Choosing a UX Research Method

Deciding on the goal for user research is the first step of your study as it broadly dictates what types of research methods may work. The most important questions to ask yourself before deciding what research methods to use are "What do I want to learn?" and "Why do I want to learn it?" To answer these questions, identify what you already know about users and what knowledge you lack.^[1]

Some examples of things you may or may not already know about your users are:

• Who your users are
• How they currently use the product
• If they like using your product

Once you know what you're trying to learn, you can start thinking about how to learn it. Your research method could be:

• Attitudinal (What do people say about a subject?) vs. behavioral (What are people actually doing?) studies
• Qualitative (Why?) vs. quantitative (How many? How much?) studies

Many of these research methods won't fall strictly into one category.

You can also divide research methods according to which type of broad question it helps answer:

• What do people need?
• What do people want?
• Can they use it?

The choice of research methods often depends on which part of the product design phase you're in. Is it a new product, or does it already exist on the market? Some methods, like surveys, can be used at any stage, while others, like usability tests, can only be run once you have a prototype.

Here are some general guidelines:

• At the beginning of the process: You'll want to learn user needs and their motivations. This is the time to generate ideas and answers about which way to go. Field studies, diary studies, interviews, surveys, participatory design, and concept testing are suitable methods for this stage.
• Once the design stage begins: The focus shifts to improving the design. Methods you can use include card sorting, tree testing, usability testing, and moderated or unmoderated remote testing.
• After the release: The goal is to leverage existing users to assess the product against its earlier versions or competitors. Some methods you can use here are usability benchmarking, unmoderated UX testing, A/B testing, analytics, and surveys.^[2]

Researchers use qualitative methods to understand users in depth. These methods answer open-ended “why” questions, like “Why do users behave this way?” Data is collected by observing or directly speaking with users. For example, in a contextual inquiry, researchers watch users interact with a product and ask follow-up questions to understand their actions. The analysis is usually non-mathematical and based on patterns in behavior or feedback. Qualitative methods are good for exploring why a problem exists or how to solve it. But the results can be skewed by poor questions, misunderstandings, or researcher bias.

Quantitative research collects numerical data and analyzes it using statistics. It’s used to measure user behavior and attitudes indirectly, through tools like surveys, experiments, or analytics. These methods answer questions like “What do users do?”, “How many use this feature?”, or “How often does this error occur?” Quantitative data is useful for spotting trends, testing hypotheses, or comparing options. But it doesn’t explain why users behave a certain way. It lacks the depth of qualitative research.

Attitudinal research is great for learning about users' mental models and general opinions. For example, card sorting can help determine the best information architecture for your product; surveys help track important issues; focus groups can provide a top-of-mind view of what people think.

Behavior research helps you understand how people use the product or service. For example, A/B testing lets you see how different designs affect user behavior; eye tracking shows how users interact visually with a design.

Not all methods are purely attitudinal or behavioral. The two most popular UX research methods — usability testing and field studies — use a mixture of self-reported and behavioral data.

Understanding the product's usage context helps you narrow down your research methods further:

• Natural use: Minimizes interference from the study but provides less control over what topics you learn about. Examples include ethnographic field studies, intercept surveys, and analytic techniques.
• Scripted use: Focuses on specific product areas. For example, a benchmarking study is usually very tightly scripted.
• Limited use: Allows you to test one function or aspect of the experience. Participatory design, concept testing, and desirability studies are examples of this.
• Not using the product: This can help you discover broader issues. For example, learn what aesthetic attributes participants associate with a specific design style.^[3]

Many methods can be used with different degrees of product involvement. For example, eye-tracking can be natural or scripted.

One of the 3 broad questions UX research can answer is "What do people need?" Methods that can help you understand what users need include:

• Contextual inquiry and ethnography: Observing users in their natural environment allows you to see how they accomplish their tasks and what difficulties they face.
• Interviews: Face-to-face contact with users is a good way to find out what they need.
• Surveys and questionnaires: This technique can provide answers similar to what you'd get from user interviews. While you can't dive deeper into those answers, they allow for a larger volume of responses that can be analyzed easily.
• Diary studies: This method allows you to understand what users do and how they feel when using a product over a longer time frame.

Here are some research methods that can help you identify what people want in a product:

• A/B testing: This method allows you to compare which product version performs better. You can find out what CTA, color, images, layout, etc., users prefer.
• Focus groups: When done correctly, this method can help you discover the language users use to talk about your product. Having a group of users together in a focus group can also help them to jog memories and ideas in each other that they may not have otherwise remembered.
• Rapid prototyping: This group of techniques helps you quickly develop and validate designs. If you use rapid prototyping early, you can save yourself from making expensive and time-consuming changes during product development.^[4]

Once you have a functional prototype, the research focus shifts to determining if the product is usable. Here are some methods you can use at this stage:

• Usability test: Qualitative usability testing is the most crucial method to test for usability. It helps you discover what works and what needs to be changed or even uncover problems you'd never have thought of.
• Card sorting: This technique is especially helpful in establishing information architecture — website structure, menu labels, content grouping, etc.
• Tree testing: This method helps you to assess your product's information architecture. If you know that users aren't reaching an important page, a tree test can help you determine if the issue lies with the IA or UI.

The UX research method you choose will depend on the stage of your design process, how much time you have, your budget, and what you want to know.

Once this is established, decide what type of insight you want to gain. Do you want to learn what people think and believe or what they actually do? Generally, behavior research offers more value as users can't always precisely articulate what they need.

Do you need numerical data on how users behave or verbal data on why they behave that way? Often, qualitative research determines user thoughts and motivations, while quantitative research assesses usability.

Once you've determined the type of insight, narrow your focus by assessing the product's context in your question. If the question concerns the user or company, you may not need to involve the product. If your goal is to test the product or a design iteration, use a natural or scripted method.

In the end, the success of your work is determined by how much of an impact it has on improving your product's UX. Considering the above factors will help you make the best choice at the right time.