- Plan optional followup questions for each interview question as you’re writing your interview guide.
- Keep a generic probes bank at the top (or bottom) of your interview guide so that you don't repeatedly ask “Why?” (e.g., “How does that make you feel?”)

New York University

Probing/asking follow-up questions is effective for uncovering the motivations and rationale behind certain behaviors, attitudes, and perspectives. E.g., “How does that make you feel?”, “Why do you think that is?”, or “Can you tell me more about that?”

The researchers may find themselves trying to extrapolate meaning from user quotes (rather than relying on a direct explanation from the participant) if they did not ask probing questions.

Not Enough "Probing" Questions

Fessenden, T. (2021, June 6). 5 Facilitation Mistakes to Avoid During User Interviews. Nielsen Norman Group. Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/interview-facilitation-mistakes/. 

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