Different types of questions can be used strategically during an interview. Varying the ways in which you ask questions makes the interview more engaging and allows you to dig deeper into certain topics of interest. Below is a list of the different types of questions you may want to include in your interviews:
Probing is a critical part of interviewing because it encourages the interviewee to respond to questions in greater detail. When it comes to qualitative interviews (and qualitative data in general) the more detail the better! Probes also steer the conversation, manage the length of answers, clarify unclear statements, fill in missing detail, and keep the conversation on topic (Rubin & Rubin, 2011).
Below are various types of probes. Probes can be written prior to the interview (in structured interviews) or be thought of during the interview (in unstructured interviews).
| Type of Probe | Definition | Example |
| Elaboration probe | Expands a description | “Could you tell me a little more about that?” |
| Continuation probe | Encourages more detail | “Go on” |
| Attention probe | Draws attention to a particular finding | “This is interesting” |
| Clarification probe | Clarifies an unclear response | “Could you run that by me again? I didn’t quite understand how you did that” |
| Steering probe | Guides the conversation back to the research topic | “Sorry, I distracted you with that question; you were talking about something else” |
| Sequence probe | Puts events in chronological order | “When did that happen?” |
| Evidence probe | Seeks information to help determine which version of an account should be weighed more heavily | “Were you there when they said that?” |
| Slant probe | Provides clues about whose side the participant is on and how to interpret their answers | “How did [the event/person] make you feel?” |
| Nonverbal probe | Uses body language as a cue to participants that you are invested in what they are saying | Leaning forward, remaining silent, writing down things that the participant says |
(Rubin & Rubin, 2011)
With just the right amount of probing, you can conduct an informative, engaging interview. Too much probing may interrupt responses and be off putting to participants.
Personal Project
Let’s go back to those topics you wrote out in the last section. For each of your 3-5 topics, create a list of questions that will help you gain an understanding of the topic. If you are using structured interviews, make sure you have all your questions written out in advance, including probes. If you are conducting semi-structured interviews you can write out fewer questions than if you are conducting structured interviews.
