User Research – Methods and Best Practices
How This Course Will Help Your Career
What You’ll Learn
- What qualitative user research is and why you should do it
- How to fit user research into your own design process
- How to plan user research projects that are valid and ethically sound
- How to run a usability test, conduct a user interview, perform a contextual inquiry and make user observations
- How to deal with the results of your research and apply qualitative analysis
- How to make your research matter by communicating effectively about your research results—to clients, bosses and other stakeholders
How do you plan to design a product or service that your users will love, if you don't know what they want in the first place? As a user experience designer, you shouldn't leave it to chance to design something outstanding; you should make the effort to understand your users and build on that knowledge from the outset. User research is the way to do this, and it can therefore be thought of as the largest part of user experience design.
In fact, user research is often the first step of a UX design process—after all, you cannot begin to design a product or service without first understanding what your users want! As you gain the skills required, and learn about the best practices in user research, you’ll get first-hand knowledge of your users and be able to design the optimal product—one that’s truly relevant for your users and, subsequently, outperforms your competitors’.
This course will give you insights into the most essential qualitative research methods around and will teach you how to put them into practice in your design work. You’ll also have the opportunity to embark on three practical projects where you can apply what you’ve learned to carry out user research in the real world. You’ll learn details about how to plan user research projects and fit them into your own work processes in a way that maximizes the impact your research can have on your designs. On top of that, you’ll gain practice with different methods that will help you analyze the results of your research and communicate your findings to your clients and stakeholders—workshops, user journeys and personas, just to name a few!
By the end of the course, you’ll have not only a Course Certificate but also three case studies to add to your portfolio. And remember, a portfolio with engaging case studies is invaluable if you are looking to break into a career in UX design or user research!
We believe you should learn from the best, so we’ve gathered a team of experts to help teach this course alongside our own course instructors. That means you’ll meet a new instructor in each of the lessons on research methods who is an expert in their field—we hope you enjoy what they have in store for you!
Gain an Industry-Recognized UX Course Certificate
Use your industry-recognized Course Certificate on your resume, CV, LinkedIn profile or your website.
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Is This Course Right for You?
This is an intermediate-level course recommended for anyone involved or interested in product design and development:
- UX designers looking to broaden their UX careers with additional research techniques
- Project managers who are interested in techniques that will enable their design team 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 who are considering making the 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. As a participant, you 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
You’ll join a global community and work together to improve your skills and career opportunities. Connect with helpful peers and make friends with like-minded individuals as you push deeper into the exciting and booming industry of design.
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: 14 hours 29 mins spread over 7 weeks.
Lesson 0: Welcome and Introduction
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour 37 mins.
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0.1: Welcome and Introduction (11 mins)
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0.2: Build Your Portfolio Project (9 mins)
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0.3: An introduction to courses from the Interaction Design Foundation (17 mins)
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0.4: Let our community help you (1 min)
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0.5: How to earn your Course Certificate (16 mins)
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0.6: Meet your peers online in our discussion forums (6 mins)
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0.7: Meet and learn from design professionals in your area (1 min)
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0.8: Gain Timeless Knowledge Through Courses From The Interaction Design Foundation (20 mins)
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0.9: Mandatory lessons vs. Optional lessons (8 mins)
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0.10: A mix between video-based and text-based lesson content (8 mins)
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0.11: Discussion Forum (7 mins)
Lesson 1: Why do User Research and How to Fit User Research into Your Everyday Work
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour 37 mins.
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1.1: Welcome and Introduction (6 mins)
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1.2: User Research: What It Is and Why You Should Do It (25 mins)
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1.3: When to do User Research (5 mins)
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1.4: How to Involve Stakeholders in Your User Research (21 mins)
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1.5: Return on Investment of User Research (30 mins)
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1.6: Discussion Forum (7 mins)
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1.7: Congratulations and Recap (6 mins)
Lesson 2: The Basics of Qualitative User Research
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour 54 mins.
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2.1: Welcome and Introduction (6 mins)
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2.2: The Basics of Recruiting Participants for User Research (19 mins)
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2.3: Planning a User Research Project (31 mins)
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2.4: Best Practices for Qualitative User Research (28 mins)
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2.5: Conducting Ethical User Research (20 mins)
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2.6: Discussion Forum (8 mins)
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2.7: Congratulations and Recap (6 mins)
Lesson 3: Usability Testing
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour 11 mins.
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3.1: Welcome and Introduction (7 mins)
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3.2: Introduction to Usability Testing Methods and Metrics (9 mins)
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3.3: Planning a Usability Test (31 mins)
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3.4: Running a Usability Test (9 mins)
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3.5: Reporting on the Results of a Usability Test (5 mins)
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3.6: Discussion Forum (7 mins)
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3.7: Congratulations and Recap (6 mins)
Lesson 4: Semi-Structured Qualitative Interviews
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours 3 mins.
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4.1: Welcome and Introduction (8 mins)
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4.2: Pros and Cons of Conducting User Interviews (30 mins)
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4.3: How to Prepare for a User Interview and Ask the Right Questions (15 mins)
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4.4: How to Moderate User Interviews (1 hour 20 mins)
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4.5: How to Do a Thematic Analysis of User Interviews (24 mins)
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4.6: Discussion Forum (6 mins)
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4.7: Build Your Portfolio Project: User Interviews (19 mins)
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4.8: Congratulations and Recap (6 mins)
Lesson 5: Contextual Inquiry
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour 31 mins.
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5.1: Welcome and Introduction (7 mins)
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5.2: Introduction to Contextual Inquiry (32 mins)
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5.3: Planning a Contextual Inquiry (10 mins)
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5.4: Running a Contextual Inquiry (10 mins)
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5.5: Analyzing a Contextual Inquiry (6 mins)
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5.6: Discussion Forum (7 mins)
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5.7: Build Your Portfolio Project: Contextual Inquiry (19 mins)
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5.8: Congratulations and Recap (6 mins)
Lesson 6: User Observations
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour 37 mins.
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6.1: Welcome and Introduction (8 mins)
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6.2: Introduction to Observational Methods (32 mins)
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6.3: Planning an Observational Study (9 mins)
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6.4: Running an Observational Study (7 mins)
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6.5: Analyzing an Observational Study (11 mins)
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6.6: Discussion Forum (7 mins)
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6.7: Build Your Portfolio Project: Observations (21 mins)
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6.8: Congratulations and Recap (6 mins)
Lesson 7: How to Make Your Research Matter
To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour 59 mins.
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7.1: Welcome and Introduction (8 mins)
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7.2: How to Visualize Your Qualitative User Research Results for Maximum Impact (21 mins)
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7.3: Creating Personas from User Research Results (44 mins)
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7.4: Workshops to Establish Empathy and Understanding from User Research Results (17 mins)
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7.5: Discussion Forum (9 mins)
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7.6: Build Your Portfolio Project: Create Design Deliverables (17 mins)
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7.7: Congratulations and Recap (6 mins)
Lesson 8: Course Certificate, Final Networking, and Course Wrap-up
To be scheduled.
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8.1: Get Your Course Certificate (1 min)
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8.2: Course Evaluation (1 min)
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8.3: Continue Your Professional Growth (1 min)
Learning Paths
This course is part of 4 learning paths:
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UX Designer Learning PathBecome a UX Designer through 10 courses in 4 parts
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Product Manager Learning PathBecome a Product Manager through 8 courses in 4 parts
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Marketer Learning PathBecome a Marketer through 7 courses in 3 parts
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User Researcher Learning PathBecome a User Researcher through 6 courses in 3 parts
How Others Have Benefited
Ulrike Bruckenberger, Austria
“I enjoyed the mix between video and text very much and I am sure that it improved my learning experience. In general the content of the course was very interesting to me and I consider it very useful for improving in doing user research. I really like the possibility to download templates about different methods because they enable me to easily look up the most important information.”
Laura Gieco, Australia
“A strength of the course was the instructors' knowledge and examples from their own experience. I find it very useful when someone tells you stories, in this case about situations when they did research. The lessons where very easy to follow and understand.”
Juan Esteban Arango Florez, Colombia
“The course instructor has a lot of knowledge and experience, and can explain the topics without a problem.”
How It Works
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Take lessons by industry experts
Lessons are self-paced so you’ll never be late for class or miss a deadline.
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Get a Course Certificate
Your answers are graded by experts, not machines. Get an industry-recognized Course Certificate to prove your skills.
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Advance your career
Use your new skills in your existing job or to get a new job in UX design. Tap into our community to help you.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Can I take more than one course at a time?Yes, you can take as many courses as you would like. For example, if there are 30 active courses, you can enroll in all 30 courses at the same time and move from one to the other as you please.There are no further charges once you have paid for your membership.
Please note: If you have a student membership, you can take a maximum of two courses at the same time. As a student, you can thus still take as many courses as you would like – free of extra charges – just as long as you finish them (or drop them) so that you don’t have more than two ongoing courses at the same time. Please note that if you drop a course, progress is not transferable between cycles. So, you'll have to redo the lessons and answers you already completed in the current cycle. -
I missed the enrollment date and now the course is closed. Will I have any opportunity to take the course in the future?
Don't worry if you missed the course. We will re-run it shortly. One of the reasons we continually open and close courses is to be able to control the classroom size.
Networking is a large part of our value proposition, so we want just the right number of people inside the courses. That is also why we display the "XX % percent booked" on our course icons.
We’ll re-schedule the course and make it available for sign-up on https://www.interaction-design.org/courses in only about a week (or perhaps a little bit longer). The actual start date of the course will be a few weeks after sign-ups begin too. We’ve found that this is the best way to maximize flexibility and convenience for everyone, especially you as you put your course program together.
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Do I have to be online at an exact time to study?
No. You can set your own study schedule. There are no "live sessions" or "webinars" since our members are from all timezones around the world. We are a truly global community – with members in every single corner of the world.
Thus, once you are enrolled, you can take all the time you want to complete a given course. Every "classroom" in each course will never close, so you’ll have permanent access to your classmates and your course material (as well as your own answers).
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Will I receive a Course Certificate?
Yes. Every time you complete a course, you get an industry-recognized Course Certificate. There is no limit to how many Course Certificates you can earn during your membership. You will also receive a 3-step guide on how to include your Course Certificate on LinkedIn and in your résumé/CV.
You can see an example of a Course Certificate at the bottom of the Course Catalogue.
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I have answered questions in a lesson; when will they be marked/graded?We do the marking/grading in so-called "sprints" – where we sit down and do all the marking/grading in one go. Your answers will be graded approximately two weeks after you submit your work.We do this because it is much more efficient than doing one little step every day. It's part of our lean/agile work philosophy, and that approach to efficiency is one of the factors that keeps our membership prices so incredibly low.We are doing it to save you money and as part of our mission to lower the cost of high-quality design education.
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I have updated my name, but my course certificate is not updated — how can I change it?Once you update your name, the certificate will be updated automatically in the next 48 hours.
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I have started the course/lesson later than the specified date, are my answers still going to be marked?
We will be marking answers for as long as there are active members. Therefore, even if you are the only person taking a lesson at that particular time, your answers will still be marked.
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How are courses graded?Open-ended questions are graded by our experts and course instructors – not by machines.That's one of the reasons that our Course Certificates are credible and recognized by industry leaders.
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I started a course after the official start date; for how long will I have access to the course materials?
Regardless of when you have enrolled on a course, you will have access to the course materials for the entire duration of your membership. So, if you pay for a one-year membership, you will have access for one year, renewing your membership for a second year means you will have access for two years, and so on.
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New lessons are starting before I have had the chance to complete all aspects of the previous lesson(s); am I going to be locked out of these unfinished lessons?
No, you will not be locked out of any lesson or course. You will have access to all course materials throughout your membership, so there is no pressure to keep at the same pace as the specified lesson release dates.
All we recommend is that you try to stick to the same schedule as other participants. The reason is they may have moved on to other lessons, thereby meaning you could miss out on the social aspects of the course(s). However, we anticipate that there will be a constant flow of participants working through different lessons and courses, so overall you are unlikely to miss out. We will also be running all courses again — so there really is no rush.
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Are course certificates awarded on a specific date?
No; you can generate your certificate as soon as you attain at least 70% of the total course points.
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When will I receive my Course Certificate?
Course certificates will be given to participants when they have scored more than 70% or more of the total course points. For example, if a course contains ten lessons each with ten questions, you will receive a course certificate when the instructor has awarded you at least 70 points (70% of the total course points).
There is no specified time that certificates will be awarded — instead, they are given to participants as and when they have answered all questions, even if this is long after the official end date.
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How do I add my Course Certificate to my LinkedIn profile?Below is a step-by-step guide on how to add your Interaction Design Foundation course(s) to your LinkedIn profile:
- Log in to your LinkedIn account, then go to your profile.
- On the right, in the Add profile section dropdown, choose Background and then select the + next to Licenses & Certifications.
3. In the following fields add:- Name – Course name
- Issuing organization – The Interaction Design Foundation
- Check the field “This credential does not expire”
- Issue date - Input the date written on your certificate (e.g., May 2019)
- Credential ID – Your membership ID number (it's written on your certificate)
- Credential URL: Input the certificate URL provided on your course page
4. Click on the save button.
Congratulate yourself!
You’ve made a great accomplishment by earning your course certificate, and now the world knows about it! -
How do I add the Interaction Design Foundation Membership Certificate to my LinkedIn Profile?Below is a step-by-step guide on how to add your Interaction Design Foundation course(s) to your LinkedIn profile:
- Log in to your LinkedIn account, then go to your profile.
- On the right, in the Add profile section dropdown, choose Background and then select the + next to Licenses & Certifications.
3. In the following fields add:- Name – Membership Certificate
- Issuing organization – The Interaction Design Foundation
- Check the field “This credential does not expire”
- Issue date - Input the date when you joined our community (e.g., May 2019)
- Credential ID – Your membership ID number (it's written on your certificate)
- Credential URL: Input the certificate URL provided on your profile page
4. Click on the save button.
It is as simple as that. Now, anyone who visits your profile can see your certificate! -
How much will I have to pay for the courses?
As a member, you can take as many courses as you want with no additional costs. This means you only have to pay our membership fee to take an unlimited number of courses. There will be no further charges on top of the membership fee, no matter how many courses you decide to take.
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Do you provide mostly beginners' or more advanced courses?We provide courses for all levels of mastery and across the full spectrum. If you’re new to design, you can start from our beginner courses and progress all the way up to our advanced ones. If you’re an established designer, on the other hand, you will find some of our lower-level courses provide a good refresher—and the advanced ones, a bit of a challenge.
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How long does it take to complete a course?
Once enrolled in a course, you will gain access to a new lesson each week, which you are free to complete without any deadlines and no end date, either.