A report opens with one shopkeeper describing a difficult month. The account is vivid, specific and worth hearing. Then a headline turns it into a claim about every business in the country. The distance between those two statements deserves attention.
Ask what the interview establishes
An interview can tell you what a person experienced, believes or observed. It may reveal a problem that statistics overlook or suggest a question worth investigating. It does not, by itself, establish how common that experience is.
Separate the speaker’s words from the reporter’s conclusion. “This owner’s costs rose” and “costs rose for most owners” require different evidence. The second claim needs a basis for describing a wider group.
Look for the bridge to the larger claim
Does the report provide records, a transparent survey, several independently selected accounts or another relevant source? Check the population, place and time period. A national figure from last year may not explain this month’s experience on one street.
Several interviews do not automatically create a representative sample either. People available at one location or willing to speak may differ from those who were absent or declined. That does not make their testimony worthless; it limits the conclusion that can reasonably be drawn from it.
Try rewriting an overbroad statement using only the evidence shown. An invented example, “Residents oppose the change,” might become “The three residents interviewed opposed the change.” The revised sentence is narrower, but it tells the reader what is actually known.
Do not erase the individual in pursuit of a number
A rare experience can still matter. A person describing a serious access failure does not need to prove that everyone experienced it before the problem deserves investigation. Frequency and significance are different questions.
When sharing a story, preserve those boundaries. Describe the account, identify any wider evidence and leave unresolved questions visible. Good reading allows a compelling individual story to remain compelling without asking it to represent people the reporter never spoke to.