RESEARCH METHOD / PRACTICE GUIDE

Phone interviews

How do participants explain recent decisions and constraints?

A repeatable workflow using Plan → Conduct → Report. Adapt recruitment, timing and depth to the decision, participants and evidence available.

1. 01

   Plan

   Define the decision the study should inform and the range of roles to hear from. Write an open-ended guide around a recent concrete experience. Pilot the sequence and confirm consent, recording arrangements and time available.

2. 02

   Conduct

   Start with a recent example and follow its chronology. Probe for what happened, what information was available, who else mattered and what changed. Ask for clarification without suggesting the answer. Mark quotes, recalled events and your own interpretation distinctly.

3. 03

   Report

   Summarize each interview soon afterward. Compare themes across roles and retain contradictory accounts. Explain the limits of self-report, link findings to source notes and recommend the observation or test needed to resolve uncertainty.