Interview Methods

Explores the use of interviews as a primary method of inquiry and insight development.

This course will provide both practical knowledge and theoretical/methodological background to enable students to thoughtfully engage with users through individual and group-based interviews and to analyze and understand those dialogues. The course will combine scholarly research from the social sciences and from the design world to build understanding and afford students opportunities to think critically about the interview process. Practice will help students hone their interview and analysis skills.

Learning Objectives

Build an understanding of the methods involved in interviewing for design research and how to strengthen their individual interview practices.

Learning Outcomes

Students completing this course will be able to:

• Identify situations in which individual or group-based interviews will help them in the research and design process
• Design interview guides, conduct interviews, transcribe, and analyze interviews

Format & Grading

Each week, there will be both a discussion and a practical component to the class, so students have the opportunity to gain hands-on experiences and to think critically about what they are doing.

Enrollment Restrictions

No prerequisites. This course is open to all Institute of Design students.