UX Research - A complete guide for beginners

UX research - or sometimes called design research - serves many purposes throughout the design process. It helps us prove or disprove our assumptions, find commonalities between our target audiences and recognize their needs, goals and thought patterns. Ultimately, research serves to support our work and improve our understanding of it.

In this guide, we look at the many elements of design research, from interviews and observations to usability testing and A/B testing. You'll gain an insight into how these design research techniques can be used in your day-to-day work to improve the user experience for your customers and users.

UX research encompasses a variety of research methods that are used to add meaning and insight to the design process. Unlike other subfields of UX, research did not evolve from another field. It was merely adopted and translated from other forms of research. In other words, UX designers have borrowed many techniques from scientists, academics, market researchers and others. However, there are still research methods that are quite unique to the UX world.

The main goal of design research is to look at the design process from the end user's perspective. This approach prevents us from designing something "for ourselves". And it helps us to understand who this person is, in what context they are using this product or service and what they expect from us.

UX research consists of two parts: Collecting and synthesizing data to improve the user experience. At the beginning of a project, design research focuses on learning the project requirements from stakeholders and getting to know the needs and goals of end users. Researchers conduct interviews surveys, observe interested parties or actual users and review existing literature, data or analyses. The research focus is then iteratively shifted to usability and feel throughout the design process.erp Researchers conduct usability tests or A/B tests, interview users about the process and test assumptions in general to improve the design.

We can divide UX research methods into two groups: quantitative and qualitative.

• Quantitative research can be measured numerically. It answers questions like: "How many people clicked here?" or "What percentage of users can find the button to order?". This is helpful for understanding statistical probabilities and what is happening on a website or in an app.
• Qualitative research is sometimes referred to as "soft" research. It answers questions like "Why didn't people see the buy button?". Or "What else did people notice on the site?". It often takes the form of interviews or conversations. Qualitative research helps us understand why people do what they do.

Although researchers may specialize in certain types of interviews or tests, most can conduct a variety of techniques. All user researchers gather valuable information that we can use to design informed, contextual and user-centered experiences.

The various forms of UX research range from face-to-face interviews to non-moderated A/B tests - and everything in between. All of which are consistent, as they are based on the same key methods: Observation, understanding and analysis.

Observation

The first step in research is to observe the world around us. Similar to photographers, as a beginner you need to learn to see. You need to become aware of nervous tics that may signal that your interviewees are stressed or insecure. And pick up on seemingly insignificant references that are based on long-held beliefs or thoughts and should be examined more closely.

Observation may seem like a simple skill, but it can be clouded by unconscious biases - which everyone has. Design researchers train themselves to observe and take notes so they can later find patterns in seemingly disparate groups of people.

Understanding

Similar to observing, understanding is something we do constantly in our daily lives. We strive to understand our colleagues, our families and our friends, often trying to grasp a point of contention or an unfamiliar concept. For UX researchers, however, understanding has less to do with disagreements and more to do with mental models.

A mental model is the image someone has in their head when they think of a certain phrase or situation. For example, if someone owns an SUV, their mental model of "car" is likely different from another car owner's mental model. The mental model informs our decisions. In the case of car owners, when asked, "How long does it take to drive to Hamburg?", the answers vary according to the gas mileage of their vehicles, among other things.

Design researchers need to understand the mental models of the people they interview or test for two reasons. First, we all speak abbreviated sometimes. Researchers need to recognize this abbreviation based on the speaker's mental model. Second, if the researcher accurately identifies the user's mental model, they can share this information with the design team and adjust the model to match what they envision.

Analysis

Research alone can be valuable, but in order to use the findings for design, the results must be analyzed and eventually presented to a larger team. Analysis is the process by which the researcher identifies patterns in their work, suggests possible reasons or solutions, and makes recommendations.

Some analysis techniques include creating personas or scenarios, describing thought models, or providing charts that represent statistics and user behavior. Although the techniques described here focus mainly on conducting research, it is important to note that research is only useful if it is shared. It does no one any good if the results are locked away in a cupboard or forgotten in the excitement of the design process.

Every UX project is different and the tasks a researcher undertakes will differ from those that may be more appropriate in another environment. Some of the most popular forms of research are interviews, surveys and questionnaires, card sorting, usability testing, tree testing and A/B testing.

Interviews

One-on-one interviews are a tried and tested method of communication between a researcher and a user or stakeholder. There are three main types of interviews, each of which can be used in a different context and with different objectives.

• Guided interviews are the most common type. These are typical question-and-answer interviews where a researcher asks specific questions. This can be useful if you want to conduct interviews with a large number of users or compare and contrast the responses of different users.
• Unguided interviews are the best way to find out more about sensitive topics where users or stakeholders might be put off by direct questions. With a non-guided interview, the interviewer sets some rough guidelines and starts a conversation with the interviewee. The interviewer mostly listens during this "conversation" and only speaks to prompt the user or stakeholder to provide additional details or explain concepts and ways of thinking.
• In ethnographic interviews, what users do during their day in their "natural living environment" is observed. In this type of interview, the user shows the interviewee how they perform certain tasks and "immerses" themselves in their work or culture with the interviewer. This can help researchers understand the gaps between what people actually do and what they say. It can also shed light on things users do when they feel most comfortable.

Surveys and questionnaires

With questionnaires and surveys, you can easily gather a large amount of information about a group without investing a lot of time. This is a good method for projects that have a large number or variety of users. A researcher can use tools to create a survey, send it by email and receive hundreds of responses in a few minutes.

However, surveys and questionnaires have disadvantages. The researcher cannot interact directly with the respondents and therefore cannot help to interpretiate questions or shape them if the wording is not quite perfect. In addition, they usually have limited traceability.

Surveys usually show a much higher response rate when they do not require access data or contact information. However, this anonymity makes it impossible to ask for clarification or further details.

Card Sortings

Card sortings are sometimes conducted as part of an interview or usability test. A user is provided with a set of terms on cards and asked to categorize them. In the closed variant, the user also receives the category names. In an open version, the user creates the categories that they consider most suitable themselves.

The aim of card sorting is to examine the relationships between content and to understand the hierarchies that a user perceives.ltsMany content strategists and information architects rely on card sorting to test hierarchy theories or to speed up work on a sitemap.

Usability tests

In a usability test, potential or actual users of a product or service are asked to perform a series of tasks. To observe their behavior and determine the usability of the product or service. This can be done using a live version of a website or app, a prototype, a work-in-progress version or even clickable wireframes or paper and pencil.

There are many variations of usability testing, but three are most commonly used: moderated, non-moderated and guerrilla.

1. Moderated usability tests are the most traditional type of test. They can be conducted in person or via screen and video. To conduct moderated usability tests, usability labs are set up with one-way mirrors for the users. In a moderated test, an unbiased moderator talks to the user, reads out the tasks and asks the user to think aloud while performing the tasks.
   The role of the moderator is to act as a liaison between the stakeholders and the user, formulating questions to evaluate the effectiveness of a design and testing assumptions as the user familiarizes themselves with the process.
   
2. Unmoderated usability testing, sometimes referred to as "asynchronous research", is conducted online. The tasks and instructions are delivered via video or recorded audio. The user clicks a button to start the test and record their screen and audio. Just like in the moderated test, users are asked to express their thoughts out loud. There is no moderator to ask further questions. Unmoderated tests are available through numerous online services and can be considerably cheaper than moderated tests.
   
3. Guerilla tests are a modern, simpler version of traditional tests. Rather than hiring a lab, guerrilla research is usually conducted in the user's own environment. For example, users are approached in coffee shops or subway stations and asked to complete basic tasks with a website or service. Guerrilla testing is an inexpensive option, especially for a limited budget. However, they are best used only for products or services with a large user base. Niche products, on the other hand, will struggle to get reliable information from the random sample identified in guerrilla testing.

Tree tests

Just as card sortings are a good way to gather information before the architecture of a website has been created, tree tests are helpful for practicing this architectureerp. In a tree test, users are given a task and the top level of a sitemap. Then, similar to a usability test, they are asked to discuss where and how they would complete the task. However, unlike a usability test, the user is not shown a screen when they select an area. Instead, they see the next level of the architecture. The goal is to determine if information is categorized correctly and how appropriately the nomenclature reflects the areas of the website.

A/B testing

A/B testing is another way to find out what actions a user performs. An A/B test is usually chosen as an appropriate method when designers are struggling to choose between two competing elements.erpWhether the options are two types of content, a button or link, or two basic approaches to designing a homepage, an A/B test requires randomly displaying each version to an equal number of users and then reviewing the analysis to see which version achieved a particular goal. A/B testing is particularly useful when comparing a revised screen with an older version or collecting data to prove an assumption.