English Language Arts · 8th Grade · Foundations of Inquiry · Weeks 10-18

Conducting Interviews and Surveys

Students will learn how to design and conduct interviews and surveys as primary research methods, and how to analyze the data collected.

• Common Core State Standards
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.7

About This Topic

Interviews and surveys represent a category of primary source that eighth graders can actually create, giving them agency in the research process that secondary sources alone cannot provide. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.7 expects students to conduct research projects drawing on multiple sources, and primary research methods give students direct access to lived experience, professional expertise, and community perspectives that published texts may not capture. Designing good interview questions or survey instruments, however, requires careful thinking about how question wording shapes responses.

The distinction between qualitative data from interviews and quantitative data from surveys is one that students encounter across disciplines and carries into high school and college. Interview data captures nuance, explanation, and individual experience. Survey data allows for aggregation, pattern recognition, and comparison across groups. Students who understand both types of data collection are better equipped to match research methods to research questions.

Active learning is critical for this topic because the skills involved, question writing, interviewing technique, and data interpretation, can only be developed through practice. Role-playing interview scenarios, peer-testing survey instruments, and analyzing real-world data samples all prepare students for conducting authentic primary research.

Key Questions

1. Design a set of interview questions that elicit detailed and relevant information for a research topic.
2. Analyze the ethical considerations involved in conducting interviews and surveys.
3. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of qualitative data gathered through interviews versus quantitative data from surveys.

Learning Objectives

• Design a set of interview questions that elicit detailed and relevant information for a specific research topic.
• Analyze the ethical considerations, such as informed consent and privacy, involved in conducting interviews and surveys.
• Compare and contrast the strengths and limitations of qualitative data from interviews with quantitative data from surveys.
• Evaluate the suitability of interviews versus surveys for answering particular research questions.
• Synthesize interview and survey data to draw conclusions about a research topic.

Before You Start

Identifying Reliable Sources

Why: Students need to understand the difference between primary and secondary sources to appreciate the value of conducting their own research.

Formulating Research Questions

Why: Students must be able to develop focused questions before they can design instruments to answer them.

Key Vocabulary

Primary Research	Information gathered directly from original sources, such as through interviews or surveys, rather than from existing published materials.
Qualitative Data	Descriptive information, often in the form of words, narratives, or observations, that captures experiences, opinions, and nuances. Interview data is typically qualitative.
Quantitative Data	Numerical information that can be measured and statistically analyzed to identify patterns, frequencies, and relationships. Survey data is often quantitative.
Informed Consent	The ethical principle that participants in research must voluntarily agree to participate after being fully informed about the study's purpose, procedures, and potential risks.
Bias	A tendency or inclination that prevents impartial consideration of a question or topic, which can affect the design of questions or the interpretation of results.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Any question you ask in an interview is a valid research question as long as it is related to your topic.

What to Teach Instead

Poorly designed questions generate unreliable or unusable data. Leading questions, vague terms, and yes/no questions that could be open-ended all limit the quality of interview data. Teach students to test their questions by asking: 'Does this question have a built-in expected answer?' and 'Could this be misinterpreted?' Peer review of question sets makes these issues visible before the actual interview.

Common Misconception

More survey responses automatically mean more accurate results.

What to Teach Instead

Sample size matters, but so does sample composition. A large survey of a non-representative group produces biased results. Students need to think about who they are asking, not just how many. Discussing a real-world example of a large but flawed survey grounds this concept concretely.

Active Learning Ideas

Role Play: Interview Practice Rounds

In pairs, one student plays interviewer and one plays an expert on a topic of their choice. The interviewer uses a prepared set of five questions, then reflects on which questions generated the most detailed responses. Partners switch roles, then compare which question types (open-ended vs. closed) produced richer data, recording observations in a simple chart.

35 min·Pairs

Inquiry Circle: Survey Instrument Audit

Small groups receive a sample ten-question survey on a school-relevant topic that contains several flawed questions, including leading questions, double-barreled questions, and ambiguous terms. Groups identify each flaw, explain why it would produce unreliable data, and rewrite three of the problematic questions. Groups share their rewrites and discuss improvements.

40 min·Small Groups

Think-Pair-Share: Qualitative vs. Quantitative Comparison

Present pairs with two sets of data about the same issue: interview excerpts from three people and a bar chart from 200 survey respondents. Pairs identify two things each data type reveals that the other cannot, then share findings with the class. Discussion surfaces when each method is most useful and why real researchers often combine both.

20 min·Pairs

Real-World Connections

• Market researchers for companies like Nielsen conduct surveys and interviews to gather consumer opinions on new products, influencing advertising campaigns and product development.
• Journalists use interviews to gather firsthand accounts and perspectives for news articles, providing depth and context beyond official statements.
• Public health officials design surveys to track disease prevalence and interview individuals to understand health behaviors, informing community outreach programs and policy decisions.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Provide students with a research scenario (e.g., 'Investigating student opinions on school lunch options'). Ask them to write two interview questions and two survey questions designed to gather relevant information for this scenario.

Discussion Prompt

Present two hypothetical research findings: one based on interview data (e.g., detailed student quotes about food preferences) and one based on survey data (e.g., percentages of students liking or disliking specific meals). Ask students: 'Which type of data better answers the question 'Why do students dislike the pizza?' and 'How many students dislike the pizza?' Explain your reasoning.'

Peer Assessment

Students draft a short survey instrument (5-7 questions) on a topic of interest. They then exchange their surveys with a partner. Partners provide feedback on clarity, potential bias in wording, and whether the questions would yield useful data, using a checklist provided by the teacher.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do 8th graders conduct ethical interviews and surveys at school?

For interviews with adults outside the school, students should explain the purpose of their research and obtain verbal permission before starting. For peer surveys, students should make participation voluntary and keep responses anonymous when possible. Students should not ask questions about personal health, family finances, or sensitive topics without teacher and parent approval.

What makes an interview question good versus bad for research?

Good interview questions are open-ended, specific, and neutral. They invite the interviewee to explain and elaborate rather than answer yes or no. Avoid questions that assume an answer, combine two separate ideas, or use jargon the interviewee may not understand. The best test is to ask a classmate to answer the question and see if the response gives you useful information.

How many interviews or survey responses do 8th graders need for a valid project?

At the middle school level, the focus is on process and methodology rather than statistical significance. Three to five interviews provide enough qualitative data for meaningful pattern identification. For surveys, 20 to 30 responses from a reasonably diverse group within the school community give students workable data without requiring complex statistical analysis.

How does active learning support primary research skill development?

Primary research skills, interviewing, question design, data analysis, are procedural and social. Students cannot learn them by reading about them. Role-playing interview scenarios exposes weaknesses in question design before a real interview. Peer-testing surveys catches ambiguous wording. Active, practice-based approaches build the confidence and competence students need for authentic research.