Pitfalls in Recruiting Participants for User Research

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- 2 years ago
UX research is a good career for those who enjoy working with a team and have strong communication skills. As a researcher, you play a crucial role in helping your team understand users and deliver valuable and delightful experiences. You will find a UX research career appealing if you enjoy scientific and creative pursuits.
Start exploring this career option; see the User Researcher Learning Path.
Studies suggest that companies are also willing to pay well for research roles. The average salary for a UX researcher ranges from $92,000 to $146,000 per year.
In smaller companies, user research may be one of the responsibilities of a generalist UX designer. How much can your salary vary based on your region? Find out in UI & UX Designer Salaries: How Much Can I Earn.
Research is one part of the overall UX design process. UX research helps inform the design strategy and decisions made at every step of the design process. In smaller teams, a generalist designer may end up conducting research.
A UX researcher aims to understand users and their needs. A UX designer seeks to create a product that meets those needs.
A UX researcher gathers information. A UX designer uses that information to create a user-friendly and visually appealing product.
Learn more about the relationship between UX research and UX design in the course:
If we consider a very broad definition of UX, then all user research is UX research.
However, in practice, there is a subtle difference between user research and UX research. While both involve understanding people, user research can involve users in any kind of research question, and some questions may not be that directly connected to user experience.
For example, you might do user research relating to a customer’s experience in relation to pricing, delivery or the experience across multiple channels.
Common UX research methods are usability testing, A/B testing, surveys, card sorting, user interviews, usage analytics and ethnographic research. Each method has its pros and cons and is useful in different scenarios. Hence, you must select the appropriate research method for the research question and target audience. Learn more about these methods in 7 Great, Tried and Tested UX Research Techniques.
Get started with user research. Download the User Research template bundle.
For a deep dive into usability testing—the most common research method, take the course Conducting Usability Testing.
Having a degree in a related field can give you an advantage. However, you don’t need a specific degree to become a UX researcher. A combination of relevant education, practical experience, and continuous learning can help you pursue a career in UX research. Many UX researchers come from diverse educational backgrounds, including psychology, statistics, human-computer interaction, information systems, design and anthropology.
Some employers may prefer candidates with at least a bachelor’s degree. However, it does not have to be in a UX-related field. There are relatively fewer degrees that focus solely on user research.
Every research project will vary. However, there are some common steps in conducting research, no matter which method or tool you decide to use:
Define the research question
Select the appropriate research method
Recruit participants
Conduct the research
Analyze the data
Present the findings
You can choose from various UX research tools. Your choice depends on your research question, how you're researching, the size of your organization, and your project. For instance:
Survey tools such as Typeform and Google Forms.
Card sorting tools such as Maze and UXtweak.
Heatmap tools such as HotJar and CrazyEgg
Usability testing (through first-click testing and tree-testing) tools such as Optimal Workshop and Loop 11
Diagramming applications such as Miro and Whimsical to analyze qualitative data through affinity diagramming.
Spreadsheet tools such as Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel for quantitative data analysis
Interface design and prototyping tools like Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch and Marvel to conduct usability testing.
Presentation tools such as Keynote, Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint.
Many of these tools offer additional features you can leverage for multiple purposes. To understand how you can make the most of these tools, we recommend these courses:
There are relatively fewer degrees that focus solely on user research.
While there are no universal research case study formats, here’s one suggested outline:
An overview of the project: Include the problem statement, goals and objectives.
The research methods and methodology: For example, surveys, interviews, or usability testing).
Research findings
The design process: How the research findings led to design decisions.
Impact of design decisions on users and the business: Include metrics such as conversion and error rates to demonstrate the impact.
Optionally, include notes on what you learned and how you can improve the process in the future.
Learn how to showcase your portfolio to wow your future employer/client in the How to Create a UX Portfolio course.
While AI can help automate tasks and help UX researchers, it will not completely replace them. AI lacks the creativity and empathy that human designers bring to the table.
Human researchers are better at understanding the nuances of human behavior and emotions. They can also think outside the box and develop creative solutions that AI cannot. So, AI can help researchers be more efficient and effective through data analysis, smart suggestions and automation. But it cannot replace them.
Watch AI-Powered UX Design: How to Elevate Your UX Career to learn how you can work with AI.
Agile teams often struggle to incorporate user research in their workflows due to the time pressure of short sprints. However, that doesn’t mean agile teams can’t conduct research. Instead of seeing research as one big project, teams can break it into bite-sized chunks. Researchers regularly conduct research and share their findings in every sprint.
Researchers can involve engineers and other stakeholders in decision-making to give everyone the context they need to make better decisions. When engineers participate in the decision-making process, they can ensure that the design will be technically feasible. There will also be lower chances of errors when the team actually builds the feature. Here’s more on how to make research a team effort.
For more on bite-sized research, see this Master Class: Continuous Product Discovery: The What and Why
For more practical tips and methods to work in an agile environment, take our Agile Methods for UX Design course.
User research is very important in designing products people will want and use. It helps us avoid designing based on what we think instead of what users actually want.
UX research helps designers understand their users’ needs, behaviors, attitudes and how they interact with a product or service. Research helps identify usability problems, gather feedback on design concepts, and validate design decisions. This ultimately benefits businesses by improving the product, brand reputation and loyalty. A good user experience provides a competitive edge and reduces the risk of product failure.
Learn more about the importance of user research in the design process in these courses:
Here’s the entire UX literature on UX Research by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place: