ideas for questions in interviews and focus groups
- Do you think of yourself as a healthy person?
- What do you do to try and stay healthy?
- How important is it to you to stay healthy?
- What do you think would be the single biggest thing you could do to improve your health?
- What stops you from doing that?
- What support do you find most helpful when you get ill?
Food/eating questions
- When you think about what you’re going to eat for tea, what are the main factors that will help you make your choice? (prompts: taste / cost / easy to make / health / what other people think)
- Describe to me the process of thinking about/cooking/eating your evening meal. (prompts: deciding what to have / who cooks / what time / who is eating / table vs lap / conversation over dinner / dessert / washing up)
- Describe your perfect meal situation.
Mental health
- When do you generally feel happiest?
- How do you cope when you feel down?
- Is there anything you do in your day-to-day life to make a positive difference to your mental health?
- What would be the single biggest change you could make to give you a more positive outlook?
Family/Relationships
- Who (if anyone) lives with you in your house?
- Do you have any caring responsibilities?
- Do you have anyone who can look after you if you need it?
Community/Politics
- What changes would you like to make to your community?
- Do you think the result of the EU Referendum will affect you?
- How do you feel about the result of the EU Referendum?
- Do you feel like you have the power to change your life for the better?
- How would you like the next generation’s lives to be better than yours?
- Do you vote? Why (not)?
- Tell us about one thing you’ve done that’s made a positive difference to other peoples’ lives.
Work/Education/Skills/Learning
- If you could learn a new skill, what would that be and why?
- If you could become an expert in one thing, what would that be and why?
- What would be your perfect job?
- Tell us about the best job you’ve ever had.
- Tell us about the worst job you’ve ever had.
Values
- If you could eat a meal with three well-known people, who would they be and why?
- What are the most important things for children to learn?
- What characteristics do you value in your friends?