Research skills and techniques

Research is a critical, yet often misunderstood, step in the design process. Research and testing should inform every design decision.

UX research can be defined as a systematic study of end-users and their requirements for products that meet the features outlined in the previous section. The main goal of the research is to understand and promote the perspective of end-users in a way that informs and guides the UX design process. It provides invaluable insights into product users and what they need and value, and in what contexts the product will be used. Not only will research reduce the risk of a miscalculated guess, but it will also uncover new opportunities for innovation.

The overarching strategy for how you will do you research is called the research methodology. The methodology you choose shapes your choice of research methods – that is, it helps to determine how data and information will be collected and analysed.

UX research methods are the ways in which you generate and gather insights about your users, their behaviours, motivations and needs. The research uses a variety of investigative methods to add context and insight to the design process. UX research has borrowed many techniques from academics, scientists, market researchers, and other fields, however, there are still types of research that are fairly unique to the UX world.

These research methods are divided into two categories – quantitative and qualitative. At a broad level quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, whereas qualitative research deals with words and meanings. It is, however, more nuanced than this.

• Qualitative Research: Qualitative research methods are used to gain an understanding of human behaviour, intentions, attitudes, and experience, based on the observation and the interpretation of the people. It is an often open-ended technique that deals with the highly complex phenomena which are difficult to measure quantitatively. This kind of research is usually done to understand the topic in-depth. For example, qualitative research might seek to understand the reasons why users answered yes or no to a question about an aspect of UX.
• Quantitative Research: Quantitative research methods tend to focus on hard facts and numerical data. It seeks to establish the relationships between two variables using different statistical, computational, and statistical methods. As the results are accurately and precisely measured, this research method is also termed as “Empirical Research”. This type of research is generally used to establish the generalised facts about a particular topic. For instance, did users find it easy to locate the website’s contact information.

You may be wondering which research method is the best to use. The short answer is it depends. The best UX research method is one that provides relevant, complete answers to your research questions. The ideal method to use depends on your research project — what stage you're in, what goals you want to achieve, and what resources you have. Below, we look at some of the most common UX research methods to help you decide on the best solution for your project.

To choose the right UX research method for your project, you first need to understand the problem you're trying to solve and what data you need to collect to solve the problem. Other factors to be considered are the design stage you’re in and the budget, time, and resources you have available. You will consider these factors when you are introduced to the UX design process later in this module.

Below is an overview of the differences between quantitative and qualitative research. It is important to note that this rigid dichotomy is helpful for understanding the differences, but UX research often uses a mixed-mode approach – that is, using both approaches to pose and research questions. Qualitative and quantitative data can then be analysed collectively to zero in on the information the data suggests are answers to those questions. 

The Key Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Research²

Surbhi (2018) describes the key differences between qualitative and quantitative research in the following way:

1. “Qualitative research is a method of inquiry that develops understanding on human and social sciences, to find the way people think and feel."
2. Qualitative research is holistic in nature while quantitative research is particularistic.
3. Qualitative research follows a subjective approach as the researcher is intimately involved, whereas the approach of quantitative research is objective — the researcher is far less involved, only providing observations and analysis that are strictly related to answering the inquiry.
4. Qualitative research is exploratory. As opposed to quantitative research which is conclusive.
5. The reasoning used to synthesise data in qualitative research is inductive whereas in the case of quantitative research the reasoning is deductive.
6. Qualitative research is based on purposive sampling, where a small sample size is selected with a view to get a thorough understanding of the target concept. On the other hand, quantitative research relies on random sampling; wherein a large representative sample is chosen in order to extrapolate the results to the whole population.
7. Qualitative research collects verbal data. Conversely, in quantitative research, only objective and measurable data is gathered.
8. Inquiry in qualitative research is process-oriented, which is not in the case of quantitative research.
9. Elements used in the analysis of qualitative research are words, pictures, and objects while that of quantitative research is numerical data.
10. Qualitative research is conducted with the aim of exploring and discovering ideas used in the ongoing processes. Quantitative research is used to examine the cause and effect relationship between variables.
11. Lastly, the methods used in qualitative research are in-depth interviews, focus groups, etc. The methods of conducting quantitative research are structured interviews and observations.
12. Qualitative research develops an initial understanding of the answer to the research question, whereas quantitative research points to a final course of action.

There is a range of both qualitative and quantitative research methods, but UX research tends to use some more than others. The following graphic identifies commonly used methods of research and plots them against the type of information being sought.³:

The Maze Ultimate Guide to UX Research provides a good overview of UX research methodology and methods. For additional information,  search the internet for UX and UI research methods and discover a wealth of information about how organisations are conducting research today.