Expert Interviews Best Practices for Researchers

The world’s top researchers all have the expert interviews best practices in common. Amid the ocean of data dashboards, artificially intelligent insights, and reused market reports, the expert interview stands alone as the ultimate means of creating groundbreaking intelligence. But most researchers don’t even bother with a proper method for their interviews. And the resulting missed insights in each interview are staggering.

This guide is essential reading for anyone involved in research, whether that’s marketing, business strategy, finance, user experience, or academia. Whether you are looking to recruit experts, ask better questions, analyze your findings, or do anything else related to expert interviews best practices, you will find it at Katrium.

What is An Expert Interview?

An expert interview is a formal or semi-formal discussion with a person having particular knowledge, experience, or a point of view on the subject matter being studied by you. Expert interviews differ from stakeholder interviews and customer interviews in that the latter two may seek general information, while expert interviews aim to obtain detailed experience-based insights from individuals who have firsthand dealings with the subject matter.

Some examples of experts include:

• Venerable industry practitioners with years of practical experience in the field
• Former company leaders who have taken decisions related to your study
• Technical experts with thorough knowledge about specific domains
• Policy and regulation specialists with inside information
• Academic researchers with extensive experience in studying a phenomenon
• Professionals like doctors, engineers, lawyers, traders, etc.

The hallmark of an expert does not depend upon their professional designation but rather the extent of their experience concerning your research problem.

Why Expert Interviews are Irreplaceable

However, before delving into expert interviews best practices, it is useful to consider why expert interviews have such a singular place within the researcher’s toolkit.

1. They reveal insights that data cannot capture

• Underlying motivations, reservations, and reasoning for decision-making
• Unofficial processes – the realities of how things get done as opposed to the official process
• Early indications of change that aren’t reflected in publicly available data
• Organizational lore – information held by individuals but not in writing

2. They help you learn faster

• An interview with an expert for 45 minutes saves you weeks of desk research
• They draw your attention to topics and issues that matter, guiding your overall research strategy
• They introduce you to relevant contacts, organizations, and sources you didn’t know about otherwise

3. They increase your credibility

• Direct primary research from expert interviews is more credible than secondary research based on synthesis
• Lessons learned from experienced individuals lend legitimacy to your recommendations and findings
• Stakeholders react differently to “we talked to 12 industry experts” compared to “we read 12 industry reports”

4. They call into question your assumptions

• The most successful expert interviews are the difficult ones which either complicate or refute your hypothesis
• The experts who disagree with you may be your most important interviewees

Expert Interviews Best Practices in Phases of the Expert Interviews:

Phase 1: Research Design – Before You Invite Any Experts to an Interview

The most frequent error that researchers commit is starting their recruitment process before designing the study. An ill-designed expert interview program is a waste of time for everyone and yields messy results.

1. Your Core Research Question

An expert interview program following expert interviews best practices starts with one core research question. Not five questions. Just one.

Consider the following:

• What is the single most crucial issue that I must address?
• What decision will my research support, and what should the decision-maker know?
• How would my analysis change if the answer were contrary to my expectations?

All else follows from there following the expert interviews best practices like your expert selection criteria, your interview guide, your analytical approach.

2. Chart the Knowledge You Need

Identify the experts only after you know what type of knowledge domain you are looking for. For every research question, there is a combination of perspectives from multiple viewpoints:

• From supply to demand perspective – The manufacturer and the customer will think differently
• From strategic to operating viewpoint – The strategist and the operator will see things differently
• From historical to current viewpoint – Ex-insiders are free thinkers; current insiders provide real-time information
• From popular to contrarian viewpoint – Experts that take unpopular positions can spot problems that everyone else overlooks

3. Structure Your Interviews

Interviewing experts is an exercise at one end of the spectrum, which starts with highly structured interviews and ends with totally unstructured interviews. This decision depends upon the purpose of the research study.

• Structured interviews – Strictly adhering to set questions, sequence, and exact wording
• Semi-structured interviews – Using an interview guide to explore topics but not bound by questions
• Unstructured interviews – Free-flowing discussion guided entirely by the expert

Most researchers rely on semi-structured interviews because it provides consistency with flexibility.

4. Calculate Sample Size

There is no set formula for determining sample size in expert interviews; however, some expert interviews best practices should be considered:

• Exploratory studies – five to ten interviews are generally enough to discover major trends
• Verification studies – ten to twenty interviews give stronger trend recognition
• Comparative studies – sample sizes depend on the number of groups or variables being compared
• Saturating approach – stop once there are no new themes from the additional interviews. It usually takes twelve to twenty interviews to reach saturation point for any study.

It is always better to have quality over quantity. If ten highly insightful interviews are conducted with carefully selected experts, they will always surpass thirty unfruitful interviews done hastily with random respondents.

Phase 2: Expert Identification & Recruitment

The recruitment process makes or breaks expert interview projects. Us at Katrium truly excell at this part. Recruiting experts is not just logistics; it is research work in itself.

Create Your Expert Persona

Start by defining exactly the kind of expert you need. Consider:

• Industry/sector – Specify carefully. Don’t settle for vague terms like “health care.” Go for something more precise like “Specialty pharma distribution in the US mid-market.”
• Functional area – What functional role must this person have performed in?
• Level of seniority – Strategic, operational, or specialist expertise needed?
• Type of organization – Big company, small/medium business, start-up, public sector, NGO?
• Geographical experience – Is geographical experience important?
• Relevant time period – Should you be looking for current experience, or will experience from 3 to 5 years ago suffice?
• Who is off-limits?

Screening: The Step Where Almost Everyone Cuts Corners

A good screening process is mandatory. An apparently perfect match in terms of background and experience who isn’t really the one for the job will only waste your time and corrupt your results.

Expert interviews best practices say that steps in the screening process should include:

• A written pre-screen questionnaire covering roles and responsibilities, years of experience, and core knowledge areas
• A brief pre-screening call of about 5 minutes when it concerns high-risk interviews
• Verification of stated experience – don’t take seniority at face value
• Conflict-of-interest questions – is there anything personal or financial that could impact the expert’s judgment
• Compliance checks – especially important when it comes to working with public companies

Expert Interviews Best Practices in Outreach

How you reach out will have a major influence on your response rate and even on the people you’ll end up interviewing.

Here are a few things to remember about your outreach message:

• Keep it brief – 3 to 5 sentences
• State clearly what you want and why, without giving away too much information about the research project itself
• Indicate how long the interview would take
• Explain why you approached that specific person
• Keep it easy for them to accept or decline your request

Avoid the following:

• Outreach that is generic and formulaic in nature
• Elaborate explanations that dilute the purpose behind your request for information
• Descriptions of the study that do not give clear details about the project
• Promising large sums of money to entice respondents

Phase 3: Building Your Discussion Guide

According to expert interviews best practices, a good discussion guide is not a tight script; rather, it is a flexible structure that guarantees the coverage of all necessary aspects of discussion while allowing you to dig deeper where needed.

Organize Your Discussion Guide in Three Parts

Introduction: Setting the scene and getting started (5-10 min.)

• Thank the expert, introduce the context of your research
• Get some general information about their background and experience
• Calibrate their expertise and define the focus points to discuss further

Examples of introductory questions:

• “Could you tell us a bit about your background and how you got to your present position?”
• “How long have you been active in the industry and what is your job routine? “
• “What are, according to your perspective, the two or three biggest changes that took place in [industry/sector] recently?”

Main Part: Asking core questions (25-35 min.)

• This part requires a great deal of attention and effort, because the actual value of discussion lies here.
• Move from general to specific and ask both types of questions
• Don’t be afraid to move away from your script if an expert takes your discussion down an interesting path

Core question types:

• Experience-driven: “Can you give an example of when you’ve been faced with [related challenge]? How did you handle it?”
• Comparative: “What is [Company A]’s stance on this compared to [Company B]?”
• Predictive: “In the next 12-18 months, where do you see things going?”
• Contrarian: “Some folks say [contrarian perspective]. What are your thoughts on that?”
• Quantitative: “If you had to estimate a rough number, what would you say for [percentage of companies/buyers/deals doing X]?”

Close with what you could have missed (5-10 minutes)

• “Is there anything else important on this topic that I haven’t covered?”
• “Who else do you recommend I speak with?”
• “Do you know of any other readings or data I should look into?”
• Thank the person and clarify how their input will be used in the research

Guiding Principles of Question Design

Start with open-ended questions:

• “How do you view X?” vs. “Is X important?”
• “What influences this decision?” vs. “Is it cost-driven?”

Don’t lead questions:

• Not good: “Would you say that the market is consolidating?”
• Better: “What do you see in terms of competitive dynamics?”

Leverage silence:

• After getting an answer from an expert, wait. The best insights usually come in those five seconds after they’ve finished speaking.

Pursue aggressively, yet courteously:

• “Could you elaborate on that point?”
• “What do you mean by the term [x]?”
• “How did you arrive at that conclusion?”
• “How certain are you of your stance?”

Create a triangulation through hypothetical scenarios:

• “Suppose that an upstart tried to take on the incumbents on price alone; what might occur?”
• “Suppose that you were consulting a firm wishing to enter the market now; what would be your primary piece of advice?”

Phase 4: Conducting the Interview

How you conduct the interview is crucial to the results. We at Katrium can help a lot with this difficult phase. Expert interviews best practices advice to keep in mind:

1. Logistics and Preparation

• Length of Time — Between 45 and 60 minutes is ideal for most expert interviews. It gives you enough time for meaningful conversations while respecting the expert’s time.
• Type of Communication — While face-to-face interviews are ideal, video conferencing enables you to observe the speaker’s body language. Phone interviews are more convenient for the expert and may result in a better flow of ideas. Make your choice based on your study type.
• Recording the Interview — Ask the interviewee for permission before recording. Recording allows you to concentrate entirely on the discussion without worrying about documenting everything. Should they refuse, you could designate someone else to take notes during the interview.
• Interview Team of Two People — If possible, it is best to assign two people for the interview process, with each having a distinct task. The interviewer should pay full attention to the discussion, and the note-taker should concentrate solely on writing down information.
• Time Zones and Scheduling — You may want to employ automatic scheduling software that calculates time zones to schedule the meeting.

Establishing Rapport Fast

An expert interview following expert interviews best practices is brief. There’s no luxury of time in warming up to the task. Establish rapport quickly through:

• Knowledge of their background – make references to things in their career history
• Intellectual honesty – acknowledge your areas of ignorance, as well as knowledge
• Adoption of their communication style – some experts speak formally, others informally
• Curiosity – the most effective interviewers are truly interested, not merely going through the motions

Dealing With Various Types Of Experts

• Over-Sharer: Speaks in great detail but does not get to the point. Be firm but polite by saying something like, “This is very useful information. However, I wanted to make sure that we have enough time to discuss this particular aspect of the topic.”
• Under-Sharer: Speaks in brief sentences. Prompt the expert to share an example by saying, “Could you give me a real life example of this concept at work?”
• Digressor: Drifts into an interesting conversation that is not related to the topic at hand. Allow the expert to take the conversation to its conclusion before redirecting him/her.
• Over-cautious Expert: Does not express any views on the topic because he/she always speaks in hedges and avoids taking a clear position. Instead of demanding a firm stand, allow the expert to give estimates and probabilities.
• Genuinely Contrarian Expert: Presents views that oppose your hypothesis. Do not feel pressured to defend yourself because these types of experts often yield productive insights.

Phase 5: Analysis and Synthesis

But great interviewing is just the first step in expert interviews best practices. Your analysis and synthesis skills will determine if any meaningful action is taken based on the information you learn.

1. Immediate Debrief

Immediately following each interview, record:

• The three most critical insights gained from the conversation
• Any unexpected discoveries that contradict pre-existing beliefs
• Questions that could have been asked but were not
• The names of people, companies, or references cited by the expert
• Your evaluation of the expert’s credibility and the validity of his or her perspective

Never depend solely on audio recordings to remember everything. The immediate debrief allows you to write down your own interpretation of the content, which is equally important to expert interviews best practices.

2. Establish Analytical System

As the data from the interviews grows, make sure to structure your analysis process in a thoughtful way:

• Theme identification — What are the recurrent themes you can identify in your interviews? List out the 5 to 8 most common ones.
• Convergence vs divergence — What do the experts agree about? Where are their positions contradictory? This information is valuable for your further analysis.
• Weighting based on expertise — All experts have different levels of expertise in specific areas, so make sure you weigh the findings accordingly.
• Identifying contradictions — When the experts are in disagreement, figure out why. They might have been working at different points in time or had a different perspective on something.

3. Qualitative Coding

If you are interviewing more than 15 experts, consider using qualitative coding:

• Assign codes to key themes and concepts
• Consider software tools, such as NVivo, Dovetail or just a spreadsheet
• Frequency — see how many times the experts independently raised a certain idea versus being prompted about it
• Co-occurrence — recurrent themes that co-occur often reveal causality

Phase 6: Ethics, Compliance, and Confidentiality

Conducting expert interviews with expert interviews best practices comes with both ethical and legal considerations.

Informed Consent

Experts should know the following:

• The reason for the study and use of results
• Whether their answers will be attributable or confidential
• Whether the interview will be audio-recorded
• That they have the right to withdraw from the interview at any point and to not answer questions

Make sure you get the consent from them first — either through oral agreement during an audio-recorded call or signed informed consent.

Confidentiality and Attribution

• Make sure you anonymize the expert’s answers unless explicitly told otherwise
• Never show what one expert thinks to another named expert — it goes against confidentiality principles and is often non-compliant
• Clarify the attribution status of findings in the output

Compliance in Sensitive Areas

• Investment analysis — Do not request any material information that is not yet public knowledge. In case an expert starts disclosing information concerning future results, regulatory actions, or undisclosed transactions, switch the discussion to another topic right away.
• Sectors governed by strict rules — Health care, finance, and legal fields have their own set of compliance issues. Be familiar with them before beginning the research.
• Competitive intelligence — Do not lie about the goal of your investigation or the organization you represent to get interviews with specialists.

Data Privacy

• Archive interview audio recordings and transcripts
• Comply with applicable data privacy laws (GDPR, etc.)
• Establish and clarify data retention guidelines

Common Pitfalls in Expert Interviews Best Practices for Even Experienced Researchers

• Conformity instead of exploration – Designing your research guide to confirm what you think instead of testing what you believe
• Saying too much – You should only do 20% of the talking. Explaining instead of asking is not really listening.
• Accepting the obvious – An initial response might satisfy curiosity, but it will never provide any real value; there is always an additional ‘why’ hidden below the surface.
• Treat all informants equally – Not everyone knows everything about the subject you’re studying. Some respondents will have better and more recent knowledge on the issue.
• Neglecting failure cases – Seek experts who have failed at what you’re researching. Learning from mistakes can be more insightful than learning from successes.
• Analysis in isolation – Expert interviews need to be analyzed alongside qualitative and quantitative analysis and even secondary research. One tool cannot tell the full story.
• Improper documentation – Poorly documented interviews cannot be synthesized and the time put into interviewing experts is wasted.

Conclusion

Expert interviews best practices may be relatively straightforward, but they are not easy. They involve thorough preparation, intellectual engagement, clear organization, and insightful analysis. Katrium can help in ensuring that expert interviews are done correctly. result in information that cannot be found elsewhere, not in databases, not in reports, and certainly not in any artificial intelligence summaries.

Those researchers who consistently succeed at expert interviews do so because they share the following approach: they enter the interviews with a commitment to learning, not just proving, through thorough preparation, attentive listening, constant questioning, and honest synthesis, especially when what they discover is contrary to all their assumptions. For more expert interviews best practices guidance contact us at Katrium.