7 Rules for Writing Better UX Research Questions (+ FREE product)

Hey there, designer!

If you're not getting useful insights from your user research, the issue might not be your users—it might be your questions.

Whether you're doing interviews or usability tests, how you ask matters just as much as what you ask.

Here are 7 rules I follow when writing UX research questions, along with examples you can use:

✅ Rule #1: Start Broad, Then Narrow

Why it matters: Open-ended questions give you rich, unfiltered context.

• Good: “Tell me about how you shop for groceries.”

• Bad: “Do you like using mobile apps to shop?”

Starting broad helps uncover behaviors and motivations you wouldn’t think to ask about directly.

✅ Rule #2: Avoid Leading Language

Why it matters: Leading questions bias the response—and the insights.

• Good: “What made you click on that button?”

• Bad: “Did you click because it looked more trustworthy?”

Let your users tell their own stories.

✅ Rule #3: Ask About Behavior, Not Hypotheticals

Why it matters: People are bad at predicting future behavior.

• Good: “Can you show me the last time you did that?”

• Bad: “Would you use this feature in the future?”

Focus on what they did, not what they might do.

✅ Rule #4: Use Silence

Why it matters: Sometimes the best insights come after the question.

Ask—then pause.

Give people space to think. They’ll often add deeper context or correct themselves when you give them time.

✅ Rule #5: Always Test Your Script

Why it matters: A confusing question won’t get you a clear answer.

Read your questions out loud. Run them by a teammate. If something sounds robotic or awkward, rewrite it.

Clarity = better answers.

Better questions → better insights → better design decisions.

👉 Want a FREE bank of User research questions you can copy-paste for interviews and usability tests? - Click here to get it!

That’s all for this week! Stay tuned for more insights - learn how to transform and evolve your design workflow.

Talk soon,

Lisa

P.S. Have a specific challenge in your design workflow? Hit reply—I’d love to hear about it!

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