Audience research
Part of Audience research for property creators with populations and permissions kept apart
Seven interview prompts for property research that start with the last time you needed a fact
Use seven unranked interview prompts for property creator research in England while separating participation, publicity and sales permission.
These seven prompts are for adult interviews about one defined property-media decision in England. They are unranked and were selected on 5 September 2026 because each tests a distinct task, evidence or risk boundary found in an official research or regulator record. Children, case-specific mortgage advice, exact security details, sales scripts and requests for testimonials were excluded.
Before asking anything, state the population, England geography, recruitment frame, eligibility, session dates, recording choice, retention and withdrawal route. GOV.UK's informed-consent guide provides a useful method checklist, although a private project still needs its own ethics and privacy review.
What to take away
- State consent, geography, eligibility, recording, retention and withdrawal before asking any interview question.
- Ask about a recent property information task rather than a prediction about future behaviour.
- Keep quotation, researcher interpretation and verified fact separate after every session.
- Research consent does not authorise a testimonial, sales call or later marketing contact.
- Mortgage and investment promotion needs a specialist decision, not interview consensus.
1. "Tell me about the last time you needed property information"
Ask for the sequence, source and decision, not an exact address or financial history. A recent task is more useful than a prediction about future behaviour. Follow with "What did you do next?" and record whether the speaker is a buyer, service approver, operator or viewer.
2. "Which fact was hardest to verify?"
Ask where the fact came from, its date and geography. Do not accept the interview as proof of tenure, price, planning status or energy performance. The ASA's property marketing guidance stresses substantiation for objective property claims.
3. "What would a usable deliverable contain?"
For an organisational buyer, ask about format, source notes, approvals, captions, usage rights, correction and withdrawal. For an adult viewer, ask what must be understandable and accessible. Do not merge the answers into one requirement without naming which role supplied it.
4. "Who is allowed to approve and publish it?"
Map the factual owner, media approver and legal reviewer. If the proposed service includes introductions or negotiation, ask who handles them rather than assuming the creator can. Section 1 of the Estate Agents Act 1979 makes the actual instructed activity relevant.
5. "What information must never enter the research record?"
Prompt for exact addresses, access instructions, alarm or camera positions, occupancy routines, planned absences and visible documents. The ICO's data-minimisation guidance requires the project to keep only personal information needed for its stated purpose.
6. "Where could commercial influence change the answer?"
Ask about payment, gifts, affiliate arrangements, employment and client approval. Do not turn a favourable research comment into promotional copy. CAP's testimonials guidance treats publication permission and evidence as separate advertising duties.
7. "What should make this project stop?"
Invite reasons to reject the idea: unclear rights, unsupported property facts, inaccessible formats, hidden advertising or regulated wording. Mortgage and investment promotion needs a specialist decision under the FCA's social-media financial promotions guidance, not an interview consensus.
After each session, separate quotation, researcher interpretation and verified fact. Report invited, eligible, completed and withdrawn counts with dates and recruitment routes.
A participant's research consent does not authorise a testimonial or sales call. The ICO explains that genuine market research becomes direct marketing if it contains promotion or is used to enable later marketing. Request future commercial contact through a distinct, reviewed process.
Before you act
- State population, geography, recruitment frame and eligibility first.
- Ask about a recent task, not a future prediction.
- Do not treat the interview as proof of property facts.
- Exclude exact addresses, access details and occupancy routines.
- Separate quotation, interpretation and verified fact after each session.
- Route any future commercial contact through a distinct reviewed process.
Common questions
What must be stated before asking any interview question?
Before asking anything, state the population, England geography, recruitment frame, eligibility, session dates, recording choice, retention and withdrawal route. GOV.UK's informed-consent guide offers a method checklist, but a private project still needs its own ethics and privacy review.
Why should interviews ask about a recent task rather than future behaviour?
The article says a recent task is more useful than a prediction about future behaviour. Prompt one asks for the sequence, source and decision, not an exact address or financial history, then follows with what the speaker did next.
When does market research become direct marketing?
The ICO explains that genuine market research becomes direct marketing if it contains promotion or is used to enable later marketing. A participant's research consent does not authorise a testimonial or sales call, so request any future commercial contact through a distinct, reviewed process.
