COURSE 1 MODULE 4: Introduction to UX Research

What is a better way to frame this framed question: "Do you like or dislike the improved layout of these buttons?"

"Explain how you feel about the layout of the buttons."

Foundational research answers what question?

"What should we build? plus "What are the user problems?" "How can we solve them?" "Am I aware of my own biases, and am I able to filter them as I do research?"

How can you overcome sunk cost fallacy?

- Break down your project into smaller phases - Outline points where you can decide whether to continue or stop

What are some methods of overcoming False Consensus Bias?

- Identify and articulate your own assumptions - Survey large groups of people

How can you overcome Implicit Bias?

- Reflect on our own behaviors - Ask others to point out our implicit biases

How can you overcome Primacy bias?

- Take detailed notes or recordings - Interview each participant in the same way - consistency is key - ask your colleagues to join you during interviews to provide additional opinions

How can you overcome Recency Bias?

- Take notes or recordings for each interview or conversation you have - Interview each participant in the same way - consistency is key -ask your colleagues to join you during interviews to provide additional opinions

Define usability study

-A technique used to evaluate a product by testing it on users -help demonstrate if a product is on the right track or if the design needs to be adjusted -can test usability in person and online

Additional research methods that might be used to conduct design research include:

-A/B testing -Cafe or guerrilla studies -Card sorting -Intercepts

Research methods you might use to conduct post-launch research include:

-A/B testing -Usability studies -Surveys -Logs analysis

What are the most effective methods for overcoming confirmation bias during research?

-Ask open-ended questions when conducting interviews -Actively listen -Include a large sample of users

What are the six kinds of biases?

-Confirmation bias -False consensus bias -Primacy bias -Recency bias -Implicit bias -Sunk cost fallacy

Common foundational research methods include:

-Interviews -Surveys -Focus groups -Competitive audit -Field studies -Diary studies

Interviews Disadvantages

-It's time consuming to interview each user -It's expensive to pay participants and to rent space for the interviews -The sample sizes are smaller, due to time and money constraints -Group interviews can be affected by the bandwagon effect, or going along with the group's opinion instead of thinking creatively, which can discourage open discussion by people who have an opinion that doesn't align with the majority of the group.

Secondary Research Advantages

-Secondary research is generally cheaper and faster than primary research - you'll save time and money -you can often find secondary research via online searches and subscription research publications -secondary research can be a good supplement to findings from your primary research

Surveys Disadvantages

-Surveys often do not allow for in-depth feedback; most questions will have responses drawn from a set of multiple-choice answers. -There are some types of research questions that won't work in a survey format. -Surveys usually do not allow for personalization.

Usability Studies Disadvantages

-Usability studies only measure how easy it is to use a product -Can be expensive - especially if you have to bring users into a lab and reimburse them for their time -There can be differences between a "controlled" usability study in a lab versus how a user experiences the product in their real life

Usability Studies Advantages

-You can learn from first-hand user interaction and observation -Usability studies can challenge your assumptions about your product by demonstrating a completely different result than you were expecting -Users can provide in-depth feedback

Surveys Advantages

-You can learn more from a larger sample size -You are able to gather results and insights quickly -Surveys are usually inexpensive because they don't take as much time for participants to complete, and they can be done remotely

Secondary Research Disadvantages

-You will not learn from any first-hand user interaction -You will not receive user feedback specific to your product -Secondary research can be misleading and generalizing if not done appropriately

Interviews Advantages

-You're better able to understand what users think and why -You can adjust your questions or refocus the discussion based on the user's answers -You have the ability to ask follow-up questions in real time -You have the ability to ask questions specific to a user's needs -You'll receive direct suggestions from the user

Ways to prevent biases

1. Choose your words carefully 2. Foster independent thinking 3. Avoid specific language 4. Limit the guidance you give users 5. Consider users' tone and body language 6. Be careful of your own body language and reactions 7. Plan your research effectively 8. Remain open minded

What are the two ways we categorize research?

1. Who conducts the research 2. The type of data collected

Two key parts to every UX design project:

1. conducting research to learn about the users you're designing for 2. gathering feedback about their perspectives

Define A/B testing

A research method that evaluates and compares two different aspects of a product to discover which of them is most effective. For example, you might have users evaluate two layouts for the homepage of your app to find out which layout is more effective

Define intercepts

A research method that gathers on-site feedback from users as they engage in the activities being researched. Intercepts are often conducted in the field, so this type of research is often considered a subset of field research. An intercept study can provide quick, high-level feedback

Define card sorting

A research method that instructs study participants to sort individual labels written on notecards into categories that make sense to them. This type of research is largely used to figure out the information architecture of your project

Define interviews

A research method used to collect in-depth information on people's opinions, thoughts, experiences, and feelings -can be performed one-on-one or in a group setting, like a focus group

Define interviews

A research method used to collect in-depth information on people's opinions, thoughts, experiences, and feelings. You'll often conduct interviews of your target users themselves

Define diary studies

A research method used to collect qualitative data about user behaviors, activities, and experiences over time. Often, a user will log, or diary, about their daily activities and provide information about their behaviors and needs, which can help inform your designs

Define logs analysis

A research method used to evaluate recordings of users while they interact with your design, tools, etc.

Define cafe or guerilla studies

A research method where user feedback is gathered by taking a design or prototype into the public domain and asking passersby for their thoughts. For example, you might sit in a local coffee shop and ask customers if they would be willing to test your app design for a couple of minutes and provide feedback

Define focus groups

A small group of people whose reactions are studied. For example, your focus group might bring together eight users to discuss their perspectives about new features in your design. A focus group is usually run by a moderator who guides the group on a certain topic of conversation

When does post-launch research happen?

After the design is complete and your product has been launched -Within the product development life cycle, it happens after the launch stage (stage 5) to help validate that the product is meeting user needs through established metrics

Implicit bias + ux design example

Also called unconscious bias - It's the collection of attitudes and stereotypes we associate to people without our conscious knowledge Ex: When we only interview within a limited set of identity profiles, such as race, age, gender, socioeconomic status, and ability - or interview people from typically excluded groups but ask potentially offensive questions because of our embedded stereotypes

Define surveys

An activity where many people are asked the same questions in order to understand what most people think about a product

Define surveys

An activity where many people are asked the same questions in order to understand what most people think about a product -great way to measure the success of your product, during development and after it's launched -include a mix of qualitative and quantitative questions, -most useful after you have some initial understanding of the user's pain points

Define competitive audit

An overview of your competitors' strengths and weaknesses

Post-launch research answers what question?

Did we succeed? This research will tell you how your final product is performing based on established metrics, such as adoption, usage, user satisfaction, and more

Define bias

Favoring or having prejudice against something or someone based on limited information

Best practice is to conduct at least ______ user interviews during your research

Five user interviews

Define quantitative research

Focuses on data that can be gathered by counting or measuring -Based on numerical data that's often collected from large-scale surveys -Aims to answer questions like "how many?" and "how much?" -gives you the what

Foster independent thinking. Define bandwagon effect

Going along with the group's opinion instead of thinking creatively, which can discourage open discussion by people who have an opinion that doesn't align with the majority of the group

Design research answers what question?

How should we build it?

List some things you might want to ask users about during the design phase of research:

How was your experience using the prototype today? How easy or difficult was it to use? Why? Did you encounter any challenges?

Define Methods

How you get research done

One tool that can help you identify and explore your own implicit biases is the...

Implicit Association Test (IAT)

Interviews - quantitative research method

Includes only close-ended questions, like questions that require only "yes" or "no" responses or set multiple choice questions

Interviews - qualitative research method

Includes open-ended questions that require participants to explain their answers by providing more details

How would you combat the bandwagon effect in a group of five participants?

Instead of asking each person to share their thoughts one at a time, ask them to write down or record their thoughts before discussing as a group

Remain open minded. Define Recency bias

It's easiest to remember the last thing you heard

Define Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are critical measures of progress toward an end goal Ex: the KPIs for an app or new product launch might include things like how much time the user spent on a task or the number of clicks they used to make a purchase

Avoid specific language. Define confirmation bias

Occurs when you start looking for evidence to prove a hypothesis you already have

Limit the guidance you give users. Define False consensus bias

Overestimate the number of people who will agree with our idea or design - assumption that others will think the same way we do

Define qualitative research

Primarily collected through observations and conversations -Based on understanding the users' needs and aims to answer questions like "why" or "how did this happen?" -gives you the why

Usability studies - qualitative research

Qualitative research is based on observations, and a critical part of conducting usability studies is observing how participants interact with the product you've designed-can gain more personal insights

Usability studies - quantitative research

Quantitative research can be used when conducting usability studies to understand participants' impressions of the product

Define field studies

Research activities that take place in the user's context or personal environment, rather than in an office or lab

Define secondary research + example

Research that uses information someone else has put together ex: Using information from sources like books, articles, or journals is considered secondary research

Define primary research + example

Research you conduct yourself ex: Information from direct interactions with users, like interviews, surveys, or usability studies, are considered primary research

Sunk cost fallacy

The deeper we get into a project we've invested in, the harder it is to change course without feeling like we've failed or wasted time (hence the "sunk cost")

The goal of UX research is to

The goal of UX research is to prioritize the user and to make sure business needs are met

The goal of design research:

The goal of design research is to inform how the product should be built

The goal of foundational research is to...

The goal of foundational research is to help define the problem you would like to design a solution for

The goal of post-launch research:

The goal of post-launch research is to understand how users experienced the product and whether it was a good or poor user experience *you might also want to check your product's performance against the competition

Define product development life cycle

The process used to take a product from an idea to reality - five stages: brainstorm, define, design, test, and launch

What is the goal of a usability study?

To identify pain points that the user experiences with different prototypes, so the issues can be fixed before the final product launches

Define UX research

UX research focuses on understanding user behaviors, needs, and motivations through observation and feedback -it aligns what you, as the designer, think the user needs with what the user actually needs

When does user research take place?

User research is a continuous part of the product development life cycle and takes place before, during, and after phase 3: Design

Choosing your words carefully. Define framing effect

Where users make a decision or choice based on the way information was presented to them

Remain open minded. Define Primacy bias

You remember the first participant most strongly

Define usability study and the goal

a technique to evaluate a product by testing it on users -the goal of these studies is to identify pain points that the user experiences with your prototypes, so the issues can be fixed before the product launches

Secondary research can be completed at

any phase of the project, since you're using information from outside sources -this research is not a direct result of your product or the user you're designing for

Primary research and secondary research can be

both qualitative and quantitative

Foundational research happens during the

brainstorm stage (stage 1)

Research that takes place during the design phase, phase 3, of the product development life cycle, is called...

design research sometimes called tactical research

What are the qualities of a good UX researcher?

empathy - the ability to understand someone's feelings or thoughts in a situation pragmatism - a practical approach to problem-solving; focused on reaching goals collaboration - the ability to work with a range of people, personalities, and work styles

Research that takes place before anything is designed is usually called...

foundational research sometimes called strategic or generative research but we'll stick with foundational in this course

Choosing leading words can cause the _________

framing effect

The third type of user research is called...

post-launch research

The first way to categorize research is based on who conducts the research--what are the two types?

primary research and secondary research

The second way to categorize research is based on the type of data collected: what are the two types of data?

qualitative or quantitative

The research method we choose is decided by...

the question we're trying to answer

The most common method used to conduct design research is a

usability study