What’s positive about a UX researcher having a PhD in Neurosciences?

This article explains some of the differences that an academic working as a UX researcher may encounter when talking to colleagues coming from outside academia. It is my third article talking about the transition from academia to industry.

When I started to work as UX Researcher in a Fintech and later on in the company I am working for (UX24/7), a designer research agency, I felt that there were topics that people coming from Design or other backgrounds found different or fascinating about me:

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

1. Advanced Statistical Analyses: How many times have you talked with your supervisor in academia about how to perform a very complex statistical analysis? Tons. How many times have you talked about it with your boss in the company? None. So, for the industry world (even if you don’t feel that way) you are the “expert” in choosing and performing statistical analysis. Designers may not be as well trained in advances statistical techniques used in academic research, such as multivariate analysis or complex experimental design, whereas during your years at university you have dealt with it on a regular basis. It is essential for any kind of study to perform high quality quantitative analyses.
2. Neuroscientific Concepts: Topics as cognitive theories or brain imaging techniques, such as EEG or fMRI, are less familiar to designers. Using these techniques to measure neural response during human interactions with digital products is where you could thrive, as you are able to drive the whole process, but there is still a long way to go in the corporate world to start REALLY using them on a regular basis.
3. Experimental Design Rigor: In academia, I was used to following strict experimental protocols to control for any type of confounding variable that could undermine the results of the study in order to ensure the validity of the conclusions (e.g., controlling that participants belong to the same age group, have similar years of education…). I remember in my first quantitative research study as UX research I asked a colleague: How do you calculate the optimal number of participants you need to conduct this study in the corporate world? He looked at me in surprise, as designers may not be used to this level of experimental rigor. In reality, there are many factors to consider when calculating an “ideal” number: money, expected time frame, stakeholders’ desires to test the product with different social groups rather than with many people but only with one larger social group…
4. Ethics in Human Subjects Research: To conduct any type of study in the academic world, it must be accepted by the university ethics committee to ensure the safety of participants and best ethical research practices. In the industry world, stakeholders are not so concerned with or experienced in these ethical considerations. However, this expertise is valuable when dealing with sensitive user data.
5. Deep Understanding of Human Behavior: For years I have been researching how people use and train their working memory using online training, which helped me gain a a comprehensive understanding of how humans process and work with information through their sensory systems. This knowledge helped me explain to a designer in detail how important it is to not cloud the user with lots of new concepts (even if the user interface looks catchy and cool!).
6. Data Presentation: In academia I was used to presenting results in a very detailed and text-heavy way. I remember the first research insights presentation I created and my former boss said, “No one is going to read all of this, cut out the information that is not relevant.” The phrase “less is more” was not in my vocabulary. Instead, designers and other professionals prefer much more concise and, above all, visually appealing and engaging research results that highlight take-home messages. Remember to tailor the presentation of the research results to the audience. Fortunately, I have adapted.
7. Scope of Research: Don’t lose your way of doing research. You will be more open to exploring unconventional methods or ideas, while other researchers will only want to prioritize specific ideas that have been “accepted” previously. In this way, you can help researchers in the industry to broaden their horizons and not focus on specific, immediate business needs. This will be beneficial for everyone :)

As you can see, there are lot of topics and conversation that will be foreign to different colleagues (e.g. designers, product managers, product owners, other researchers, CEOs…). Of course, I'm pretty sure I've forgotten some topics that I haven't covered and this is only my personal experience. Please get in touch in touch with me, in case you want to talk about any struggles you are dealing with!