(a) Emma could conduct her interview-based study by following these steps:
1. Identify and recruit participants who have experience owning or interacting with pets/domesticated animals.
2. Develop a set of open-ended questions that explore people's beliefs and perceptions about their pets' ability to learn, such as "Do you think your pet is able to learn new tricks or behaviors? Why or why not?" and "What do you think is the most impressive thing your pet has learned?"
3. Conduct interviews with participants either in person or via video conferencing or phone.
4. Record and transcribe the interviews.
5. Analyze the responses to identify common themes and patterns in how people perceive their pets' ability to learn.
(b) One limitation of this procedure is that people's beliefs and perceptions about their pets' ability to learn may not necessarily reflect their actual abilities. To overcome this limitation, Emma could also conduct observational studies to compare people's perceptions with their pets' actual learning abilities. For example, Emma could conduct a study where she teaches cats to respond to their names and then tests whether owners accurately perceive their cat's responsiveness. By incorporating observational studies alongside interviews, Emma can gain a more complete understanding of how people perceive their pets' learning abilities.