Week 3: Constructing a qualitative interview guide for market and user research

This week I moved on to the next phase of my research: validating the feasibility and acceptability of utilizing a mobile app as a means of assessing teens’ mental wellness. On Monday, the process began with a group of sixteen teen stakeholders using Gieia at least three times for the next two weeks. These teen stakeholders will primarily be utilizing Gieia for the purposes of market and user research.  

Once this two week period lapses, I will meet individually with each teen stakeholder and conduct a qualitative interview addressing 1) teens’ perception of the acceptability, accessibility, and content of Gieia; 2) any barriers or challenges with utilizing Gieia; and 3) suggested modifications to Gieia that would promote teens’ engagement. 

In order to conduct this qualitative interview, this week I worked on creating the first draft of my qualitative interview guide. This interview guide contains five different sets of questions addressing different aspects of the experience while utilizing Gieia. These aspects are the general experience of using Gieia, Gieia’s mental health content, Gieia’s substance use content, the resources offered within Gieia, and future modifications that I intend to make within Gieia. These future modifications include the ability for teens to track their mental wellness over time through Gieia. 

Before creating this interview guide, I consulted various research papers touching on topics ranging from teens’ confidentiality in mobile apps to health and technology literacy. I also walked through Gieia while creating the interview guide in order to ensure that the guide addresses all aspects of a teen’s experience while utilizing Gieia.

The questions posed within this interview guide range from “How satisfied were you with the mobile app format?” to “Would you feel more inclined to answer the questionnaires through this mobile app format or in the pediatrician’s office?” to “How comfortable did you feel using Gieia in terms of your privacy and confidentiality?”. 

Once I receive feedback from my mentor Dr. El-Jawahri in the following days, I look forward to revising my interview guide accordingly.