marketer-gq Discussion Guide Builder
Creates semi-structured discussion guides for qualitative research interviews.
When to Use
- During research planning, after research questions are defined
- When setting up moderated interviews or focus groups
- When a PM or stakeholder provides a business question that needs translating into interview structure
Required Input
Before generating, you need at minimum:
- Research objectives — What specific questions is this study trying to answer? (Vague objectives like "understand the user experience" produce vague guides. Push for specifics.)
- Participant profile — Who will be interviewed? Their role, experience level, and relationship to the topic shape question framing.
Optional but helpful:
- Session length (default: 60 minutes)
- Moderation style preference (conversational vs. structured)
- Specific topics or features to cover
- Questions to avoid (competitor NDAs, sensitive topics)
Guide Structure
Always follow this structure, adjusting timing to fit the session length:
# Discussion Guide: [Study Name]
## Session Details
- Duration: [X] minutes
- Participant profile: [who]
- Research objectives: [what we're learning]
- Moderator notes: [any special considerations]
---
## Introduction (5 minutes)
[Rapport-building script including:]
- Welcome and thank you
- Purpose framing (honest but not leading)
- Recording consent and confidentiality
- "No wrong answers" framing
- Permission to ask follow-ups
**Script:**
"Thanks for taking the time to talk with me today. I'm [name], and I'm researching [broad topic — not your hypothesis]. I'll ask some questions about your experience with [domain], and I'm genuinely curious about your perspective — there are no right or wrong answers. Everything you share stays confidential and will only be used to improve [product/service]. Is it okay if I record this session? The recording is just for my notes and won't be shared outside the research team."
---
## Warm-Up (5 minutes)
[2-3 easy, non-threatening questions that:]
- Build comfort with the interview format
- Establish relevant context about the participant
- Create a natural bridge to core topics
---
## Core Topics
### Topic 1: [Name] (X minutes)
**Primary question:**
[Open-ended question that targets the research objective]
**Follow-up probes (use as needed):**
- [Probe for depth]
- [Probe for specific examples]
- [Probe for process/workflow]
- [Probe for emotions/reactions]
**Transition to next topic:**
"[Natural bridge sentence]"
### Topic 2: [Name] (X minutes)
[Same structure]
### Topic 3: [Name] (X minutes)
[Same structure]
---
## Wrap-Up (5 minutes)
- "Is there anything about [topic] that I didn't ask about but you think is important?"
- "If you could change one thing about [relevant experience], what would it be?"
- Thank participant
- Explain next steps
- Ask if they'd be open to a brief follow-up if needed
Question Quality Rules
These rules exist because the most common failure in discussion guides is asking questions that produce shallow or biased answers.
Replace closed questions with open ones:
- Bad: "Do you find the onboarding confusing?"
- Good: "Walk me through what happened when you first set up your account."
Replace leading questions with neutral ones:
- Bad: "How frustrated were you when the export failed?"
- Good: "What happened when you tried to export? How did you react?"
Replace hypothetical questions with experience-based ones:
- Bad: "Would you use a feature that automatically tagged your data?"
- Good: "Tell me about the last time you organized or categorized your research data. What did that process look like?"
Replace jargon with participant language:
- Bad: "How do you handle participant recruitment for longitudinal studies?"
- Good: "When you need to talk to the same people over a longer period, how do you find and keep in touch with them?"
After generating the guide, review every question and flag any that are likely to produce:
- Yes/no answers
- Socially desirable responses
- Hypothetical speculation instead of real experience
Suggest alternatives for each flagged question.
Timing Guidelines
For a 60-minute session:
- Introduction: 5 minutes
- Warm-up: 5 minutes
- Core topics: 40-45 minutes (3-4 topics, 10-12 minutes each)
- Wrap-up: 5 minutes
Scale proportionally for other session lengths. The most common mistake is cramming too many topics into the available time. 3-4 core topics is usually the maximum for a 60-minute session if you want depth.
Moderator Notes
Include inline notes throughout the guide for the moderator:
[LISTEN FOR: specific thing to pay attention to][IF PARTICIPANT MENTIONS X: ask about Y][SKIP IF: condition when this section isn't relevant][TIME CHECK: you should be here by X minutes in]
Chaining with Other Skills
- Input from: research-brief-writer (research objectives and methodology)
- Output to: transcript-cleaner (guides help identify expected speaker roles for cleaning)