User Research — Methods and Best Practices v1
How This Course Will Help Your Career
User experience design requires you to understand your users. If you don't know what your users want, you can only deliver what they want by accident. User research is how we come to understand what our users want—it's the largest part of user experience design. This course will give you insights into all the major UX research techniques and how to put them into practice on your projects.
User research is often the first step of a UX design process, because you cannot begin designing a product or service without first understanding what the users want. By gaining skills, and learning about the best practices in user research, you will be able to get first-hand knowledge of your users in order to design the optimal product—one that sells better than your competitors’.
Through this course, you will be introduced to the various aspects of user research, getting exposed to qualitative and quantitative user research methods. On top of that, you will also learn how to analyze the results of your research and confidently present your findings to your clients and stakeholders. User researchers play an instrumental and valuable role in any organization and, as such, receive a healthy remuneration, from an average of $81,000 to as high as more than $120,0001.
What you will learn
- A high-level overview of what user research is all about
- How to conduct user research without involving your users
- What usability tests are, and how to conduct them as a (major) part of your UX research
- How to reach out to your users and conduct surveys, interviews, and focus groups
- How to conduct user research across borders effectively—by using global and cross-cultural research techniques
- How to deal with unmeasurable results of your research and apply qualitative analysis
- How to put user research into action and apply the insights you have gained
- How to report and present on user research effectively—to clients, bosses, and other stakeholders
Who should take this course
This is an intermediate-level course suitable for newcomers and experienced practitioners alike:
- UX designers looking to broaden their UX careers with additional research techniques
- Project managers who are interested in techniques that enable design teams to develop a greater understanding of users
- Entrepreneurs interested in building a user-centered product that users will want and purchase
- Marketers looking to gain a holistic view of customers’ needs and motivations
- Newcomers to design who are considering making a switch to UX design
Courses in the Interaction Design Foundation are designed to contain comprehensive, evidence-based content, while ensuring that the learning curve is never too steep. All participants will have the opportunity to share ideas, seek help with tests, and enjoy the social aspects afforded by our open and friendly forum.
Learn and work with a global team of designers
When you take part in this course, you will join a global multidisciplinary team working on the course and the exercises at the same time as you. You will work together to improve your skills and understanding. Your course group will be made up of an incredibly diverse group of professionals, all of whom have the same objective—to become successful designers. It’s your chance to learn, grow, and network with your peers across the planet.
1 User Experience Researcher Salary (United States), PayScale
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Lessons in This Course
- Each week, one lesson becomes available.
- There’s no time limit to finish a course. Lessons have no deadlines.
- Estimated learning time: 17 hours 16 mins spread over 10 weeks .
Lesson 0: Welcome and Introduction
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour 38 mins.
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0.1: Welcome to 'UX Research Methodologies' (7 mins)
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0.2: An introduction to courses from the Interaction Design Foundation (37 mins)
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0.3: Let our community help you (1 min)
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0.4: Meet your peers online in our discussion forums (6 mins)
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0.5: Meet and learn from design professionals at an upcoming meet-up (1 min)
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0.6: Gain Timeless Skills Through Courses From the Interaction Design Foundation (21 mins)
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0.7: How to Earn Your Course Certificate (16 mins)
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0.8: Mandatory vs. Optional Lesson Items (7 mins)
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0.9: A Mix Between Video-Based and Text-Based Lesson Content (6 mins)
Lesson 1: An Introduction to User Research for UX
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour 2 mins.
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1.1: Why User Research Matters (11 mins)
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1.2: Types of User Research and User Experience Design Techniques (9 mins)
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1.3: Identifying Stakeholders in UX Projects (38 mins)
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1.4: Identifying the Stakeholder (6 mins)
Lesson 2: User Research - Without Users
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 5 hours 12 mins.
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2.1: Introduction to UX Planning (39 mins)
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2.2: Stakeholder Interviews (38 mins)
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2.3: Coming to a Shared Understanding in Stakeholder Interviews (37 mins)
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2.4: Requirements Capture Workshops (42 mins)
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2.5: Using Your Findings from Requirements Capture Workshops (7 mins)
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2.6: Benchmarks (38 mins)
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2.7: Contextual Research (35 mins)
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2.8: Analytics (39 mins)
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2.9: Expert Reviews (35 mins)
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2.10: UX Design Research Techniques (6 mins)
Lesson 3: User Research - Usability Testing
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours 11 mins.
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3.1: Research Planning for User Research (10 mins)
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3.2: Planning User Research the Five Essentials (11 mins)
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3.3: Nano-Usability Testing (7 mins)
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3.4: Conducting Usability Testing (42 mins)
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3.5: Task Models and User Journeys (41 mins)
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3.6: Customer Experience Maps (35 mins)
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3.7: User Profiling (41 mins)
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3.8: Usability Testing in Practice (6 mins)
Lesson 4: User Research - Surveys, Interviews and Focus Groups
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour 48 mins.
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4.1: When to Use a Survey (7 mins)
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4.2: How to Develop a Survey (29 mins)
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4.3: Tips on Using Surveys (11 mins)
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4.4: Analyzing Survey Data (10 mins)
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4.5: Recruiting for Interviews (12 mins)
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4.6: Interviewing Users (12 mins)
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4.7: Focus Groups - When to Use Them (12 mins)
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4.8: Focus Groups - How to Use Them (11 mins)
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4.9: Community-based learning and networking (6 mins)
Lesson 5: User Research - Object Based Research Techniques
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 35 mins.
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5.1: Object Based Research Techniques (7 mins)
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5.2: Dialogue Based Techniques (Photo Elicitation) (8 mins)
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5.3: Generative Techniques (Collage/Mapping) (10 mins)
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5.4: Associative Techniques (Card Sorting) (8 mins)
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5.5: Object Based Research in Practice (6 mins)
Lesson 6: User Research - Global and Cross-Cultural Research Techniques
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 49 mins.
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6.1: Global vs. Cross-Cultural (8 mins)
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6.2: Research Planning for Global and Cross-Cultural Projects (13 mins)
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6.3: Recruitment for Cross-Cultural UX Research (7 mins)
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6.4: Field Research for Cross-Cultural UX Research (11 mins)
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6.5: Global and Cross-Cultural Data (7 mins)
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6.6: Share your Thoughts (6 mins)
Lesson 7: User Research - Qualitative Analysis
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 36 mins.
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7.1: What is Qualitative Analysis? (12 mins)
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7.2: Coding for Qualitative Analysis (11 mins)
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7.3: Analysis Planning - The Simple and Intensive Models (8 mins)
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7.4: UX and Qualitative Analysis (6 mins)
Lesson 8: Putting User Research into Action
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour 31 mins.
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8.1: Insights into UX Research Deliverables (7 mins)
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8.2: User Personas (41 mins)
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8.3: Situational Representation (8 mins)
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8.4: Activity Models (13 mins)
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8.5: Process Models (17 mins)
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8.6: Task Model Exercise (6 mins)
Lesson 9: Reporting on User Research
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 55 mins.
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9.1: Informal Reports (7 mins)
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9.2: Formal Reports (19 mins)
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9.3: Presentations (11 mins)
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9.4: Research-Driven Workshops (14 mins)
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9.5: Share your Ideas (6 mins)
Lesson 10: Course Certificate, Final Networking, and Course Wrap-up
To be scheduled.
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10.1: Course Evaluation (1 min)
How Others Have Benefited
Angela, United Kingdom
“I'm definitely enjoying this course so far, and looking forward to learning about the other course topics on offer. The website is an incredible resource - big thanks for making such a treasure trove of information available.”
Natalie Verdon, Australia
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