Lessons from a UX Research Imposter Case

How we exposed a fake participant and saved our research (plus tips to protect your own data)

Imposter participants are every researcher’s nightmare. Not only are they an utter waste of time, but they also contaminate the data, which could have serious implications on business decisions.

A few months back, our team at UX UI design studio 55 Minutes encountered one such imposter during a project that required us to conduct user interviews with social workers in Singapore. While she slipped through our screening process, we were fortunately able to catch her during the subsequent data analysis phase.

Here’s the lowdown on what happened, and some valuable lessons I took away from this experience.

1. Body language is NOT a good indicator of whether someone is lying

We often associate liars with certain types of body language, such as avoiding eye contact, fidgeting, or stuttering. However, extensive research has shown that body language is rarely a good indicator of lying, and that’s what we experienced with the imposter too.

She was confident and eloquent, and didn’t show any classic signs of lying. When we initially spotted the inconsistencies in her sharing, we found it hard to believe that she would be an imposter due to her “trustworthy demeanour.”

Imposters tend to be confident liars, so don’t be tricked by their body language!

So, how did we catch the imposter? That brings me to my next point.

2. Uncover imposters by asking highly specific and verifiable questions

My first doubts about the imposter participant surfaced while reviewing her interview transcript. I noticed that her sharings largely deviated from other participants. When I raised this to the team, we were initially divided on whether she was simply an edge case or an imposter who was spinning tales. So we decided to schedule a follow-up call to investigate further.

For the follow-up call, we prepared highly specific, verifiable questions related to her claimed role (e.g. the exact location and operating hours of her office). These questions took less than a minute to ask, and they worked like a charm. While she answered us with as much confidence as before, our checks afterwards revealed that there was no office at that location she had mentioned and that her operating hours were completely off too.

Scheduling a 5-minute follow-up call was all it took to expose the imposter participant. By asking highly specific and verifiable questions, one can easily verify the identities of your research participants.

With just a few questions, we had managed to expose her. Given how quick it was to ask these questions, they are definitely going to be part of our interview protocol from here on. This will help us be 100% sure of the identity of our interview participants.

3. Warn imposters in recruitment forms that incentives will not be disbursed if caught

After uncovering the imposter, we decided not to disburse the incentive to her. However, this was not without concern that she might object to our decision on the grounds that we should reimburse her for the time spent with us.

To avoid such potential disputes in the future, we now include a clause in our recruitment forms stating that incentives would be retracted if we identify fake information being shared. It’s a preemptive measure that safeguards the integrity of our research.

4. Trust your gut!

Before the follow-up call, I found myself questioning myself a lot, as I was the only person in the team who felt strongly that this person could be an imposter. Others saw potential explanations for the inconsistencies, which made me feel as though I wasn’t keeping an open mind and that I was being judgmental (the worst flaws a researcher could have)

To anyone who might find yourself in the same situation — I would definitely say to trust your gut and to look into whatever doesn’t feel right! Regardless of the outcome, doing so would help you to work with your dataset and present your results with confidence. :)

Conclusion

Encountering imposter participants is an inevitable risk in the research process, but it’s definitely preventable with the right strategies in place! I hope what I’ve shared will help you in your research journey. Here’s a quick summary of the learnings I will be keeping in mind to guard against imposters:

• Imposters can be really good at faking confident body language — always listen closely to what they say, instead of being misled by how they act
• Add a few specific and verifiable questions at the start of an interview to weed out imposter participants
• Add a clause in recruitment forms to reserve your right to withhold any incentives to imposters
• Trust your gut!

Lynn is the energetic UX researcher at 55 Minutes, whose curiosity fuels her work and personal life. She believes that research is not just about gathering data; they’re about connecting on a human level to ensure that products truly resonate.