different from questionnaires as they involve social interaction. Unlike questionnaire methods, researchers need training in interviewing (which costs money).

How Do Interviews Work?

Researchers can ask different types of questions, generating different types of data . For example, closed questions provide people with a fixed set of responses, whereas open questions allow people to express what they think in their own words.

The researcher will often record interviews, and the data will be written up as a transcript (a written account of interview questions and answers) which can be analyzed later.

It should be noted that interviews may not be the best method for researching sensitive topics (e.g., truancy in schools, discrimination, etc.) as people may feel more comfortable completing a questionnaire in private.

There are different types of interviews, with a key distinction being the extent of structure. Semi-structured is most common in psychology research. Unstructured interviews have a free-flowing style, while structured interviews involve preset questions asked in a particular order.

Structured Interview

A structured interview is a quantitative research method where the interviewer a set of prepared closed-ended questions in the form of an interview schedule, which he/she reads out exactly as worded.

Interviews schedules have a standardized format, meaning the same questions are asked to each interviewee in the same order (see Fig. 1).

   Figure 1. An example of an interview schedule

The interviewer will not deviate from the interview schedule (except to clarify the meaning of the question) or probe beyond the answers received.  Replies are recorded on a questionnaire, and the order and wording of questions, and sometimes the range of alternative answers, is preset by the researcher.

A structured interview is also known as a formal interview (like a job interview).

• Structured interviews are easy to replicate as a fixed set of closed questions are used, which are easy to quantify – this means it is easy to test for reliability .
• Structured interviews are fairly quick to conduct which means that many interviews can take place within a short amount of time. This means a large sample can be obtained, resulting in the findings being representative and having the ability to be generalized to a large population.

Limitations

• Structured interviews are not flexible. This means new questions cannot be asked impromptu (i.e., during the interview), as an interview schedule must be followed.
• The answers from structured interviews lack detail as only closed questions are asked, which generates quantitative data . This means a researcher won’t know why a person behaves a certain way.

Unstructured Interview

Unstructured interviews do not use any set questions, instead, the interviewer asks open-ended questions based on a specific research topic, and will try to let the interview flow like a natural conversation. The interviewer modifies his or her questions to suit the candidate’s specific experiences.

Unstructured interviews are sometimes referred to as ‘discovery interviews’ and are more like a ‘guided conservation’ than a strictly structured interview. They are sometimes called informal interviews.

Unstructured interviews are most useful in qualitative research to analyze attitudes and values. Though they rarely provide a valid basis for generalization, their main advantage is that they enable the researcher to probe social actors’ subjective points of view.

Interviewer Self-Disclosure

Interviewer self-disclosure involves the interviewer revealing personal information or opinions during the research interview. This may increase rapport but risks changing dynamics away from a focus on facilitating the interviewee’s account.

In unstructured interviews, the informal conversational style may deliberately include elements of interviewer self-disclosure, mirroring ordinary conversation dynamics.

Interviewer self-disclosure risks changing the dynamics away from facilitation of interviewee accounts. It should not be ruled out entirely but requires skillful handling informed by reflection.

• An informal interviewing style with some interviewer self-disclosure may increase rapport and participant openness. However, it also increases the chance of the participant converging opinions with the interviewer.
• Complete interviewer neutrality is unlikely. However, excessive informality and self-disclosure risk the interview becoming more of an ordinary conversation and producing consensus accounts.
• Overly personal disclosures could also be seen as irrelevant and intrusive by participants. They may invite increased intimacy on uncomfortable topics.
• The safest approach seems to be to avoid interviewer self-disclosures in most cases. Where an informal style is used, disclosures require careful judgment and substantial interviewing experience.
• If asked for personal opinions during an interview, the interviewer could highlight the defined roles and defer that discussion until after the interview.
• Unstructured interviews are more flexible as questions can be adapted and changed depending on the respondents’ answers. The interview can deviate from the interview schedule.
• Unstructured interviews generate qualitative data through the use of open questions. This allows the respondent to talk in some depth, choosing their own words. This helps the researcher develop a real sense of a person’s understanding of a situation.
• They also have increased validity because it gives the interviewer the opportunity to probe for a deeper understanding, ask for clarification & allow the interviewee to steer the direction of the interview, etc. Interviewers have the chance to clarify any questions of participants during the interview.
• It can be time-consuming to conduct an unstructured interview and analyze the qualitative data (using methods such as thematic analysis).
• Employing and training interviewers is expensive and not as cheap as collecting data via questionnaires . For example, certain skills may be needed by the interviewer. These include the ability to establish rapport and knowing when to probe.
• Interviews inevitably co-construct data through researchers’ agenda-setting and question-framing. Techniques like open questions provide only limited remedies.

Focus Group Interview

Focus group interview is a qualitative approach where a group of respondents are interviewed together, used to gain an in‐depth understanding of social issues.

This type of interview is often referred to as a focus group because the job of the interviewer ( or moderator ) is to bring the group to focus on the issue at hand. Initially, the goal was to reach a consensus among the group, but with the development of techniques for analyzing group qualitative data, there is less emphasis on consensus building.

The method aims to obtain data from a purposely selected group of individuals rather than from a statistically representative sample of a broader population.

The role of the interview moderator is to make sure the group interacts with each other and do not drift off-topic. Ideally, the moderator will be similar to the participants in terms of appearance, have adequate knowledge of the topic being discussed, and exercise mild unobtrusive control over dominant talkers and shy participants.

A researcher must be highly skilled to conduct a focus group interview. For example, the moderator may need certain skills, including the ability to establish rapport and know when to probe.

• Group interviews generate qualitative narrative data through the use of open questions. This allows the respondents to talk in some depth, choosing their own words. This helps the researcher develop a real sense of a person’s understanding of a situation. Qualitative data also includes observational data, such as body language and facial expressions.
• Group responses are helpful when you want to elicit perspectives on a collective experience, encourage diversity of thought, reduce researcher bias, and gather a wider range of contextualized views.
• They also have increased validity because some participants may feel more comfortable being with others as they are used to talking in groups in real life (i.e., it’s more natural).
• When participants have common experiences, focus groups allow them to build on each other’s comments to provide richer contextual data representing a wider range of views than individual interviews.
• Focus groups are a type of group interview method used in market research and consumer psychology that are cost – effective for gathering the views of consumers .
• The researcher must ensure that they keep all the interviewees” details confidential and respect their privacy. This is difficult when using a group interview. For example, the researcher cannot guarantee that the other people in the group will keep information private.
• Group interviews are less reliable as they use open questions and may deviate from the interview schedule, making them difficult to repeat.
• It is important to note that there are some potential pitfalls of focus groups, such as conformity, social desirability, and oppositional behavior, that can reduce the usefulness of the data collected.

For example, group interviews may sometimes lack validity as participants may lie to impress the other group members. They may conform to peer pressure and give false answers.

To avoid these pitfalls, the interviewer needs to have a good understanding of how people function in groups as well as how to lead the group in a productive discussion.

Semi-Structured Interview

Semi-structured interviews lie between structured and unstructured interviews. The interviewer prepares a set of same questions to be answered by all interviewees. Additional questions might be asked during the interview to clarify or expand certain issues.

In semi-structured interviews, the interviewer has more freedom to digress and probe beyond the answers. The interview guide contains a list of questions and topics that need to be covered during the conversation, usually in a particular order.

Semi-structured interviews are most useful to address the ‘what’, ‘how’, and ‘why’ research questions. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses can be performed on data collected during semi-structured interviews.

• Semi-structured interviews allow respondents to answer more on their terms in an informal setting yet provide uniform information making them ideal for qualitative analysis.
• The flexible nature of semi-structured interviews allows ideas to be introduced and explored during the interview based on the respondents’ answers.
• Semi-structured interviews can provide reliable and comparable qualitative data. Allows the interviewer to probe answers, where the interviewee is asked to clarify or expand on the answers provided.
• The data generated remain fundamentally shaped by the interview context itself. Analysis rarely acknowledges this endemic co-construction.
• They are more time-consuming (to conduct, transcribe, and analyze) than structured interviews.
• The quality of findings is more dependent on the individual skills of the interviewer than in structured interviews. Skill is required to probe effectively while avoiding biasing responses.

The Interviewer Effect

Face-to-face interviews raise methodological problems. These stem from the fact that interviewers are themselves role players, and their perceived status may influence the replies of the respondents.

Because an interview is a social interaction, the interviewer’s appearance or behavior may influence the respondent’s answers. This is a problem as it can bias the results of the study and make them invalid.

For example, the gender, ethnicity, body language, age, and social status of the interview can all create an interviewer effect. If there is a perceived status disparity between the interviewer and the interviewee, the results of interviews have to be interpreted with care. This is pertinent for sensitive topics such as health.

For example, if a researcher was investigating sexism amongst males, would a female interview be preferable to a male? It is possible that if a female interviewer was used, male participants might lie (i.e., pretend they are not sexist) to impress the interviewer, thus creating an interviewer effect.

Flooding interviews with researcher’s agenda

The interactional nature of interviews means the researcher fundamentally shapes the discourse, rather than just neutrally collecting it. This shapes what is talked about and how participants can respond.

• The interviewer’s assumptions, interests, and categories don’t just shape the specific interview questions asked. They also shape the framing, task instructions, recruitment, and ongoing responses/prompts.
• This flooding of the interview interaction with the researcher’s agenda makes it very difficult to separate out what comes from the participant vs. what is aligned with the interviewer’s concerns.
• So the participant’s talk ends up being fundamentally shaped by the interviewer rather than being a more natural reflection of the participant’s own orientations or practices.
• This effect is hard to avoid because interviews inherently involve the researcher setting an agenda. But it does mean the talk extracted may say more about the interview process than the reality it is supposed to reflect.

Interview Design

First, you must choose whether to use a structured or non-structured interview.

Characteristics of Interviewers

Next, you must consider who will be the interviewer, and this will depend on what type of person is being interviewed. There are several variables to consider:

• Gender and age : This can greatly affect respondents’ answers, particularly on personal issues.
• Personal characteristics : Some people are easier to get on with than others. Also, the interviewer’s accent and appearance (e.g., clothing) can affect the rapport between the interviewer and interviewee.
• Language : The interviewer’s language should be appropriate to the vocabulary of the group of people being studied. For example, the researcher must change the questions’ language to match the respondents’ social background” age / educational level / social class/ethnicity, etc.
• Ethnicity : People may have difficulty interviewing people from different ethnic groups.
• Interviewer expertise should match research sensitivity – inexperienced students should avoid interviewing highly vulnerable groups.

Interview Location

The location of a research interview can influence the way in which the interviewer and interviewee relate and may exaggerate a power dynamic in one direction or another. It is usual to offer interviewees a choice of location as part of facilitating their comfort and encouraging participation.

However, the safety of the interviewer is an overriding consideration and, as mentioned, a minimal requirement should be that a responsible person knows where the interviewer has gone and when they are due back.

Remote Interviews

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated remote interviewing for research continuity. However online interview platforms provide increased flexibility even under normal conditions.

They enable access to participant groups across geographical distances without travel costs or arrangements. Online interviews can be efficiently scheduled to align with researcher and interviewee availability.

There are practical considerations in setting up remote interviews. Interviewees require access to internet and an online platform such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Skype through which to connect.

Certain modifications help build initial rapport in the remote format. Allowing time at the start of the interview for casual conversation while testing audio/video quality helps participants settle in. Minor delays can disrupt turn-taking flow, so alerting participants to speak slightly slower than usual minimizes accidental interruptions.

Keeping remote interviews under an hour avoids fatigue for stare at a screen. Seeking advanced ethical clearance for verbal consent at the interview start saves participant time. Adapting to the remote context shows care for interviewees and aids rich discussion.

However, it remains important to critically reflect on how removing in-person dynamics may shape the co-created data. Perhaps some nuances of trust and disclosure differ over video.

Vulnerable Groups

The interviewer must ensure that they take special care when interviewing vulnerable groups, such as children. For example, children have a limited attention span, so lengthy interviews should be avoided.

Developing an Interview Schedule

An interview schedule is a list of pre-planned, structured questions that have been prepared, to serve as a guide for interviewers, researchers and investigators in collecting information or data about a specific topic or issue.

• List the key themes or topics that must be covered to address your research questions. This will form the basic content.
• Organize the content logically, such as chronologically following the interviewee’s experiences. Place more sensitive topics later in the interview.
• Develop the list of content into actual questions and prompts. Carefully word each question – keep them open-ended, non-leading, and focused on examples.
• Add prompts to remind you to cover areas of interest.
• Pilot test the interview schedule to check it generates useful data and revise as needed.
• Be prepared to refine the schedule throughout data collection as you learn which questions work better.
• Practice skills like asking follow-up questions to get depth and detail. Stay flexible to depart from the schedule when needed.
• Keep questions brief and clear. Avoid multi-part questions that risk confusing interviewees.
• Listen actively during interviews to determine which pre-planned questions can be skipped based on information the participant has already provided.

The key is balancing preparation with the flexibility to adapt questions based on each interview interaction. With practice, you’ll gain skills to conduct productive interviews that obtain rich qualitative data.

The Power of Silence

Strategic use of silence is a key technique to generate interviewee-led data, but it requires judgment about appropriate timing and duration to maintain mutual understanding.

• Unlike ordinary conversation, the interviewer aims to facilitate the interviewee’s contribution without interrupting. This often means resisting the urge to speak at the end of the interviewee’s turn construction units (TCUs).
• Leaving a silence after a TCU encourages the interviewee to provide more material without being led by the interviewer. However, this simple technique requires confidence, as silence can feel socially awkward.
• Allowing longer silences (e.g. 24 seconds) later in interviews can work well, but early on even short silences may disrupt rapport if they cause misalignment between speakers.
• Silence also allows interviewees time to think before answering. Rushing to re-ask or amend questions can limit responses.
• Blunt backchannels like “mm hm” also avoid interrupting flow. Interruptions, especially to finish an interviewee’s turn, are problematic as they make the ownership of perspectives unclear.
• If interviewers incorrectly complete turns, an upside is it can produce extended interviewee narratives correcting the record. However, silence would have been better to let interviewees shape their own accounts.

Recording & Transcription

Design choices.

Design choices around recording and engaging closely with transcripts influence analytic insights, as well as practical feasibility. Weighing up relevant tradeoffs is key.

• Audio recording is standard, but video better captures contextual details, which is useful for some topics/analysis approaches. Participants may find video invasive for sensitive research.
• Digital formats enable the sharing of anonymized clips. Additional microphones reduce audio issues.
• Doing all transcription is time-consuming. Outsourcing can save researcher effort but needs confidentiality assurances. Always carefully check outsourced transcripts.
• Online platform auto-captioning can facilitate rapid analysis, but accuracy limitations mean full transcripts remain ideal. Software cleans up caption file formatting.
• Verbatim transcripts best capture nuanced meaning, but the level of detail needed depends on the analysis approach. Referring back to recordings is still advisable during analysis.
• Transcripts versus recordings highlight different interaction elements. Transcripts make overt disagreements clearer through the wording itself. Recordings better convey tone affiliativeness.

Transcribing Interviews & Focus Groups

Here are the steps for transcribing interviews:

• Play back audio/video files to develop an overall understanding of the interview
• Format the transcription document:
• Add line numbers
• Separate interviewer questions and interviewee responses
• Use formatting like bold, italics, etc. to highlight key passages
• Provide sentence-level clarity in the interviewee’s responses while preserving their authentic voice and word choices
• Break longer passages into smaller paragraphs to help with coding
• If translating the interview to another language, use qualified translators and back-translate where possible
• Select a notation system to indicate pauses, emphasis, laughter, interruptions, etc., and adapt it as needed for your data
• Insert screenshots, photos, or documents discussed in the interview at the relevant point in the transcript
• Read through multiple times, revising formatting and notations
• Double-check the accuracy of transcription against audio/videos
• De-identify transcript by removing identifying participant details

The goal is to produce a formatted written record of the verbal interview exchange that captures the meaning and highlights important passages ready for the coding process. Careful transcription is the vital first step in analysis.

Coding Transcripts

The goal of transcription and coding is to systematically transform interview responses into a set of codes and themes that capture key concepts, experiences and beliefs expressed by participants. Taking care with transcription and coding procedures enhances the validity of qualitative analysis .

• Read through the transcript multiple times to become immersed in the details
• Identify manifest/obvious codes and latent/underlying meaning codes
• Highlight insightful participant quotes that capture key concepts (in vivo codes)
• Create a codebook to organize and define codes with examples
• Use an iterative cycle of inductive (data-driven) coding and deductive (theory-driven) coding
• Refine codebook with clear definitions and examples as you code more transcripts
• Collaborate with other coders to establish the reliability of codes

Ethical Issues

Informed consent.

The participant information sheet must give potential interviewees a good idea of what is involved if taking part in the research.

This will include the general topics covered in the interview, where the interview might take place, how long it is expected to last, how it will be recorded, the ways in which participants’ anonymity will be managed, and incentives offered.

It might be considered good practice to consider true informed consent in interview research to require two distinguishable stages:

• Consent to undertake and record the interview and
• Consent to use the material in research after the interview has been conducted and the content known, or even after the interviewee has seen a copy of the transcript and has had a chance to remove sections, if desired.

Power and Vulnerability

• Early feminist views that sensitivity could equalize power differences are likely naive. The interviewer and interviewee inhabit different knowledge spheres and social categories, indicating structural disparities.
• Power fluctuates within interviews. Researchers rely on participation, yet interviewees control openness and can undermine data collection. Assumptions should be avoided.
• Interviews on sensitive topics may feel like quasi-counseling. Interviewers must refrain from dual roles, instead supplying support service details to all participants.
• Interviewees recruited for trauma experiences may reveal more than anticipated. While generating analytic insights, this risks leaving them feeling exposed.
• Ultimately, power balances resist reconciliation. But reflexively analyzing operations of power serves to qualify rather than nullify situtated qualitative accounts.

Some groups, like those with mental health issues, extreme views, or criminal backgrounds, risk being discredited – treated skeptically by researchers.

This creates tensions with qualitative approaches, often having an empathetic ethos seeking to center subjective perspectives. Analysis should balance openness to offered accounts with critically examining stakes and motivations behind them.

Potter, J., & Hepburn, A. (2005). Qualitative interviews in psychology: Problems and possibilities.  Qualitative research in Psychology ,  2 (4), 281-307.

Houtkoop-Steenstra, H. (2000). Interaction and the standardized survey interview: The living questionnaire . Cambridge University Press

Madill, A. (2011). Interaction in the semi-structured interview: A comparative analysis of the use of and response to indirect complaints. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 8 (4), 333–353.

Maryudi, A., & Fisher, M. (2020). The power in the interview: A practical guide for identifying the critical role of actor interests in environment research. Forest and Society, 4 (1), 142–150

O’Key, V., Hugh-Jones, S., & Madill, A. (2009). Recruiting and engaging with people in deprived locales: Interviewing families about their eating patterns. Social Psychological Review, 11 (20), 30–35.

Puchta, C., & Potter, J. (2004). Focus group practice . Sage.

Schaeffer, N. C. (1991). Conversation with a purpose— Or conversation? Interaction in the standardized interview. In P. P. Biemer, R. M. Groves, L. E. Lyberg, & N. A. Mathiowetz (Eds.), Measurement errors in surveys (pp. 367–391). Wiley.

Silverman, D. (1973). Interview talk: Bringing off a research instrument. Sociology, 7 (1), 31–48.

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• Types of Interviews in Research | Guide & Examples

Types of Interviews in Research | Guide & Examples

Published on 4 May 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on 10 October 2022.

An interview is a qualitative research method that relies on asking questions in order to collect data . Interviews involve two or more people, one of whom is the interviewer asking the questions.

There are several types of interviews, often differentiated by their level of structure. Structured interviews have predetermined questions asked in a predetermined order. Unstructured interviews are more free-flowing, and semi-structured interviews fall in between.

Interviews are commonly used in market research, social science, and ethnographic research.

Table of contents

What is a structured interview, what is a semi-structured interview, what is an unstructured interview, what is a focus group, examples of interview questions, advantages and disadvantages of interviews, frequently asked questions about types of interviews.

Structured interviews have predetermined questions in a set order. They are often closed-ended, featuring dichotomous (yes/no) or multiple-choice questions. While open-ended structured interviews exist, they are much less common. The types of questions asked make structured interviews a predominantly quantitative tool.

Asking set questions in a set order can help you see patterns among responses, and it allows you to easily compare responses between participants while keeping other factors constant. This can mitigate biases and lead to higher reliability and validity. However, structured interviews can be overly formal, as well as limited in scope and flexibility.

• You feel very comfortable with your topic. This will help you formulate your questions most effectively.
• You have limited time or resources. Structured interviews are a bit more straightforward to analyse because of their closed-ended nature, and can be a doable undertaking for an individual.
• Your research question depends on holding environmental conditions between participants constant

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Semi-structured interviews are a blend of structured and unstructured interviews. While the interviewer has a general plan for what they want to ask, the questions do not have to follow a particular phrasing or order.

Semi-structured interviews are often open-ended, allowing for flexibility, but follow a predetermined thematic framework, giving a sense of order. For this reason, they are often considered ‘the best of both worlds’.

However, if the questions differ substantially between participants, it can be challenging to look for patterns, lessening the generalisability and validity of your results.

• You have prior interview experience. It’s easier than you think to accidentally ask a leading question when coming up with questions on the fly. Overall, spontaneous questions are much more difficult than they may seem.
• Your research question is exploratory in nature. The answers you receive can help guide your future research.

An unstructured interview is the most flexible type of interview. The questions and the order in which they are asked are not set. Instead, the interview can proceed more spontaneously, based on the participant’s previous answers.

Unstructured interviews are by definition open-ended. This flexibility can help you gather detailed information on your topic, while still allowing you to observe patterns between participants.

However, so much flexibility means that they can be very challenging to conduct properly. You must be very careful not to ask leading questions, as biased responses can lead to lower reliability or even invalidate your research.

• You have a solid background in your research topic and have conducted interviews before
• Your research question is exploratory in nature, and you are seeking descriptive data that will deepen and contextualise your initial hypotheses
• Your research necessitates forming a deeper connection with your participants, encouraging them to feel comfortable revealing their true opinions and emotions

A focus group brings together a group of participants to answer questions on a topic of interest in a moderated setting. Focus groups are qualitative in nature and often study the group’s dynamic and body language in addition to their answers. Responses can guide future research on consumer products and services, human behaviour, or controversial topics.

Focus groups can provide more nuanced and unfiltered feedback than individual interviews and are easier to organise than experiments or large surveys. However, their small size leads to low external validity and the temptation as a researcher to ‘cherry-pick’ responses that fit your hypotheses.

• Your research focuses on the dynamics of group discussion or real-time responses to your topic
• Your questions are complex and rooted in feelings, opinions, and perceptions that cannot be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’
• Your topic is exploratory in nature, and you are seeking information that will help you uncover new questions or future research ideas

Depending on the type of interview you are conducting, your questions will differ in style, phrasing, and intention. Structured interview questions are set and precise, while the other types of interviews allow for more open-endedness and flexibility.

Here are some examples.

• Semi-structured
• Unstructured
• Focus group
• Do you like dogs? Yes/No
• Do you associate dogs with feeling: happy; somewhat happy; neutral; somewhat unhappy; unhappy
• If yes, name one attribute of dogs that you like.
• If no, name one attribute of dogs that you don’t like.
• What feelings do dogs bring out in you?
• When you think more deeply about this, what experiences would you say your feelings are rooted in?

Interviews are a great research tool. They allow you to gather rich information and draw more detailed conclusions than other research methods, taking into consideration nonverbal cues, off-the-cuff reactions, and emotional responses.

However, they can also be time-consuming and deceptively challenging to conduct properly. Smaller sample sizes can cause their validity and reliability to suffer, and there is an inherent risk of interviewer effect arising from accidentally leading questions.

Here are some advantages and disadvantages of each type of interview that can help you decide if you’d like to utilise this research method.

The four most common types of interviews are:

• Structured interviews : The questions are predetermined in both topic and order.
• Semi-structured interviews : A few questions are predetermined, but other questions aren’t planned.
• Unstructured interviews : None of the questions are predetermined.
• Focus group interviews : The questions are presented to a group instead of one individual.

A structured interview is a data collection method that relies on asking questions in a set order to collect data on a topic. They are often quantitative in nature. Structured interviews are best used when:

• You already have a very clear understanding of your topic. Perhaps significant research has already been conducted, or you have done some prior research yourself, but you already possess a baseline for designing strong structured questions.
• You are constrained in terms of time or resources and need to analyse your data quickly and efficiently
• Your research question depends on strong parity between participants, with environmental conditions held constant

More flexible interview options include semi-structured interviews , unstructured interviews , and focus groups .

A semi-structured interview is a blend of structured and unstructured types of interviews. Semi-structured interviews are best used when:

• You have prior interview experience. Spontaneous questions are deceptively challenging, and it’s easy to accidentally ask a leading question or make a participant uncomfortable.
• Your research question is exploratory in nature. Participant answers can guide future research questions and help you develop a more robust knowledge base for future research.

An unstructured interview is the most flexible type of interview, but it is not always the best fit for your research topic.

Unstructured interviews are best used when:

• You are an experienced interviewer and have a very strong background in your research topic, since it is challenging to ask spontaneous, colloquial questions
• Your research question is exploratory in nature. While you may have developed hypotheses, you are open to discovering new or shifting viewpoints through the interview process.
• You are seeking descriptive data, and are ready to ask questions that will deepen and contextualise your initial thoughts and hypotheses
• Your research depends on forming connections with your participants and making them feel comfortable revealing deeper emotions, lived experiences, or thoughts

The interviewer effect is a type of bias that emerges when a characteristic of an interviewer (race, age, gender identity, etc.) influences the responses given by the interviewee.

There is a risk of an interviewer effect in all types of interviews , but it can be mitigated by writing really high-quality interview questions.

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Preparation is Key – Research before an Interview / Assessment

You do all the hardwork from drafting a good CV, cover-letter to balancing your time in-between applying for jobs and attending University. Then comes the grand finale with you being invited to the interview or the assessment centre. Everybody around you will tell you a good percentage of being successful at the interview stage is to have done the background research well. But how exactly and what do you have to do to know the company well? Quite often it can be a forgiven thinking that you don’t need to know much about the company, after all you haven’t worked there before? Unfortunately that is not the case. As the saying goes, if you fail to prepare you prepare to fail.

As a graduate and an intern myself, I understand how difficult it is to do the background research on companies and it is very easy to get drifted from one topic or news to another. Now, since I have done OK for myself, I thought it’s good to share with you some good tips on a successful background research for an interview.

Google the company

First and foremost tip, Google the name of the company you will interview for. Now, the first result will always be the official homepage of the company and you need to go through the website in detail. Read the News or Press Release section. Check if they have a Careers tab and check for any job profile videos or texts. Scrawl the website like a spider.

What is more important than above (yes) is to look at the results post second and third entries on the first page. This is where external news both, good and bad starts coming in. pdf reports and related documents start appearing and this will improve your knowledge about the company. Nothing impresses an interviewer more than speaking about stuff you have learnt from outside the organisation. Sometimes you know something that can raise an eyebrow on the other side of the table or some heads turn, trust me that is when you know, you hit a certain level with the interviewer(s). Although don’t overdo it unless you are interviewing for secret services!

Use Online Graduate Job Resources

Graduates and students often think there is nothing to help them know the details of the interview/assessment or the nitty-gritty stuff of the big day. It is not true. Yes you will not know everything about the day, but you don’t need to know it. What you can know is what are the types of interview questions, or what have been the other candidates experience.

Another good resource on the bloc at the moment is The Job Crowd . These are real people (maybe nameless) writing about their position and what exactly does their role include. This will help you get keywords to use in interview and also a good view of what you might want to base your interview research preparation on.

Apart from these two, you can try The Student Room , though it has not impressed me a 100%.

Research using Social Newtorks

Yes, when I say social networks it means Facebook , Twitter and LinkedIn . In these three Facebook is my least favourite and least helpful way of doing research as it caters a community with ‘gossip-nature’ and companies that post on facebook usually share entertainment value information.

LinkedIn is less useful to research about the company but more useful to get some background on the job. You can search for Condition Monitoring and see what the job role involves across different organisation and again this will help you with concrete information during interview.

Tried Apture – be smart!

Apture is an unorthodox way of doing a research for an interview or assessment. Infact it is not a method it is a tool. What apture does is, you can highlight a word or phrase and a pop up box will come up showing you internet information about the word or phrase. it’s a simple online installation for Chrome users. Try it. It is also available for other browsers. An example of it –

A very useful tool for search and information. It will help you research on any company or technology (for engineers) without having to move away from the main topic instantly.

Use Career Geek

You can either call this self-marketing or a good act. What Career Geek blog is trying to do is speak to graduates and students doing the job in providing helpful tips about the job interview process, applications or other information that can help you. At the time of writing we have information about finding graduate job with KPMG , job with Nationwide as a banking analyst , or an entry level job with Law Firm and more information about other jobs will be flowing in. You can also use other information available by using the search box on the Home page.

These are some of the basic tips about doing a background research on company before an interview or assessment. Hope it helps you in preparing for your interview or assessment.

About the author

Faizan Patankar

I started Career Geek Blog in 2011 to share my experience in job-hunting. I now focus on careers industry and blogging is just a tool to share that info. Love hacking careers. During the day I focus on my hobby - Engineering.

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Another good source is http://www.whataretheyreallylike.com – a site dedicated to providing employee reviews of their employer. All submitted anonymously, and there is a forum section where you can discuss it with other job seekers, too.

50+ Most Common Interview Questions and Answers

Wouldn’t it be great if you knew exactly what questions a hiring manager would be asking you in your next job interview ?

We can’t read minds, unfortunately, but we’ll give you the next best thing: a list of 53 of the most commonly asked interview questions and answers, along with advice on how to come up with your own responses.

While we don’t recommend having a canned response for every interview question (in fact, please don’t), we do recommend spending some time getting comfortable with what you might be asked, what hiring managers are really looking for in your responses, and what it takes to show that you’re the right person for the job.

Land more interviews by looking for more open jobs on The Muse »

Consider this list your job interview answer and question study guide. (And don’t miss our bonus list at the end, with links to resources on specific types of interview questions—about emotional intelligence or diversity and inclusion , for example—and interview questions by role, from accountant to project manager to teacher.)

50+ most common job interview questions and answers

1. tell me about yourself..

This question seems simple, so many people fail to prepare for it, but it’s crucial. Here's the deal: Don’t give your complete employment (or personal) history. Instead, give a pitch—one that’s concise and compelling and that shows exactly why you’re the right fit for the job. Muse writer and MIT career counselor Lily Zhang recommends using a present, past, future formula. Talk a little bit about your current role (including the scope and perhaps one big accomplishment), then give some background as to how you got there and experience you have that’s relevant. Finally, segue into why you want—and would be perfect for—this role.

Possible answer to “Tell me about yourself.”

“ Well, I’m currently an account executive at Smith, where I handle our top-performing client. Before that, I worked at an agency where I was on three different major national healthcare brands. And while I really enjoyed the work that I did, I’d love the chance to dig in much deeper with one specific healthcare company, which is why I’m so excited about this opportunity with Metro Health Center.”

Read More: A Complete Guide to Answering “Tell Me About Yourself” in an Interview (Plus Examples!)

2. Walk me through your resume.

Like “Tell me about yourself,” this question is a common interview opener. But instead of framing your answer around what qualities and skills make you best for the position, your answer should group your qualifications by your past jobs and tell your career story. You might choose to tell this story chronologically, especially if there’s a great anecdote about what set you on this path. Or, as with “Tell me about yourself,” you can begin with your present job then talk about what brought you here and where you’re going next. But regardless, when you speak about your “past” and “present,” highlight your most relevant experiences and accomplishments for this job and wrap up by talking about the future, i.e. connect your past and present together to show why this job should be the next one you add to your resume.

Possible answer to “Walk me through your resume.”

“Well, as you can see from my resume, I took a bit of a winding road to get to where I am today. In college, I double majored in chemistry and communications. I found early on that working in a lab all day wasn’t for me and at some point I realized I looked forward to the lab class I TA’ed the most.

“So when I graduated, I found a job in sales for a consumer healthcare products company, where I drew on my teaching experience and learned even more about tailoring your message and explaining complex health concepts to people without a science background. Then, I moved into a sales training role at a massive company where I was responsible for teaching recent graduates the basics of selling. My trainees on average had more deals closed in their first quarter than any of the other trainers’ cohorts. Plus, I got so much satisfaction from finding the right way to train each new hire and watching them progress and succeed. It reminded me of my time as a TA in college. That’s when I started taking night classes to earn my chemistry teaching certificate.

“I left my full-time job last year to complete my student teaching at P.S. 118 in Manhattan, and over the summer, I worked for a science camp, teaching kids from the ages of 10 to 12 about basic chemistry concepts and best practices for safe experiments. Now, I’m excited to find my first full-time teaching job, and your district is my top choice. The low student-to-teacher ratio will let me take the time to teach each student in the best way for them—which is my favorite part of the job.”

Read More: How to Respond to “Walk Me Through Your Resume”—and Get Your Interview Started on the Right Note

3. How did you hear about this position?

Another seemingly innocuous interview question, this is actually a perfect opportunity to stand out and show your passion for and connection to the company. For example, if you found out about the gig through a friend or professional contact, name-drop that person, then share why you were so excited about the job. If you discovered the company through an event or article, share that. Even if you found the listing through a random job board, share what, specifically, caught your eye about the role.

Possible answer to “How did you hear about this position?”

  “I heard about an opening on the product team through a friend of a friend, Akiko, and since I’m a big fan of your work and have been following you for a while I decided it would be a great role for me to apply for.” Read More: 3 Ways People Mess Up the (Simple) Answer to “How Did You Come Across This Job Opportunity?”

4. Why do you want to work at this company?

Beware of generic answers! If what you say can apply to a whole slew of other companies, or if your response makes you sound like every other candidate, you’re missing an opportunity to stand out. Zhang recommends one of four strategies: Do your research and point to something that makes the company unique that really appeals to you; talk about how you’ve watched the company grow and change since you first heard of it; focus on the organization’s opportunities for future growth and how you can contribute to it; or share what’s gotten you excited from your interactions with employees so far. Whichever route you choose, make sure to be specific. And if you can’t figure out why you’d want to work at the company you’re interviewing with by the time you’re well into the hiring process? It might be a red flag telling you that this position is not the right fit.

Possible answer to “Why do you want to work at this company?”

“I saw on The Muse that you were also hiring for new positions on the West Coast to support your new operations there. I did some more reading about the new data center you’re building there and that excites me as I know this means there’ll be opportunities to train new teammates. I also learned through a Wall Street Journal article that you’re expanding in Mexico as well. I speak Spanish fluently and would be eager to step up and help liaise whenever necessary.”

Read More: 4 Better Ways to Answer “Why Do You Want to Work at This Company?”

5. Why do you want this job?

Again, companies want to hire people who are passionate about the job, so you should have a great answer about why you want the position. (And if you don’t? You probably should apply elsewhere.) First, identify a couple of key factors that make the role a great fit for you (e.g., “I love customer support because I love the constant human interaction and the satisfaction that comes from helping someone solve a problem”), then share why you love the company (e.g., “I’ve always been passionate about education, and I think you’re doing great things, so I want to be a part of it”).

Possible answer to “Why do you want this job?”

“I’ve always been a fan of X Co’s products and I’ve spent countless hours playing your games. I know that your focus on unique stories is what drew me and other fans into your games initially and keeps us coming back for more. I’ve followed X Co on social media for a while, and I’ve always loved how you have people in different departments interact with users. So I was psyched when I came across this posting for a social media manager with TikTok experience. At my last job, I was responsible for launching our TikTok account and growing it to 10,000 followers in six months. Between that experience, my love of gaming, and my deep knowledge of your games and fanbase, I know I could make this TikTok account something special and exciting.”

Read More: 3 Steps for Answering “Why Do You Want This Job?”

6. Why should we hire you?

This interview question seems forward (not to mention intimidating!), but if you’re asked it, you’re in luck: There’s no better setup for you to sell yourself and your skills to the hiring manager. Your job here is to craft an answer that covers three things: that you can not only do the work, but also deliver great results; that you’ll really fit in with the team and culture; and that you’d be a better hire than any of the other candidates.

Possible answer to “Why should we hire you?”

“ I know it’s been an exciting time for General Tech—growing so much and acquiring several startups—but I also know from experience that it can be challenging for the sales team to understand how new products fit in with the existing ones. It’s always easier to sell the product you know, so the newer stuff can get shortchanged, which can have company-wide ramifications. I have over a decade of experience as a sales trainer, but more importantly, most of those years were working with sales teams that were in the exact same boat Gen Tech is in now. Growth is wonderful, but only if the rest of the company can keep up. I’m confident I can make sure your sales team is confident and enthusiastic about selling new products by implementing an ongoing sales training curriculum that emphasizes where they sit in a product lineup.”

Read More: 3 Better Ways to Answer “Why Should We Hire You?”

7. What can you bring to the company?

When interviewers ask this question, they don’t just want to hear about your background. They want to see that you understand what problems and challenges they’re facing as a company or department as well as how you’ll fit into the existing organization. Read the job description closely, do your research on the company, and make sure you pay attention in your early round interviews to understand any issues you’re being hired to solve. Then, the key is to connect your skills and experiences to what the company needs and share an example that shows how you’ve done similar or transferable work in the past.

Possible answer to “What can you bring to the company?”

“As Jocelyn talked about in our interview earlier, PopCo is looking to expand its market to small business owners with less than 25 employees, so I’d bring my expertise in this area and my experience in guiding a sales team that’s selling to these customers for the first time. In most of my past roles, this segment has been my focus and in my current role, I also played a big part in creating our sales strategies when the business began selling to these customers. I worked with my managers to develop the sales script. I also listened in on a number of sales calls with other account execs who were selling to these customers for the first time and gave them pointers and other feedback. In the first quarter, our 10-person sales team closed 50 new bookings in this segment, and I personally closed 10 of those deals. I helped guide my last company through the expansion into small businesses, and I’m eager to do that again at PopCo. Plus, I noticed you have a monthly karaoke night—so I’m eager to bring my rendition of ‘Call Me Maybe’ to the team as well.”

Read More : What Interviewers Really Want to Hear When They Ask “What Can You Bring to the Company?”

8. What are your greatest strengths?

Here’s an opening to talk about something that makes you great—and a great fit for this role. When you’re answering this question, think quality, not quantity. In other words, don’t rattle off a list of adjectives. Instead, pick one or a few (depending on the question) specific qualities that are relevant to this position and illustrate them with examples. Stories are always more memorable than generalizations. And if there’s something you were hoping to mention because it makes you a great candidate, but you haven’t had a chance yet, this would be the perfect time.

Possible answer to “What are your greatest strengths?”

“ I’d say one of my greatest strengths is bringing organization to hectic environments and implementing processes to make everyone’s lives easier. In my current role as an executive assistant to a CEO, I created new processes for pretty much everything, from scheduling meetings to planning monthly all hands agendas to preparing for event appearances. Everyone in the company knew how things worked and how long they would take, and the structures helped alleviate stress and set expectations on all sides. I’d be excited to bring that same approach to an operations manager role at a startup, where everything is new and constantly growing and could use just the right amount of structure to keep things running smoothly.”

Read More: 3 Smart Strategies for Answering “What's Your Greatest Strength?”

9. What do you consider to be your weaknesses?

What your interviewer is really trying to do with this question—beyond identifying any major red flags—is to gauge your self-awareness and honesty. So, “I can’t meet a deadline to save my life” is not an option—but neither is “Nothing! I’m perfect!” Strike a balance by thinking of something that you struggle with but that you’re working to improve. For example, maybe you’ve never been strong at public speaking, but you’ve recently volunteered to run meetings to help you get more comfortable when addressing a crowd.

Possible answer to “What do you consider to be your weaknesses?”

“It can be difficult for me to gauge when the people I’m working with are overwhelmed or dissatisfied with their workloads. To ensure that I’m not asking too much or too little from my team, we have weekly check-ins. I like to ask if they feel like they’re on top of their workload, how I could better support them, whether there’s anything they’d like to take on or get rid of, and if they’re engaged by what they’re doing. Even if the answer is ‘all good,’ these meetings really lay the groundwork for a good and trusting relationship.”

Read More: 4 Ways to Answer “What Is Your Greatest Weakness?” That Actually Sound Believable

10. What is your greatest professional achievement?

Nothing says “hire me” better than a track record of achieving amazing results in past jobs, so don’t be shy when answering this interview question! A great way to do so is by using the STAR method : situation, task, action, results. Set up the situation and the task that you were required to complete to provide the interviewer with background context (e.g., “In my last job as a junior analyst, it was my role to manage the invoicing process”), then describe what you did (the action) and what you achieved (the result): “In one month, I streamlined the process, which saved my group 10 person-hours each month and reduced errors on invoices by 25%.”

Possible answer to “What is your greatest professional achievement?”

“My greatest accomplishment was when I helped the street lighting company I worked for convince the small town of Bend, Oregon to convert antiquated street lighting to energy-efficient LED bulbs. My role was created to promote and sell the energy-efficient bulbs, while touting the long-term advantage of reduced energy costs. I had to develop a way to educate city light officials on the value of our energy-efficient bulbs—which was a challenge since our products had an expensive up-front cost compared to less efficient lighting options. I created an information packet and held local community events aimed at city officials and the tax-paying public. There, I was able to demo the company product, answer questions, and evangelize the value of LED bulbs for the long term. It was crucial to have the public on board and I was able to reach a wide variety of community members with these events. I not only reached my first-year sales goal of $100,000, but I was also able to help us land another contract in a neighboring city. Plus, the community-focused strategy garnered attention from the national media. And I’m proud to say I got a promotion within one year to senior sales representative.”

Read More: The Perfect Formula for Answering “What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment” in an Interview

11. Tell me about a challenge or conflict you’ve faced at work, and how you dealt with it.

You’re probably not eager to talk about conflicts you’ve had at work during a job interview. But if you’re asked directly, don’t pretend you’ve never had one. Be honest about a difficult situation you’ve faced (but without going into the kind of detail you’d share venting to a friend). “Most people who ask are only looking for evidence that you’re willing to face these kinds of issues head-on and make a sincere attempt at coming to a resolution,” former recruiter Richard Moy says. Stay calm and professional as you tell the story (and answer any follow-up questions), spend more time talking about the resolution than the conflict, and mention what you’d do differently next time to show “you’re open to learning from tough experiences.”

Possible answer to “Tell me about a challenge or conflict you’ve faced at work, and how you dealt with it.”

“ Funnily enough, last year I was part of a committee that put together a training on conflict intervention in the workplace and the amount of pushback we got for requiring attendance really put our training to the test. There was one senior staff member in particular who seemed adamant. It took some careful listening to understand he felt like it wasn’t the best use of his time given the workload he was juggling. I made sure to acknowledge his concern. And then I focused on his direct objection and explained how the training was meant to improve not just the culture of the company, but also the efficiency at which we operated—and that the goal was for the training to make everyone’s workload feel lighter. He did eventually attend and was there when I talked to the whole staff about identifying the root issue of a conflict and addressing that directly without bringing in other issues, which is how I aim to handle any disagreement in the workplace.”

Read More: 3 Ways You’re Messing Up the Answer to “Tell Me About a Conflict You’ve Faced at Work”

12. Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership skills.

You don’t have to have a fancy title to act like a leader or demonstrate leadership skills. Think about a time when you headed up a project, took the initiative to propose an alternate process, or helped motivate your team to get something done. Then use the STAR method to tell your interviewer a story, giving enough detail to paint a picture (but not so much that you start rambling) and making sure you spell out the result. In other words, be clear about why you’re telling this particular story and connect all the dots for the interviewer.

Possible answer to “Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership skills.”

“I think that a good leader is someone who can make decisions while also listening to others and being willing to admit when you’re wrong and course correct. In my last role, my team and I were responsible for giving a big presentation to a prospective client. I quickly assigned different tasks to members of my team, but the project never really got moving. I gave everyone an opportunity to share their input and concerns, and it turned out that they were struggling in the roles I’d given them. I ended up switching a few people around. Meanwhile, the employee I’d assigned to give the presentation was nervous, but still wanted to give it a try. I worked with them to make sure they were ready and even held a practice session so that they could rehearse in a more comfortable environment. When the time came for the real thing, they nailed it! We landed the client and the company still has the account to this day. And that employee became a go-to person for important client presentations. I’m really glad I took the time to listen to everyone’s concerns so that I could re-evaluate my approach and help my team be the best it could be.”

Read More: The Best Way to Answer “Tell Me About a Time You Demonstrated Leadership Skills” in a Job Interview

13. What’s a time you disagreed with a decision that was made at work?

The ideal anecdote here is one where you handled a disagreement professionally and learned something from the experience. Zhang recommends paying particular attention to how you start and end your response. To open, make a short statement to frame the rest of your answer, one that nods at the ultimate takeaway or the reason you’re telling this story. For example: “I learned early on in my professional career that it’s fine to disagree if you can back up your hunches with data.” And to close strong, you can either give a one-sentence summary of your answer (“In short…”) or talk briefly about how what you learned or gained from this experience would help you in the role you’re interviewing for.

Possible answer to “What’s a time you disagreed with a decision that was made at work?”

“In my job as a finance assistant, I was in charge of putting together reports for potential company investments. It was important to get the details and numbers right so that leaders had the best information to make a decision. One time, my boss asked me to generate a new report on a Wednesday morning and wanted it done by Thursday at 5 PM. Because I’m committed to high-quality work and I wasn’t sure my boss fully understood what goes into each report, I knew I needed to speak up. At her next available opening, I sat down with my boss and explained my concerns. She was firm that the report would be completed by Thursday at 5 PM. So I decided to ask if there was anyone who could help out. After thinking about it, my boss found another assistant who could put in a few hours. While it was a tight timeline, we got the report done, and the committee was really pleased to review it at the meeting. My boss appreciated my extra efforts to make it happen and I felt good that I hadn’t let the quality of the report slip. It was a good experience of being a team player but also knowing when and how to ask for help. And once I explained how much time and work goes into each report, my boss was careful to assign them further in advance.”

Read More: Here’s the Secret to Answering “Tell Me About a Time You Had a Conflict With Your Boss” in an Interview

14. Tell me about a time you made a mistake.

You’re probably not too eager to dig into past blunders when you’re trying to impress an interviewer and land a job. But talking about a mistake and winning someone over aren’t mutually exclusive, Moy says. In fact, if you do it right, it can help you. The key is to be honest without placing blame on other people, then explain what you learned from your mistake and what actions you took to ensure it didn’t happen again. At the end of the day, employers are looking for folks who are self-aware, can take feedback, and care about doing better.

Possible answer to “Tell me about a time you made a mistake.”

“Early in my career, I missed a deadline that ended up costing us a really big account. There were a lot of factors that contributed to this, but ultimately, I was the one who dropped the ball. From that experience, I went back and thought really hard about what I could’ve controlled and what I would’ve changed. It turns out that I was not nearly as organized as I thought I was. I sat down with my boss, asked for suggestions on how to improve my organizational skills, and a few months later I was able to score an even bigger account for the department.”

Read More: 3 Rules That Guarantee You'll Nail the Answer to “Tell Me About a Time You Made a Mistake”

15. Tell me about a time you failed.

This question is very similar to the one about making a mistake, and you should approach your answer in much the same way. Make sure you pick a real, actual failure you can speak honestly about. Start by making it clear to the interviewer how you define failure. For instance: “As a manager, I consider it a failure whenever I’m caught by surprise. I strive to know what’s going on with my team and their work.” Then situate your story in relation to that definition and explain what happened. Finally, don’t forget to share what you learned. It’s OK to fail—everyone does sometimes—but it’s important to show that you took something from the experience.

Possible answer to “Tell me about a time you failed.”

“ As a team manager, I consider it a failure if I don’t know what’s going on with my staff and their work—basically if a problem catches me by surprise then I’ve failed somewhere along the way. Even if the outcome is ultimately fine, it means I’ve left a team member unsupported at some point. A somewhat recent example would be this training we do every year for new project managers. Because it’s an event that my team has run so many times, I didn’t think to check in and had no idea a scheduling conflict was brewing into a full-on turf war with another team. The resolution actually ended up being a quick and easy conversation at the leadership team meeting, but had I just asked about it sooner it would never have been a problem to begin with. I definitely learned my lesson about setting reminders to check in about major projects or events even if they’ve been done dozens of times before.”

Read More: 4 Steps for Answering “Tell Me About a Time When You Failed”

16. Why are you leaving your current job?

This is a toughie, but one you can be sure you’ll be asked. Definitely keep things positive—you have nothing to gain by being negative about your current employer. Instead, frame things in a way that shows that you’re eager to take on new opportunities and that the role you’re interviewing for is a better fit for you. For example, “I’d really love to be part of product development from beginning to end, and I know I’d have that opportunity here.” And if you were let go from your most recent job? Keep it simple: “Unfortunately, I was let go,” is a totally acceptable answer.

Possible answer to “Why are you leaving your current job?”

“I’m ready for the next challenge in my career. I loved the people I worked with and the projects I worked on, but at some point I realized I wasn’t being challenged the way I used to be. Rather than let myself get too comfortable, I decided to pursue a position where I can continue to grow.”

Read More: 4 Better Ways to Answer “Why Are You Leaving Your Job?”

17. Why were you fired?

Of course, they may ask the follow-up question: Why were you let go? If you lost your job due to layoffs, you can simply say, “The company [reorganized/merged/was acquired] and unfortunately my [position/department] was eliminated.” But what if you were fired for performance reasons? Your best bet is to be honest (the job-seeking world is small, after all). But it doesn’t have to be a deal breaker. Frame it as a learning experience: Share how you’ve grown and how you approach your job and life now as a result. And if you can portray your growth as an advantage for this next job, even better.

Possible answer to “Why were you fired?”

“After working for XYZ Inc. for four years, there were some changes made to the amount of client calls we were expected to process per hour. I used the techniques we were taught after the change took effect, but didn’t want our customer service to slip. Unfortunately, I wasn’t consistently completing the required number of calls, and, as a result, I was let go. I felt really bad about this and in retrospect I could have done better sticking to the process that would have let me meet the per hour quota. But you’ve told me about the customer service standards and the volume expectations here, and I believe it won’t be a problem.”

Read More: Stop Cringing! How to Tell an Interviewer You've Been Fired

18. Why was there a gap in your employment?

Maybe you were taking care of children or aging parents, dealing with health issues, or traveling the world. Maybe it just took you a long time to land the right job. Whatever the reason, you should be prepared to discuss the gap (or gaps) on your resume. Seriously, practice saying your answer out loud. The key is to be honest, though that doesn’t mean you have to share more details than you’re comfortable with. If there are skills or qualities you honed or gained in your time away from the workforce—whether through volunteer work, running a home, or responding to a personal crisis—you can also talk about how those would help you excel in this role.

Possible answer to “Why was there a gap in your employment?”

“I spent a number of years working at a company in a very demanding job, in which—as you’ll see from my references—I was very successful. But I’d reached a stage in my career where I wanted to focus on my personal growth. The time I spent traveling taught me a lot about how to get along with people of all ages and cultures. Now I feel more than ready to jump back into my career with renewed energy and focus and I feel this role is the ideal way to do that.”

Read More: How to Explain the Gap in Your Resume With Ease

19. Can you explain why you changed career paths?

Don’t be thrown off by this question—just take a deep breath and explain to the hiring manager why you’ve made the career decisions you have. More importantly, give a few examples of how your past experience is transferable to the new role. This doesn’t have to be a direct connection; in fact, it’s often more impressive when a candidate can show how seemingly irrelevant experience is very relevant to the role.

Possible answer to “Can you explain why you changed career paths?”

“Ever since my brother was diagnosed with a heart condition, I’ve been training and running with him in your annual Heart Run to raise money for your organization and help support patients with expenses not covered by insurance. Each time, I’ve been struck by how truly dedicated and happy to be there your employees have been. So when I saw this posting for a fundraising role, it felt like it was meant to be. For the last 10 years of my career I’ve been an account executive for various SaaS companies, and I’ve really honed my skills when it comes to convincing organizations to make regular payments for something over the long-term. But I’ve been looking for a position in fundraising where I can use these skills to really help people and I’m highly motivated to do that with your organization.”

Read More: How to Explain Your Winding Career Path to a Hiring Manager

20. What’s your current salary?

It’s now illegal for some or all employers to ask you about your salary history in several cities and states, including New York City; Louisville, North Carolina; California; and Massachusetts. But no matter where you live, it can be stressful to hear this question. Don’t panic—there are several possible strategies you can turn to. For example, you can deflect the question, Muse career coach Emily Liou says, with a response like: “Before discussing any salary, I’d really like to learn more about what this role entails. I’ve done a lot of research on [Company] and I am certain if it’s the right fit, we’ll be able to agree on a number that’s fair and competitive to both parties.” You can also reframe the question around your salary expectations or requirements (see question 38) or choose to share the number if you think it will work in your favor.

Possible answer to “What’s your current salary?”

“Before discussing any salary, I’d really like to learn more about what this role entails. I’ve done a lot of research on [Company] and I am certain if it’s the right fit, we’ll be able to agree on a number that’s fair and competitive to both parties.”

Read More: Here's How You Answer the Illegal “What's Your Current Salary” Question

21. What do you like least about your job?

Tread carefully here! The last thing you want to do is let your answer devolve into a rant about how terrible your current company is or how much you hate your boss or that one coworker. The easiest way to handle this question with poise is to focus on an opportunity the role you’re interviewing for offers that your current job doesn’t. You can keep the conversation positive and emphasize why you’re so excited about the job.

Possible answer to “What do you like least about your job?”

“In my current role, I’m responsible for drafting media lists to pitch. While I’ve developed a knack for this and can do it when it is necessary, I’m looking forward to a job that allows me to have a more hands-on role in working with media partners. That’s one of the things that most excited me about your account supervisor position.”

Read More: What Interviewers Really Want When They Ask, “What Do You Like Least About Your Job?”

22. What are you looking for in a new position?

Hint: Ideally the same things that this position has to offer. Be specific.

Possible answer to “What are you looking for in a new position?”

“I’ve been honing my data analysis skills for a few years now and, first and foremost, I’m looking for a position where I can continue to exercise those skills. Another thing that’s important to me is the chance to present my findings and suggestions directly to clients. I’m always very motivated by being able to see the impact of my work on other people. And I’m definitely looking for a position where I can grow since I hope to take on managerial responsibilities in the future. To sum it up, I’d love a position where I can use my skills to make an impact that I can see with my own eyes. Of course, the position is only part of the equation. Being at a company where I can grow and work toward something I care about matters, too. DNF’s goal of being at the intersection between data and education inspires me, and I’m really excited about this opportunity.”

Read More: 4 Steps for Answering “What Are You Looking for in a New Position?”

23. What type of work environment do you prefer?

Hint: Ideally one that's similar to the environment of the company you're applying to. Be specific.

Possible answer to “What type of work environment do you prefer?”

“I really like the environment in my current position. My manager is a great resource and always willing to help out when I run into an issue, but they trust me to get my work done so I have a lot of freedom in how I schedule and prioritize, which is very important to me. Everyone has their own cubicle, so it’s often pretty quiet to get our work done, but we all get lunch together and our team has a lot of check-in meetings and communicates frequently via Slack so we still get a lot of opportunities to bounce ideas off each other. So I like both individual and more collaborative work. How would you describe the mix here?”

Read More: 3 Steps to Answering “What Type of Work Environment Do You Prefer?”

24. What’s your work style?

When an interviewer asks you about your work style, they’re probably trying to imagine you in the role. How will you approach your work? What will it be like to work with you? Will you mesh well with the existing team? You can help them along by choosing to focus on something that’s important to you and aligns with everything you’ve learned about the role, team, and company so far. The question is broad, which means you have a lot of flexibility in how you answer: You might talk about how you communicate and collaborate on cross-functional projects, what kind of remote work setup allows you to be most productive, or how you approach leading a team and managing direct reports. Just try to keep it positive. And remember, telling a story will almost always make your answer more memorable. 

Possible answer to “What’s your work style?”

“I tend to do my best work when I’m collaborating with colleagues and we’re working together toward a common goal. I was that rare student who loved group projects and now I still get a rush of excitement when I’m planning marketing campaigns with a team and bringing new and different voices into the fold. When I was working at XYZ Agency, I made it a habit to extend invitations to folks in different departments to join certain brainstorming and feedback sessions. Some of our most successful campaigns grew out of the ideas we generated together with coworkers in IT, HR, product, and customer success. That’s why I was so excited to learn that this role would have me working closely with the product and sales teams as well as with a talented marketing team. The other thing I find is crucial to making these collaborations successful is organization and documentation, so I’m also really big on creating one central home for all materials related to a project, including meeting notes, action items, drafts of campaign copy and visuals, and timelines.”

Read More: How to Answer “What Is Your Work Style?” in an Interview (Plus Examples!)

25. What’s your management style?

The best managers are strong but flexible, and that’s exactly what you want to show off in your answer. (Think something like, “While every situation and every team member requires a bit of a different strategy, I tend to approach my employee relationships as a coach...”) Then share a couple of your best managerial moments, like when you grew your team from five to 15 or coached an underperforming employee to become the company’s top salesperson.

Possible answer to “What’s your management style?”

“ Management style is so hard to put your finger on, but I think in general a good manager gives clear directions and actually stays pretty hands-off, but is ready and available to jump in to offer guidance, expertise, and help when needed. I try my best to make that my management style. I also go out of my way to make sure I know when my team needs help. That means plenty of informal check-ins, both on the work they’re doing and on their general job satisfaction and mental well-being. I remember one project in particular at my most recent position that involved everyone working on a separate aspect of the product. This meant a lot of independent work for my team of seven people, but rather than bog everyone down with repetitive meetings to update me and everyone else on progress made, I created a project wiki that allowed us to communicate new information when necessary without disrupting another team member’s work. I then made it my job to make sure no one was ever stuck on a problem too long without a sounding board. Ultimately, despite the disparate project responsibilities, we ended up with a very cohesive product and, more importantly, a team that wasn’t burnt out.”

Read More: How to Answer “What’s Your Management Style?”

26. How would your boss and coworkers describe you?

First, be honest (remember, if you make it to the final round, the hiring manager will be calling your former bosses and coworkers for references!). Then try to pull out strengths and traits you haven’t discussed in other aspects of the interview, such as your strong work ethic or your willingness to pitch in on other projects when needed.

Possible answer to “How would your boss and coworkers describe you?”

“Actually, in my most recent performance review in April, my direct supervisor described me as someone who takes initiative and doesn’t shy away from hard problems. My role involves a lot of on-site implementation, and when things go wrong, it’s usually up to me to fix it. Rather than punting the problem back to the team, I always try to do what I can first. I know she appreciates that about me.”

Read More: 3 Strategies for Answering “How Would Your Boss or Coworkers Describe You?”

27. How do you deal with pressure or stressful situations?

Here’s another question you may feel the urge to sidestep in an effort to prove you’re the perfect candidate who can handle anything. But it’s important not to dismiss this one (i.e. don’t say, “I just put my head down and push through it,” or, “I don’t get stressed out”). Instead, talk about your go-to strategies for dealing with stress (whether it’s meditating for 10 minutes every day or making sure you go for a run or keeping a super-detailed to-do list) and how you communicate and otherwise proactively try to mitigate pressure. If you can give a real example of a stressful situation you navigated successfully, all the better.

Possible answer to “How do you deal with pressure or stressful situations?”

“I stay motivated by thinking about the end result. I’ve found that even in the midst of a challenging situation, reminding myself of my goals helps me take a step back and stay positive.”

Read More: 3 Ways You’re Messing Up the Answer to “How Do You Deal With Stressful Situations?”

28. What do you like to do outside of work?

Interviewers will sometimes ask about your hobbies or interests outside of work in order to get to know you a little better—to find out what you’re passionate about and devote time to during your off-hours. It’s another chance to let your personality shine. Be honest, but keep it professional and be mindful of answers that might make it sound like you’re going to spend all your time focusing on something other than the job you’re applying for.

Possible answer to “What do you like to do outside of work?”

“I’m a huge foodie. My friends and I love trying new restaurants in town as soon as they open—the more unusual the better! I love discovering new foods and cuisines, and it’s also a great activity to share with friends. I try to go out with the same group at least once a week and it’s a fun way to make sure we keep in touch and share experiences even when we’re busy with other things. We even took a trip to New York City and spent each day in a different neighborhood, buying something to share from a few restaurants.”

Read More: How to Answer “What Are Your Hobbies?” in an Interview (It’s Not a Trick Question!)

29. Are you planning on having children?

Questions about your family status, gender (“How would you handle managing a team of all men?”), nationality (“Where were you born?”), religion, or age are illegal—but they still get asked (and frequently). Of course, not always with ill intent—the interviewer might just be trying to make conversation and might not realize these are off-limits—but you should definitely tie any questions about your personal life (or anything else you think might be inappropriate) back to the job at hand. 

Possible answer to “Are you planning on having children?”

“You know, I’m not quite there yet. But I am very interested in the career paths at your company. Can you tell me more about that?”

Read More: 5 Illegal Interview Questions and How to Dodge Them

30. How do you stay organized?

Would you want to work with a hot mess? Yeah, we didn’t think so. Neither does anyone else. A disorganized worker doesn’t just struggle in their own role, they can also create chaos for peers, managers, direct reports, clients, customers, and anyone else they interact with. So interviewers will often ask about how you keep yourself organized to make sure you’d be able to handle the workload and gauge what you’d be like to work with. In your answer, you’ll want to reassure them you’d have things under control (both in what you say and how you say it), describe a specific system or method you’ve used (bonus points if you can tie it to the role you’re interviewing for), and explain how it benefited you and your team. Just make sure your answer is succinct and, well, organized.

Possible answer to “How do you stay organized?”

“I take pride in my ability to stay organized, and it’s really come in handy in my past roles and especially the social media assistant job I’m in now. First, I keep a really meticulous calendar for each of the platforms I’m responsible for using Hootsuite—which I noticed you use here as well—and I try to block off time twice a week to get ahead on creating and slotting in posts. 

“ Second, I’m a big fan of Trello, where I have one personal board I use as a to-do list color-coded by type of task and marked with priority level and one shared marketing team board that we use to coordinate campaigns launching across social, email, and other channels. We pay very close attention to the news in case we need to pause a campaign. If needed, I’d tag all the relevant stakeholders on Trello, immediately suspend all scheduled content in Hootsuite, and start a discussion on Slack or suggest a meeting to reassess strategy.

“Finally, I created a shared folder on Google Drive with subfolders by campaign that I update with one-pagers on goals and strategies, assets, a record of the actual posts deployed, performance analyses, and retros. That way, there’s a go-to place for anyone on the team to refer back to past projects, which I’ve found really helps us learn from every campaign and incorporate those learnings into what we’re working on next.”

Read More: What Interviewers Really Want to Know When They Ask “How Do You Stay Organized?”

31. How do you prioritize your work?

Your interviewers want to know that you can manage your time, exercise judgement, communicate, and shift gears when needed. Start by talking about whatever system you’ve found works for you to plan your day or week, whether it’s a to-do list app you swear by or a color-coded spreadsheet. This is one where you’ll definitely want to lean on a real-life example. So go on to describe how you’ve reacted to a last-minute request or another unexpected shift in priorities in the past, incorporating how you evaluated and decided what to do and how you communicated with your manager and/or teammates about it.

Possible answer to “How do you prioritize your work?”

“I’d be lost without my daily to-do list! At the beginning of each workday, I write out tasks to complete, and list them from highest to lowest priority to help keep me on track. But I also realize priorities change unexpectedly. On one particular day recently, I had planned to spend most of my time making phone calls to advertising agencies to get price quotes for an upcoming campaign. Then I did a quick check-in with my manager. She mentioned she needed help putting together a presentation ASAP for a major potential client. I moved the more flexible task to the end of the week and spent the next few hours updating the time-sensitive presentation. I make it a point to keep lines of communication open with my manager and coworkers. If I’m working on a task that will take a while to complete, I try to give a heads-up to my team as soon as possible. If my workload gets to be unmanageable, I check in with my boss about which items can drop to the bottom of the priority list, and then I try to reset expectations about different deadlines.”

Read More: A Foolproof Method to Answer the Interview Question “How Do You Prioritize Your Work?”

32. What are you passionate about?

You’re not a robot programmed to do your work and then power down. You’re a human, and if someone asks you this question in an interview, it’s probably because they want to get to know you better. The answer can align directly with the type of work you’d be doing in that role—like if, for example, you’re applying to be a graphic designer and spend all of your free time creating illustrations and data visualizations to post on Instagram.

But don’t be afraid to talk about a hobby that’s different from your day-to-day work. Bonus points if you can “take it one step further and connect how your passion would make you an excellent candidate for the role you are applying for,” says Muse career coach Al Dea. Like if you’re a software developer who loves to bake, you might talk about how the ability to be both creative and precise informs your approach to code.

Possible answer to “What are you passionate about?”

“One of my favorite pastimes is knitting—I love being able to create something beautiful from nothing. Of course, knitting also requires a keen attention to detail and a lot of patience. Luckily, as an accountant I have cultivated both of those qualities!”

Read More: 3 Authentic Ways to Answer “What Are You Passionate About?” in a Job Interview

33. What motivates you?

Before you panic about answering what feels like a probing existential question, consider that the interviewer wants to make sure you’re excited about this role at this company, and that you’ll be motivated to succeed if they pick you. So think back to what has energized you in previous roles and pinpoint what made your eyes light up when you read this job description. Pick one thing, make sure it’s relevant to the role and company you’re interviewing for, and try to weave in a story to help illustrate your point. If you’re honest, which you should be, your enthusiasm will be palpable.

Possible answer to “What motivates you?”

“I’m driven primarily by my desire to learn new things—big or small—and take on new responsibilities so that I’m constantly growing as an employee and contributing more to my team and organization. I spent several summers working as a camp counselor and felt most fulfilled when I volunteered to lead planning for a talent show, jumped in to help with scheduling logistics, and learned how to run pickups efficiently. All of that experience helped immensely when I took a step up to become the lead counselor last year focused on operations, and that’s what excites me so much about the opportunity to take on this managerial role for the after-school program.”

Read More: 5 Easy Steps to Answer “What Motivates You?” in an Interview

34. What are your pet peeves?

Here’s another one that feels like a minefield. But it’ll be easier to navigate if you know why an interviewer is asking it. Most likely, they want to make sure you’ll thrive at their company—and get a glimpse of how you deal with conflict. So be certain you pick something that doesn’t contradict the culture and environment at this organization while still being honest. Then explain why and what you’ve done to address it in the past, doing your best to stay calm and composed. Since there’s no need to dwell on something that annoys you, you can keep this response short and sweet.

Possible answer to “What are your pet peeves?”

“It bothers me when an office’s schedule is really disorganized, because in my experience, disorganization can cause confusion, which can hurt the motivation of the team. As a person who likes things to be orderly, I try to help keep my team on task while also allowing for flexibility.”

Read More: 6 Tips for Answering “What Are Your Pet Peeves?” in an Interview

35. How do you like to be managed?

This is another one of those questions that’s about finding the right fit—both from the company’s perspective and your own. Think back on what worked well for you in the past and what didn’t. What did previous bosses do that motivated you and helped you succeed and grow? Pick one or two things to focus on and always articulate them with a positive framing (even if your preference comes from an experience where your manager behaved in the opposite way, phrase it as what you would want a manager to do). If you can give a positive example from a great boss, it’ll make your answer even stronger.

Possible answer to “How do you like to be managed?”

“I enjoy having my hands in a lot of different projects, so I like working with managers who allow their employees to experiment, be independent, and work cross-functionally with other teams. At the same time, I really welcome it when a boss provides me with support, guidance, and coaching. No one can do anything alone, and I believe when managers and employees collaborate together and learn from one another everyone comes out on top.”

Read More: 3 Easy Steps to Answer “How Do You Like to Be Managed?” in an Interview

36. Do you consider yourself successful?

This question might make you uncomfortable. But you can think of it as an opportunity to allow the interviewer to get to know you better and to position yourself as an excellent choice for this job. First off, make sure you say yes! Then pick one specific professional achievement you’re proud of that can be tied back to the role you’re interviewing for—one that demonstrates a quality, skill, or experience that would help you excel in this position. You’ll want to explain why you consider it a success, talk about the process in addition to the outcome, and highlight your own accomplishment without forgetting your team. Zooming in on one story will help if you feel awkward tooting your own horn!

Possible answer to “Do you consider yourself successful?”

“I do consider myself successful, even though I’m early in my professional career. I took a full load of classes in my junior year of college because I wanted to take that summer to volunteer for a human rights organization overseas. I knew that I needed to make sure I was on track with my major, minor, and graduation requirements. It was difficult to juggle it all with my part-time job, which I kept to help account for the fact that I wouldn’t be earning money over the summer, and there were a few sleepless nights. But it was worth the hard work: I ended the year with a 3.9 GPA and the opportunity to volunteer for the agency in Ghana without falling behind my graduation timeline. For me success is about setting a goal and sticking with it, no matter how hard it is, and this experience was proof that I could be successful even when there’s a lot to balance, which I know there always is at a nonprofit like this one.”

Read More: How to Answer “Do You Consider Yourself Successful?” Without Feeling Like a Show-Off

37. Where do you see yourself in five years?

If asked this question, be honest and specific about your future goals, but consider this: A hiring manager wants to know a) if you've set realistic expectations for your career, b) if you have ambition (a.k.a., this interview isn't the first time you’re considering the question), and c) if the position aligns with your goals and growth. Your best bet is to think realistically about where this position could take you and answer along those lines. And if the position isn’t necessarily a one-way ticket to your aspirations? It’s OK to say that you’re not quite sure what the future holds, but that you see this experience playing an important role in helping you make that decision.

Possible answer to “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

“In five years, I’d like to be in a position where I know more about my longer-term career aspirations as a designer. I will have gotten experience working for a design agency and know more about the industry overall. I’ll have grown my technical skills and learned how to take feedback from clients and incorporate it. And the way your agency is set up, I’ll also have gotten the opportunity to design different kinds of deliverables—including websites, branding, and ad campaigns—for different kinds of clients to see where I really feel at home before settling on a focus.”

Read More: How to Answer “Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?”

38. How do you plan to achieve your career goals?

Having goals shows interviewers you care, are ambitious, and can think ahead. Having a plan for how you’ll achieve your goals demonstrates your self-motivation as well as organizational and time management skills. Finally, the fact that you’ve accomplished past goals you’ve set for yourself is proof of your ability to follow through. All together, these are indications that you can not only set and achieve goals of your own, but also help your prospective boss, team, and company do the same. To craft your answer, make sure you focus on one or two goals in detail, explain why the goals are meaningful, communicate what milestones are coming up, highlight past successes, and connect back to this job. 

Possible answer to “How do you plan to achieve your career goals?”

“My current goal is to earn the CPA license so that I’m fully certified and prepared to contribute in a junior staff accounting job. My undergraduate degree is in finance and I completed an accounting internship with XYZ Company last summer. While I was there, I decided that each week I’d ask one person from a different team to coffee to learn about their job and career path. Not only did those conversations impress upon me the importance of getting my CPA as soon as possible, they also helped me realize I was eager to pursue forensic accounting, which is why I’m so excited about the opportunity to join this team. In order to ensure I earn my CPA this year, I enrolled in NASBA workshops, created a study schedule to keep myself on track, and will be taking my first trial test in three weeks. I plan on taking the actual test within the next three to six months.”

Read More: How to Answer “How Do You Plan to Achieve Your Career Goals?” in an Interview

39. What are your career aspirations?

Career aspirations are bigger and loftier than career goals. With this question, interviewers are asking: What kind of career would make you happiest (while also being realistic)? Your aspirations might revolve around what kind of company you’d like to work for, what tasks you’d like to do, who you’d like to help, or how you’d like to be seen by your colleagues. So to answer this question, talk about what would energize and fulfill you and connect it to the position you’re interviewing for. Be specific about how this job will help you achieve your career aspirations.

Possible answer to “What are your career aspirations?”

“After growing up in a food desert, my biggest professional aspiration is to help make healthy food more widely available and accessible regardless of where you live. I also love solving complex problems. Currently, as a project manager, I specialize in strategic planning and combine it with a natural ability to engage critical stakeholders—resulting in on-time and under-budget delivery. This role would help me use those skills to work on a mission I’m passionate about. I am determined to use these skills to help your organization guarantee our community has access to affordable, nutritious food and information to make healthy decisions. In the next five or so years, I would love to take on additional responsibility and be in a decision-making role to drive the mission beyond our community and support even more families in gaining access to nutritious food options.”

Read More: How to Answer “What Are Your Career Aspirations?” in an Interview

40. What’s your dream job?

Along similar lines, the interviewer wants to uncover whether this position is really in line with your ultimate career goals. While “an NBA star” might get you a few laughs, a better bet is to talk about your goals and ambitions—and why this job will get you closer to them.

Read More: The Secret Formula to Answering “What's Your Dream Job?” in an Interview

41. What other companies are you interviewing with?

Companies might ask you who else you’re interviewing with for a few reasons. Maybe they want to see how serious you are about this role and team (or even this field) or they’re trying to find out who they’re competing with to hire you. On one hand, you want to express your enthusiasm for this job, but at the same time, you don’t want to give the company any more leverage than it already has by telling them there’s no one else in the running. Depending on where you are in your search, you can talk about applying to or interviewing for a few roles that have XYZ in common—then mention how and why this role seems like a particularly good fit.

Possible answer to “What other companies are you interviewing with?”

“I’m interviewing with a few companies for a range of positions, but they all come down to delivering an excellent customer experience. I wanted to keep an open mind about how to best achieve that goal, but so far it seems that this role will really allow me to focus all of my energy on customer experience and retention, which I find very appealing.”

Read More: How to Answer “What Other Companies Are You Interviewing With?”

42. What makes you unique?

“They genuinely want to know the answer,” Dea promises. Give them a reason to pick you over other similar candidates. The key is to keep your answer relevant to the role you’re applying to. So the fact that you can run a six-minute mile or crush a trivia challenge might not help you get the job (but hey, it depends on the job!). Use this opportunity to tell them something that would give you an edge over your competition for this position. To figure out what that is, you can ask some former colleagues, think back to patterns you’ve seen in feedback you get, or try to distill why people tend to turn to you. Focus on one or two things and don’t forget to back up whatever you say with evidence.

Possible answer to “What makes you unique?”

“I basically taught myself animation from scratch. I was immediately drawn to it in college, and with the limited resources available to me, I decided to take matters into my own hands—and that’s the approach I take in all aspects of my work as a video editor. I don’t just wait around for things to happen, and when I can, I’m always eager to step in and take on new projects, pick up new skills, or brainstorm new ideas.”

Read More: A Simple Way to Answer “What Makes You Unique?” in Your Job Search (Plus, Examples!)

43. What should I know that’s not on your resume?

It’s a good sign if a recruiter or hiring manager is interested in more than just what’s on your resume. It probably means they looked at your resume, think you might be a good fit for the role, and want to know more about you. To make this wide-open question a little more manageable, try talking about a positive trait, a story or detail that reveals a little more about you and your experience, or a mission or goal that makes you excited about this role or company.

Possible answer to “What should I know that’s not on your resume?”

“Well, one thing you won’t find on my resume: the time I had to administer emergency CPR. Last year, I was at the lake when I saw a young girl who looked like she was drowning. I was a lifeguard in high school, so I swam out, brought her to shore, and gave her CPR. Although this was—hopefully—a one-time event, I’ve always been able to stay calm during stressful situations, figure out a solution, and then act. As your account manager, I’d use this trait to quickly and effectively resolve issues both within the team and externally. After all, obstacles are inevitable, especially in a startup environment. And if anyone needs CPR at the office beach party, well, I’m your woman.”

Read More: The Right Way to Answer “What Should I Know That’s Not on Your Resume?”

44. What would your first few months look like in this role?

Your potential future boss (or whoever else has asked you this question) wants to know that you’ve done your research, given some thought to how you’d get started, and would be able to take initiative if hired. (In some interviews, you might even get the more specific, “What would your first 30, 60, or 90 days look like in this role?”) So think about what information and aspects of the company and team you’d need to familiarize yourself with and which colleagues you’d want to sit down and talk to. You can also suggest one possible starter project to show you’d be ready to hit the ground running and contribute early on. This won’t necessarily be the thing you do first if you do get the job, but a good answer shows that you’re thoughtful and that you care.

Possible answer to “What would your first few months look like in this role?”

“It’s been exciting to hear about some of the new initiatives the company has started in our previous conversations—like the database project and the company-wide sync, but I know there’s still a lot for me to learn. The first thing I’d do is line up meetings with the stakeholders involved in the projects I’d be tackling to help me figure out what I don’t know and then go from there. Hopping into a database project halfway through can be tricky, but I’m confident that once I know what all the stakeholders are looking for, I’ll be able to efficiently plot out our next steps and set appropriate deadlines. From there, I’ll be focused on hitting the milestones that I’ve set for the team.”

Read More: The 30-60-90 Day Plan: Your Secret Weapon for New Job Success

45. What are your salary expectations?

The number one rule of answering this question is: Figure out your salary requirements ahead of time. Do your research on what similar roles pay by using sites like PayScale and reaching out to your network. Be sure to take your experience, education, skills, and personal needs into account, too! From there, Muse career coach Jennifer Fink suggests choosing from one of three strategies:

• Give a salary range: But keep the bottom of your stated range toward the mid-to-high point of what you’re actually hoping for, Fink says.
• Flip the question: Try something like “That's a great question—it would be helpful if you could share what the range is for this role,” Fink says.
• Delay answering: Tell your interviewer that you’d like to learn more about the role or the rest of the compensation package before discussing pay.

(And here’s some more info on responding to a question about your salary requirements on an application form .)

Possible answer to “What are your salary expectations?”

“Taking into account my experience and Excel certifications, which you mentioned earlier would be very helpful to the team, I’m looking for somewhere between $42,000 and $46,000 annually for this role. But for me, benefits definitely matter as well. Your free on-site gym, the commuter benefits, and other perks could definitely allow me to be a bit flexible with salary.”

Read More:  3 Strategies for Answering “What Are Your Salary Expectations?” in an Interview

46. What do you think we could do better or differently?

This question can really do a number on you. How do you give a meaty answer without insulting the company or, worse, the person you’re speaking with? Well first, take a deep breath. Then start your response with something positive about the company or specific product you’ve been asked to discuss. When you’re ready to give your constructive feedback, give some background on the perspective you’re bringing to the table and explain why you’d make the change you’re suggesting (ideally based on some past experience or other evidence). And if you end with a question, you can show them you’re curious about the company or product and open to other points of view. Try: “Did you consider that approach here? I’d love to know more about your process.”

Read More: How to Answer the “How Would You Improve Our Company?” Interview Question Without Bashing Anyone

47. When can you start?

Your goal here should be to set realistic expectations that will work for both you and the company. What exactly that sounds like will depend on your specific situation. If you’re ready to start immediately—if you’re unemployed, for example—you could offer to start within the week. But if you need to give notice to your current employer, don’t be afraid to say so; people will understand and respect that you plan to wrap things up right. It’s also legitimate to want to take a break between jobs, though you might want to say you have “previously scheduled commitments to attend to” and try to be flexible if they really need someone to start a bit sooner.

Possible answer to “When can you start?”

“I am excited for the opportunity to join your team. I have several projects to wrap up in my current role at [Company]. I plan to give them two weeks’ notice to make a smooth transition for my coworkers and will be happy to come onboard with the team here after that time.”

Read More: 4 Ways to Answer the Interview Question “When Can You Start?”

48. Are you willing to relocate?

While this may sound like a simple yes-or-no question, it’s often a little bit more complicated than that. The simplest scenario is one where you’re totally open to moving and would be willing to do so for this opportunity. But if the answer is no, or at least not right now, you can reiterate your enthusiasm for the role, briefly explain why you can’t move at this time, and offer an alternative, like working remotely or out of a local office. Sometimes it’s not as clear-cut, and that’s OK. You can say you prefer to stay put for xyz reasons, but would be willing to consider relocating for the right opportunity.

Possible answer to “Are you willing to relocate?”

“I do love living in Raleigh and would prefer to stay here. However, for the right opportunity I’d be willing to consider relocating if necessary.”

Read More: The Best Responses to “Are You Willing to Relocate?” Depending on Your Situation

49. How many tennis balls can you fit into a limousine?

1,000? 10,000? 100,000? Seriously? Well, seriously, you might get asked brain-teaser questions like these, especially in quantitative jobs. But remember that the interviewer doesn’t necessarily want an exact number—they want to make sure that you understand what’s being asked of you, and that you can set into motion a systematic and logical way to respond. So take a deep breath and start thinking through the math. (Yes, it’s OK to ask for a pen and paper!)

Read More: 9 Steps to Solving an Impossible Brain Teaser in a Tech Interview (Without Breaking a Sweat)

50. If you were an animal, which one would you want to be?

Seemingly random personality-test type questions like these come up in interviews because hiring managers want to see how you can think on your feet. There’s no wrong answer here, but you’ll immediately gain bonus points if your answer helps you share your strengths or personality or connect with the hiring manager. Pro tip: Come up with a stalling tactic to buy yourself some thinking time, such as saying, “Now, that is a great question. I think I would have to say…”

Read More: 4 Steps for Answering Off-the-Wall Interview Questions

51. Sell me this pen.

If you’re interviewing for a sales job, your interviewer might put you on the spot to sell them a pen sitting on the table, or a legal pad, or a water bottle, or just something . The main thing they’re testing you for? How you handle a high-pressure situation. So try to stay calm and confident and use your body language—making eye contact, sitting up straight, and more—to convey that you can handle this. Make sure you listen, understand your “customer’s” needs, get specific about the item’s features and benefits, and end strong—as though you were truly closing a deal.

Read More: 4 Tips for Responding to "Sell Me This Pen" in an Interview

52. Is there anything else you’d like us to know?

Just when you thought you were done, your interviewer asks you this open-ended doozy. Don’t panic—it’s not a trick question! You can use this as an opportunity to close out the meeting on a high note in one of two ways, Zhang says. First, if there really is something relevant that you haven’t had a chance to mention, do it now. Otherwise, you can briefly summarize your qualifications. For example, Zhang says, you could say: “I think we’ve covered most of it, but just to summarize, it sounds like you’re looking for someone who can really hit the ground running. And with my previous experience [enumerate experience here], I think I’d be a great fit.”

Read More: How to Answer “Is There Anything Else You’d Like Us to Know?”

53. Do you have any questions for us?

You probably already know that an interview isn’t just a chance for a hiring manager to grill you—it’s an opportunity to sniff out whether a job is the right fit from your perspective. What do you want to know about the position? The company? The department? The team? You’ll cover a lot of this in the actual interview, so have a few less-common questions ready to go. We especially like questions targeted to the interviewer (“What's your favorite part about working here?”) or the company’s growth (“What can you tell me about your new products or plans for growth?”) If you’re interviewing for a remote role, there are some specific questions you might want to ask related to that.

Read More: 57 Smart Questions to Ask in a Job Interview in 2022

Bonus questions

Looking for more common interview questions and answers examples? Check out these lists of inquiries for different types of jobs.

• Behavioral interview questions
• Phone interview questions
• Remote interview questions
• Second interview questions
• COVID-related interview questions
• Diversity and inclusion interview questions
• Emotional intelligence interview questions
• Internship interview questions
• Manager interview questions
• Account management interview questions
• Accounting interview questions
• Administrative assistant interview questions
• Brand management interview questions
• Customer service interview questions
• Data science interview questions
• Digital marketing interview questions
• Financial analyst interview questions
• IT interview questions
• Nursing interview questions
• Product marketing interview questions
• Project management interview questions
• Retail interview questions
• Sales interview questions
• Software engineering interview questions
• Teaching interview questions

Want even more advice for answering common interview questions?

If you are looking for more in depth advice about these 53 interview questions and how to answer them, here's a list of articles with detailed guides to teach you how to approach your responses.

• Tell me about yourself.
• Walk me through your resume.
• How did you hear about this position?
• Why do you want to work at this company?
• Why do you want this job?
• Why should we hire you?
• What can you bring to the company?
• What are your greatest strengths?
• What do you consider to be your weaknesses?
• What is your greatest professional achievement?
• Tell me about a challenge or conflict you’ve faced at work, and how you dealt with it.
• Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership skills.
• What’s a time you disagreed with a decision that was made at work?
• Tell me about a time you made a mistake.
• Tell me about a time you failed.
• Why are you leaving your current job?
• Why were you fired?
• Why was there a gap in your employment?
• Can you explain why you changed career paths?
• What’s your current salary?
• What do you like least about your job?
• What are you looking for in a new position?
• What type of work environment do you prefer?
• What’s your work style?
• What’s your management style?
• How would your boss and coworkers describe you?
• How do you deal with pressure or stressful situations?
• What do you like to do outside of work?
• Are you planning on having children?
• How do you stay organized?
• How do you prioritize your work?
• What are you passionate about?
• What motivates you?
• What are your pet peeves?
• How do you like to be managed?
• Do you consider yourself successful?
• Where do you see yourself in five years?
• How do you plan to achieve your career goals?
• What are your career aspirations?
• What’s your dream job?
• What other companies are you interviewing with?
• What makes you unique?
• What should I know that’s not on your resume?
• What would your first few months look like in this role?
• What are your salary expectations?
• What do you think we could do better or differently?
• When can you start?
• Are you willing to relocate?
• How many tennis balls can you fit into a limousine?
• If you were an animal, which one would you want to be?
• Sell me this pen.
• Is there anything else you’d like us to know.
• Do you have any questions for us?

This paper is in the following e-collection/theme issue:

Published on 13.8.2024 in Vol 26 (2024)

Development and Validation of a Mobile-Centered Digital Health Readiness Scale (mDiHERS): Health Literacy and Equity Scale

Authors of this article:

Original Paper

• Hana Kim 1 , PhD   ; 
• Rebecca Schnall 2 , PhD   ; 
• Nagyeom Yoon 3 , BSN   ; 
• Seong-Joon Koh 4 , PhD   ; 
• Jisan Lee 3 * , PhD   ; 
• Jae Hee Cheon 5 * , PhD  

1 Department of Nursing, Hoseo University, Asan, Republic of Korea

2 School of Nursing, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States

3 Department of Nursing, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Wonju, Republic of Korea

4 Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

5 Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

*these authors contributed equally

Corresponding Author:

Jisan Lee, PhD

Department of Nursing

Gangneung-Wonju National University

Department of Nursing, Gangneung-Wonju National University

Wonju, 26403

Republic of Korea

Phone: 82 337608646

Email: [email protected]

Background: There has been a rapid expansion of digital health care services, making the need for measuring and improving digital health readiness a priority. In response, our study team developed the Mobile-Centered Digital Health Readiness: Health Literacy and Equity Scale (mDiHERS) to measure digital health readiness.

Objective: We aim to develop and validate a scale that assesses digital health readiness, encompassing literacy and equity, and to ensure the effective use of mobile-centered digital health services.

Methods: This study was conducted from October 2021 to October 2022 to develop and validate the mDiHERS. Participants included patients with inflammatory bowel disease, which is a chronic condition requiring continuous management, and experts in medical and nursing informatics. The scale development involved a literature review, focus group interviews, and content validity evaluations. A total of 440 patients with inflammatory bowel disease were recruited for the validation phase, with 403 completing the survey. The scale’s validity and reliability were assessed through exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach α. The scale was translated into English by translators and bilingual and native researchers, ensuring its applicability in diverse settings.

Results: The mDiHERS consists of 36 items across 6 domains, with a 5-point Likert scale for responses. The validation process confirmed the scale’s construct validity, with 4 factors explaining 65.05% of the total variance. The scale’s reliability was established with Cronbach α values ranging from 0.84 to 0.91. The scale’s development considered the technical proficiency necessary for engaging with health mobile apps and devices, reflecting the importance of subjective confidence and objective skills in digital health literacy.

Conclusions: The mDiHERS is a validated tool for measuring patients’ readiness and ability to use digital health services. The mDiHERS assesses user characteristics, digital accessibility, literacy, and equity to contribute to the effective use of digital health services and improve accessibility. The development and validation of the mDiHERS emphasize the importance of confidence and competence in managing health digitally. Continuous improvements are necessary to ensure that all patients can benefit from digital health care.

Introduction

The digital health care service market has experienced significant expansion. Digital health, as defined by the US Food and Drug Administration, represents the convergence of people, information, technology, and connectivity, all of which collaboratively enhance health care delivery and outcomes. This extensive field includes various components such as mobile health (mHealth), health information technology, wearable devices, telehealth and telemedicine, and personalized medicine, each playing a crucial role in advancing the functionality and reach of contemporary medical practices [ 1 ].

The evolution of digital health is further propelled by patients who, as informed health consumers, are increasingly harnessing digital devices for health management [ 2 ]. Digital health services, as defined in this study, refer to the use of digital health to manage and monitor patient health outcomes, complementing the accessible, efficient, and patient-centric delivery of digital health [ 3 ]. A notable advancement in this domain is remote health managing and monitoring, which empowers patients to access health care services within the comfort of their homes, thereby fostering a sense of independence [ 3 , 4 ].

Increased use of digital health services has the potential to induce disparities in accessibility, proficiency, and the degree of health information and technology use among user groups, necessitating careful consideration of vulnerable populations. In response to these challenges, there is a growing emphasis on devising strategies to gauge the digital divide and implement system-wide solutions that champion digital inclusion, ensuring that marginalized groups are not left behind in the digital health landscape [ 5 ].

However, to support equitable provision of digital health services, prioritization should be given to measuring the digital divide rather than merely focusing on the means of delivery [ 6 ]. “Digital readiness” encompasses digital access, use, literacy, and the competency to engage with digital health services [ 7 ]. It emerges as a pertinent metric to assess disparities in digital health service use [ 7 ].

Existing digital health literacy scales have primarily focused on specific aspects. For instance, the Digital Health Literacy Instrument evaluates internet usage skills related to health on the web and computers but does not consider aspects related to mobile usage [ 6 ]. Similarly, the eHealth Literacy Scale assesses the ability to find, evaluate, and apply electronic health information to health issues but does not evaluate the importance of mHealth apps and devices and the ability to use mobile services required for daily life [ 8 ]. These limitations may result in an inaccurate reflection of users’ digital health readiness. Additionally, because existing health literacy scales rely on subjective measurements, it is impossible to know how an individual’s responses relate to actual skill level, whereas objective tests can directly measure an individual’s skills [ 9 , 10 ]. Motivated by this, our study endeavors to construct and validate a scale measuring digital health readiness consisting of subjective and objective questions.

One of the core principles of Healthy People 2020 is to eliminate health disparities and achieve health equity to attain health and well-being [ 11 ]. As the health care sector becomes digitized, digital access, such as through mobile apps, is now recognized as a social determinant of health [ 12 ]. Low digital access due to low digital literacy undermines health equity [ 13 ]. Despite the development and research of many tools to improve and measure equity, most of these tools only measure equity in health care settings and public health domains [ 14 - 16 ]. Specifically, the Health Equity Assessment Toolkit was developed for use primarily by public health professionals, researchers, and those with basic skills in health information systems and interpreting health-related data, rather than by the target population directly [ 17 ]. Therefore, our study developed measures to assess health equity based on digital literacy.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), encompassing Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis, is characterized by chronic digestive tract inflammation. This condition leads to a range of symptoms that significantly impact the quality of life [ 18 ]. The persistent symptoms and activity of IBD, even with the best medical or surgical interventions, highlight the critical need for ongoing surveillance and management [ 19 ]. Given the complex, chronic nature of IBD, which significantly impairs quality of life, there have been various efforts to leverage technologies to modify behaviors and assist in the self-management of patients with IBD [ 20 , 21 ]. As of 2023, while over 40 free English-language IBD mobile apps have been found to meet acceptable quality criteria, there is a crucial need for enhanced design features to improve user interest and engagement [ 22 ]. Recognizing the importance of continuous and personalized interventions, which focus on the immediate management of IBD symptoms [ 23 ], it becomes essential to evaluate patients’ access to and understanding of mobile technology about the available apps. This study, therefore, seeks to create an instrument for evaluating digital health preparedness, with an initial focus on individuals with IBD. This demographic is not only in dire need of digital health solutions but also exhibits a higher demand for such services. While first tested for specific conditions, the assessment tool is designed to be flexible and applicable across a spectrum of health scenarios [ 24 ]. Consequently, this instrument could be applied to a broad range of patient groups beyond IBD in subsequent studies, aiming to bridge the digital health divide.

Study Design

Overview of study design.

This study was conducted from October 8, 2021, to October 7, 2022. This study was developed through a 4-step process. Step 1 involved a literature review to derive the initial scale items related to digital health literacy and digital health equity. Step 2 aimed to gain qualitative insights into the initial scale items by conducting focus group interviews (FGIs) with 6 patients with IBD and 6 experts, followed by an evaluation of the content validity of the initial scale items by 8 experts. Step 3 evaluated the validity and reliability of the final scale items quantitatively with 440 patients with IBD. This included survey research and statistical analysis. Step 4 translated the final scale items into both English and Korean simultaneously.

Participants and Inclusion Criteria

In all stages, patient participants were required to meet the following criteria: (1) have a confirmed diagnosis of ulcerative colitis or Crohn disease, (2) possess the ability to use a smartphone proficiently, (3) be adults aged 18 years or older, and (4) be willing and able to provide informed consent. Additionally, participants needed to be capable of completing FGIs or surveys as required in each stage.

Recruitment

Participant recruitment was conducted from November 30, 2021, to September 30, 2022. Patients with IBD were recruited in steps 2-1, 2-3, and 3-1. Recruitment was conducted in the outpatient clinic of the gastroenterology department at S Hospital in Seoul and through the IBD online community in the social network service (eg, KakaoTalk; Kakao Corp). Posters introducing this study, approved by the institutional review board and each institution, were posted in the outpatient clinic and online community. Interested participants were provided with a study consent form and an explanatory document, and this study was initiated after this study’s details were explained to them. Since the interviews or surveys of this study were conducted online, an exemption from written consent was obtained.

In steps 2-1 and 2-3, respectively, 6 patients with IBD were recruited [ 25 ] to conduct FGIs to evaluate the qualitative appropriateness of the draft version of the scale. Participants in the FGIs were compensated with approximately US $77 (₩100,000) each. In step 3-1, the target sample size had been determined as 440, based on a calculation of 10 times the number of items in the fourth draft version of the scale, while accounting for an anticipated dropout rate of 10% [ 26 ].

Experts were recruited in steps 2-1 and 2-2 through snowball sampling to evaluate FGI and content validity. A total of 6 experts were recruited in step 2-1, including 5 nursing informatics experts and 1 medical informatics expert. Experts who participated in content validity verification received approximately US $154 (₩200,000) each. In step 2-2, eight experts were recruited, including 4 nursing informatics experts, 1 medical informatics expert, 1 educational expert, 1 gastroenterology physician, and 1 user experience designer. Patients who participated in the online survey in step 3-1 were compensated with the equivalent of approximately US $23 (₩30,000).

Development of a Digital Health Readiness Scale

The primary objective of this study was to develop and validate a comprehensive scale for evaluating an individual’s readiness to engage with digital health services. The instrument focuses on assessing digital health literacy and equity among users. The overall process of scale development and the results of each step are shown in Figure 1 .

Step 1: Literature Review and Derivation of an Initial Item Pool

Step 1-1: literature review.

In our literature review process, we conducted a comprehensive search using both English and Korean languages, leveraging databases such as the Web of Science and the Korean database Research Information Sharing Service. Our search strategy focused on identifying literature and frameworks related to digital health literacy, digital health equity, and other relevant terms to ensure inclusivity and comprehensiveness, particularly concerning mHealth services. The timeframe for our literature review spanned from October 2021.

Step 1-2: Derived Initial Items Through Review by a Research Team

To derive items, the research team reviewed the subdomains identified in the literature review to determine the subdomains of this tool. Accordingly, the items derived in the previous stage were classified into each subdomain, and inappropriate items were excluded after reviewing their appropriateness and validity.

Step 2: FGI and Validity Assessment

Step 2-1: first round.

FGI was conducted with 6 patients with IBD to assess the face validity of the initial scale items and to gather qualitative insights regarding their relevance. These interviews were conducted online and spanned approximately 2 hours. The methodology involved structured open-ended questions, probing for understanding and appropriateness of the scale items. The process continued until data saturation was reached, indicated by the absence of new emerging data [ 27 ]. The questions were “Do you comprehend the items presented in the scale?” “In cases of lack of understanding, could you specify which aspects are unclear?” “Do you find the items within the scale to be suitable and relevant?” “If you perceive any items as unsuitable, could you elaborate on the reasons?” “Are there any elements or items that you believe should be added to enhance the scale?” and “Overall, what are your impressions or thoughts regarding the preliminary version of the scale?” In addition, FGI and content validity evaluation were conducted on 6 experts (5 in nursing informatics and 1 in medical informatics). Based on the above results, the second draft version was completed.

Step 2-2: Second Round

In this stage, 8 experts conducted FGI and content validity evaluation on the draft derived from the previous stage. The 8 experts comprised 4 in nursing informatics, 1 in medical informatics, 1 gastroenterology professor, 1 education doctorate, and 1 user experience designer. Then, the third draft of the scale reflecting experts’ opinions was derived.

Step 2-3: Third Round

In steps 2-3, FGI and face validity evaluation were conducted for 6 patients with IBD using the draft scale derived in the previous step using the same method as step 2-1. The research team reviewed the revised scale reflecting patient opinions and completed the fourth draft.

Step 3: Validity and Reliability Assessment

Step 3-1: administer scale to the participants.

An online survey was administered to 440 patients with IBD using the second draft of the scale derived in the earlier stage.

Step 3-2: Construct Validity

The construct validity was ascertained by examining the correlation between individual items and the overall scale score. A confirmatory factor analysis followed this.

Step 3-3: Reliability Analysis

The Cronbach α value was used to confirm reliability: if it was 0.75 or higher, it was evaluated as satisfactory, and if it was 0.6 or higher, it was evaluated as acceptable [ 26 ].

Step 4: Development of an English Version of the Scale

Step 4-1: translation.

After the reliability assessment, the final scale was concurrently developed in English and Korean to facilitate future translations. The Korean version was initially crafted, referenced by a translation into English adhering to part of World Health Organization (WHO) translation guidelines [ 28 ].

Step 4-2: Experts Review

Bilingual researchers specializing in medical informatics and nursing informatics reviewed the translated version of steps 4-1. Finally, a native English-speaking nursing informatics professor conducted a thorough review and revision, culminating in the finalized English scale version.

Statistical Analysis

The scale development involved conducting a literature review, classifying the collected content, and deriving categories through analysis of the scale developed from the literature. The scale was evaluated for face validity targeting patients with IBD, and its appropriateness was verified through expert content validity index (CVI) evaluation. The final developed scale was conducted through a survey, and the survey results were analyzed using SPSS (version 21.0; IBM Corp) as follows: first, the demographic characteristics of the participants were analyzed by frequency, percentage, average, and SD. Second, for the construct validity of the developed scale, item analysis was performed by calculating the correlation coefficient between individual items and the overall total score, and exploratory factor analysis was performed. Exploratory factor analysis was verified using principal component analysis and varimax rotation. Convergent validity was judged using the values derived through exploratory factor analysis, and the final questions were confirmed. Third, the Cronbach α was used to confirm the internal consistency of the developed scale.

Ethical Considerations

This study was conducted after obtaining approval (H-2108-238-1251) from the Seoul National University Hospital Bioethics Review Committee before starting this study to ensure the ethical protection of the research participants. All study participants received an explanation of this study and completed written consent. All data collected during this study period were protected through appropriate safeguards. Additionally, compensation was provided to all participants.

A thorough literature review was conducted to identify existing scales relevant to developing a digital health readiness evaluation scale for patients. The focus was primarily on mHealth literacy and digital health equity scales. A total of 6 scales and 3 frameworks on digital health readiness deemed suitable for this study were selected [ 8 , 29 - 36 ], and 97 items were confirmed from these scales and frameworks.

At this stage, we reviewed the subdomains derived from the literature review and determined 4 subdomains: familiarity, importance, equity, and usability (literacy). After classifying the 97 items derived from the previous stage into these 4 subdomains, we reviewed the appropriateness and validity of the items, excluding inappropriate ones. Additionally, we classified 7 user characteristics identified as important in the digital readiness framework into one additional subdomain and decided to include them in the final scale.

Table 1 presents the results of face validity evaluation and FGI performed on 6 patients with IBD. This process was instrumental in identifying items irrelevant to digital health readiness or requiring further clarification. The draft scale’s CVI was rigorously assessed by 6 experts, with a threshold of 0.8 indicating high validity [ 37 ]. In addition, FGI was used to identify essential domains of digital health readiness not included in this scale and to evaluate whether the readability and language used were appropriate for the participants or data collectors [ 38 ]. As a result of the expert CVI evaluation, 20 out of 78 items were confirmed to be less than 0.8. These items were partially revised and supplemented based on expert opinions. Comments on modifying items identified through FGI included providing commonly used terms and examples to aid respondents’ understanding. Moreover, duplicate items and items that did not fit the current medical environment were deleted. As a result, 14 of the existing 49 items were deleted, and 8 items (1 item on usability, 1 item on literacy, 2 items on equity, and 4 items on characteristics related to digital readiness) were added, completing the second draft with a total of 43 items. It was decided to classify 4 digital-related characteristics items added at the expert’s suggestion and 1 item among the existing scale into the digital-related characteristics domain and include them in the final scale.

a Overall feedback: Understanding of items: Participants found the terminology in the items complex and suggested modifications for easier comprehension by a broader audience. Item relevance: Expressed uncertainty about the significance of some items concerning digital literacy and equity.

In the expert CVI evaluation, 2 out of 78 items were confirmed to be less than 0.8 and were deleted. There were opinions that the items related to digital health equity in FGI were ambiguous, so some items were modified. Through this stage, the third draft with a total of 41 items was completed.

Face validity and FGI were performed on 6 patients with IBD. We collected opinions on the third draft derived from the previous stage and modified the scale by reflecting opinions on adding additional explanations to some terms and changing them with more accessible terms. Afterward, through review by the research team, one question inappropriate for measuring digital readiness was deleted. As a result, the fourth draft of 40 items was completed.

The survey, designed to assess the validity and reliability of the developed scale, encompassed a total of 403 participants. The demographic breakdown revealed that 68.5% (n=276) of the participants were under 40 years of age. Regarding gender distribution, 55.1% (n=222) were male. Educational background indicated that a significant majority, 75.2% (n=303), possessed at least a college degree. Detailed demographic characteristics are presented in Table 2 .

a IBD: inflammatory bowel disease.

b Mean 36.24 (SD 11.75).

c Mean 1.13 (SD 0.71).

Step 3-2: Constructive Validity

Construct validity was verified with the fourth draft of 40 questions, and at this time, 12 questions regarding user characteristics and digital readiness-related characteristics that were decided to be included in the final questions were excluded from the analysis. Initially, the correlation coefficient between each item and the overall score was analyzed. Further, 2 items (familiarity 1 and usability 1) with correlation coefficients below 0.3 were excluded [ 39 ]. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure yielded a high value of 0.92, and the Bartlett test of sphericity was statistically significant ( χ 2 378 =6940.63, P <.001), indicating suitability for factor analysis. All factor communalities were above 0.3. In the pattern matrix, items with factor loadings above 0.5 on 2 factors and those uniquely loaded on one factor were identified. Factor analysis was iteratively performed, removing one item at a time [ 40 ]. Ultimately, 24 items loaded on 4 factors. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value for the final items was 0.91, and the Bartlett test of sphericity remained significant ( χ 2 276 = 6114.77, P <.001). The commonalities of the items were above 0.38, except for one item in factor 1. These 4 factors explained 65.05% of the total variance ( Figure 2 ). Despite low communality, one item from factor 1 was retained after consideration by the research team due to its relevance to the scale. The domain of the digital health readiness scale was named factor 1 as “capability to use mobile services,” factor 2 as “mHealth literacy,” factor 3 as “digital health equity,” and factor 4 as “perception of the importance of mHealth apps and devices” according to the content and characteristics of the loaded items.

Step 3-3: Reliability

The internal consistency of the final scale was evaluated using Cronbach α, as shown in Figure 2 . Cronbach α for each factor ranged from 0.84 to 0.91, indicating established reliability and acceptability of the newly developed scale [ 26 ].

This scale consists of 36 items, including 24 confirmed through reliability and validity verification, and 12 items (user characteristics, characteristics related to digital readiness) that were retained in the final scale during the scale development process ( Textbox 1 and Multimedia Appendix 1 ). Excluding the 12 items measuring user characteristics and characteristics related to digital readiness, the remaining 24 items were structured on a 5-point Likert scale. Responses range from 1 (“not at all”) to 5 (“very much”). Additionally, 5 items dedicated to evaluating digital health readiness focus on aspects of digital health accessibility. A total of 3 items, presented as multiple-choice questions, inquire about health management, information acquisition methods, and familiarity with mobile devices used for digital health services. Further, 2 items probe the willingness to pay for mHealth care services or purchase an mHealth care device. Moreover, 7 items gather data on user demographics, including age, gender, residence, occupation, education, subjective health status, and diagnosed diseases. The scale encompasses 6 domains. The total score is computed as the mean of the scores across 4 domains, excluding the user’s characteristics and characteristics related to digital readiness. Scores range from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating greater readiness for digital health use.

Mobile services capability (10 items)

• This domain evaluates the respondent’s knowledge and proficiency in mobile device use and the extent of their integration into daily life.

Mobile health (mHealth) literacy understand and use mHealth apps and devices (6 items)

• This section assesses the respondent’s ability to comprehend and use information acquired through mobile health apps and devices.

Perception of the importance of mHealth apps and devices (3 items)

• This domain gauges the respondent’s perceived significance of mobile health apps and devices in health care management.

Digital health equity (5 items)

• This domain focuses on the environmental and resource factors influencing digital health accessibility and competency. It evaluates the respondent’s access to and capability with digital health care resources.

Characteristics related to digital readiness (5 items)

• This domain identifies critical characteristics associated with the respondent’s digital readiness. It includes methods of acquiring health information, familiarity with mobile devices for health information, experience in using digital health care services, and willingness to invest in and pay for digital health services. This domain assesses the respondent’s accessibility to digital health resources.

User’s characteristics (7 items)

• This section captures the respondent’s general demographic and socioeconomic characteristics pertinent to digital health readiness. It covered age, gender, area of residence, occupation, education, subjective health status, and diagnosed diseases.

We developed an English version of our questionnaire to widen this study’s reach and accessibility. As a global language, English allows us to gather data on Digital Health Readiness from diverse populations, enhancing the applicability of our findings. Offering the questionnaire in Korean and English enables researchers worldwide to use it effectively, strengthening the global understanding of digital health readiness. This decision ensures our research’s comprehensive and international relevance, aligning with our aim to adapt the tool for broader use beyond patients with IBD.

The final scale completed in the previous step was translated into English by a qualified translator and researcher who majored in English and nursing. After being translated independently, any differences in translation were agreed upon through online communication.

Bilingual researchers in English and Korean reviewed the translation of steps 4-1. In the process, we ensured that the translation applied to English speakers and corrected any expressions or cultural differences that might convey a different meaning. The English version of the scale was finally completed after a thorough review and revision by a nursing informatics professor in the United States whose native language is English ( Multimedia Appendix 2 ).

Principal Findings

In the rapidly evolving field of digital health care, accessibility to digital health services is an essential determinant of health outcomes [ 41 ]. Consequently, the concept of digital inclusion, especially for vulnerable groups, is gaining prominence in the digital health care landscape, necessitating a thorough assessment and integration of these considerations into the design and delivery of digital health services [ 6 ]. The development of the Mobile-Centered Digital Health Readiness: Health Literacy and Equity Scale (mDiHERS) for patients is a pioneering effort to quantify the readiness and capability of patients to engage with digital health services. This scale is particularly relevant given the chronic nature of IBD, which necessitates ongoing and continuous management and the potential for digital tools to enhance patient autonomy and care significantly. The mDiHERS addresses a critical gap in digital health literature by providing a validated tool that can assess patients’ digital access, literacy, and equity, which are essential for the effective use of digital health services.

In the mDiHERS, some items assess users’ ability to navigate and interpret digital interfaces. This ability is increasingly essential to affording opportunities to increase reach and engagement in the digital health care service [ 42 ]. Including items requiring users to interact with actual digital device screens—such as smartphones and wearable devices—addresses a vital component of digital health literacy: the technical proficiency necessary for engaging with health apps and platforms. This approach means that the mDiHERS not only captures the subjective confidence of users in their digital capabilities but also provides an objective measure of their practical skills. In other words, the mDiHERS acknowledges this by ensuring its assessment criteria encompass users’ perceived and actual abilities to manage their health digitally. This supports prior research that objective tests may be better suited to assessing an individual’s skills [ 10 ]. This is particularly pertinent for patients who rely on digital health monitoring and management tools, as it empowers them to become active, informed participants in their health care journeys. By emphasizing both confidence and competence, the mDiHERS aligns with the goals of digital health initiatives which aim to enhance patient autonomy and improve health outcomes through technology. This focus reflects the broader objectives within the digital health ecosystem, where patient empowerment and the democratization of health information are paramount.

The findings of this study underscore the importance of considering patient-specific factors when assessing digital readiness. The mDiHERS evaluates an individual’s ability and familiarity with using digital health services and their level of digital readiness, including the concept of equity, which has recently become necessary with the emergence of digital health services [ 7 ]. The tailored approach of the mDiHERS, focusing on patients with IBD, allows for a nuanced understanding of the challenges and opportunities within this group. It is evident that while digital health services offer immense potential, their benefits are not uniformly accessible. The mDiHERS can thus serve as a diagnostic tool to identify areas where interventions are needed to improve digital health engagement and patient outcomes. If digital health services regularly monitor digital readiness, they can easily identify users who need additional support. Furthermore, it can also effectively evaluate interventions’ effectiveness at all research stages. Therefore, the needs of digital health service users will be appropriately addressed.

Furthermore, assessing digital device usage skills should focus on more than just the technical aspects. As items in sections E and F of the mDiHERS exemplify, factors such as a patient’s cultural and educational background can influence their ability to use digital devices, necessitating a comprehensive approach incorporating these variables. Educational support and interventions tailored to patients from cultural and educational environments with potentially lower digital device usage skills will significantly enhance digital health literacy, accessibility, and, ultimately, digital health equity [ 43 ]. The mDiHERS underscores the need for an assessment that evaluates technical skills while also considering the patient’s overall background and circumstances. This approach contributes to developing more inclusive and customized support strategies for effectively using digital health services, ensuring all patients can benefit from advancements in digital health care.

The mDiHERS has the potential to be adapted for use in other patient populations and health conditions. Its application could lead to more personalized health care, where digital tools are used to their full potential to support health consumer’s care. However, the scale also highlights the need for health care systems to address the digital divide and ensure that all patients, particularly those with chronic conditions, have the necessary skills and resources to benefit from digital health innovations. The evolution of digital health services will likely present new challenges and opportunities, making the continuous refinement and application of tools such as the mDiHERS essential for achieving equitable and effective health care delivery.

Limitations and Recommendation

This study used online surveys and interviews. Participants with low digital literacy may have found participating difficult, possibly excluding them from the survey. Consequently, individuals with higher digital literacy might be overrepresented, leading to self-selection bias. This can hinder generalizing the findings to the entire population and can affect study results. To minimize this bias in future research, incorporating online educational interventions and paper-based surveys can help include those with low digital literacy. Promoting the study on various platforms can also improve accessibility. Recruiting a balanced number of participants across different age groups can enhance accuracy. IBD primarily affects individuals in their teens to thirties, making it challenging to have evenly distributed participants. Future research should aim to recruit a similar number of participants across different age groups to validate the tool thoroughly and improve the representativeness of the results.

Further, it is important to note that while we aimed to gather a broad range of literature and frameworks, our approach did not use a systematic review method, which may be considered a limitation. We acknowledge this limitation in our paper as it affects the comprehensiveness of our findings. Furthermore, due to the resource constraints of our study, it was only feasible to adhere partially to the WHO translation guidelines for tools. However, we suggest that future translations of the tool into other languages should follow the WHO’s translation guidelines for tools. Lastly, future studies are proposed to measure patient or health consumer digital readiness using the mDiHERS developed in this study to advance this research field. Subsequently, they should design and evaluate digital health services considering these results. This would facilitate the validation of the correlation between outcomes derived from the tool and the actual usage and effectiveness of digital health services.

Conclusions

The mDiHERS developed for this study measures patients’ readiness and ability to use digital health services. It is particularly useful for individuals and groups requiring continuous health management, such as IBD. mDiHERS assesses digital accessibility, literacy, and equity factors, contributing to the effective use of digital health services to enhance accessibility. The development and validation of the mDiHERS highlight the importance of patients’ confidence and competence in managing their health digitally. Continuous improvements are necessary to ensure that all patients can benefit from digital health care.

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our gratitude to Seung Gon Kim for his assistance in our research. This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2021R1C1C1004505). The funding for this project was secured by the corresponding author, JL. The text, tables, and figures of this paper were entirely generated by the authors without any primary or significant contributions from generative artificial intelligence. However, ChatGPT was used to identify and correct grammatical errors in the English text written by the authors.

Data Availability

Data from this study are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.

Conflicts of Interest

None declared.

Mobile-Centered Digital Health Readiness: Digital Health Literacy and Equity Scale (mDiHERS) Korean version.

Mobile-Centered Digital Health Readiness: Digital Health Literacy and Equity Scale (mDiHERS) English version.

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Abbreviations

Edited by A Mavragani; submitted 17.03.24; peer-reviewed by D Yoon, KL Mauco; comments to author 10.04.24; revised version received 01.05.24; accepted 27.06.24; published 13.08.24.

©Hana Kim, Rebecca Schnall, Nagyeom Yoon, Seong-Joon Koh, Jisan Lee, Jae Hee Cheon. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 13.08.2024.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (ISSN 1438-8871), is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://www.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.

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Exploring the influence of contextual factors and the caregiving process on caregiver burden and quality of life outcomes of heart failure (hf) dyads after a hospital discharge: a mixed-methods study.

1. Introduction

3.1. design, 3.2. ethics approval, 3.3. sample, 3.4. recruitment, enrollment, and data collection, 3.5. individual and family self-management theory (ifsmt), 3.6. dyad (patient and caregiver) measures, 3.7. measures for caregiver only, 3.8. measures for hf patient only, 3.9. data analysis, 4.1. demographic analysis, 4.1.1. social isolation.

The following quote from one of the caregivers illustrates COVID-19 social isolation: “ My social life has been a struggle with family and friends because of COVID. I want to keep him safe without the risk, so I keep company at a minimum and require everyone to wear a mask and be vaccinated to enter the house .”

4.1.2. Fear

“ His last hospital stay really scared me, and I was not really sure or got an answer about his prognosis .”

4.1.3. Patient Dependence upon Caregivers

An example quotes one of the caregivers: “ I am the only one that is even available. My first career was as a CNA, and I took care of his sister before she died. Both sets of parents passed away, and honestly, I am the only one. He would do it for me. We have been married for 25 years .”

4.1.4. Patient Expectations

An example quotes one of the caregivers: “ Yes. He defers to me even though he enjoys some of the tasks with other family or friends, such as going to Menards. I think he would enjoy these much better if he went with his friends or male relatives, but he wants me to go in case something happens .”

4.1.5. Financial Strain

A quote from one of the caregivers illustrates perceived financial strain and potential burden: “ Yes, she has not worked since 2016 and she has been in the hospital with so many visit(s) and now they have thrown around working her up for heart transplant and I am concerned with the cost of the surgery, hospital and post-transplant medications what our out of pocket and monthly costs are for us as I am the only income and we have a son still at home .”

5. Discussion

5.1. caregiving process, dyad congruence, 5.2. contextual factors, 5.3. limitations, 6. conclusions, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest, appendix a. the zarit burden interview.

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Oliver, T.L.; Hetland, B.; Schmaderer, M.; Zolty, R.; Wichman, C.; Pozehl, B. Exploring the Influence of Contextual Factors and the Caregiving Process on Caregiver Burden and Quality of Life Outcomes of Heart Failure (HF) Dyads after a Hospital Discharge: A Mixed-Methods Study. J. Clin. Med. 2024 , 13 , 4797. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13164797

Oliver TL, Hetland B, Schmaderer M, Zolty R, Wichman C, Pozehl B. Exploring the Influence of Contextual Factors and the Caregiving Process on Caregiver Burden and Quality of Life Outcomes of Heart Failure (HF) Dyads after a Hospital Discharge: A Mixed-Methods Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine . 2024; 13(16):4797. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13164797

Oliver, Tamara L., Breanna Hetland, Myra Schmaderer, Ronald Zolty, Christopher Wichman, and Bunny Pozehl. 2024. "Exploring the Influence of Contextual Factors and the Caregiving Process on Caregiver Burden and Quality of Life Outcomes of Heart Failure (HF) Dyads after a Hospital Discharge: A Mixed-Methods Study" Journal of Clinical Medicine 13, no. 16: 4797. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13164797

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