User research methods: which to use and when?
User research is all about gathering information that is useful, contextual and helps meet your organisational goals.
User research can be grouped into two categories: quantitative research and qualitative research.
The main difference between the two is that quantitative research allows you to answer questions like how many or how much, whereas qualitative testing answers questions like why and how (Usability Testing, 2021).
Let’s take a closer look.
Quantitative research
Quantitative research delivers data-based insights. Common types of quantitative research include:
- web analytics
- surveys and questionnaires
- tree testing
- card sorting
- A/B testing
Nielsen Norman Group Senior User Experience Specialist Kate Moran gives a good overview in her article Quantitative User-research Methodologies: An Overview.
Quantitative research methods help you measure usability and compare different designs. For example, web analytics tell you how many people visited your website, what pages they viewed, their geographical location, and how long they spent viewing.
This type of analysis on its own doesn’t tell you about user behaviour. This is where qualitative research comes in.
Qualitative research
Qualitative research prioritises behaviours and attitudes. It’s great to use for identifying usability issues and informing design decisions. Some qualitative research methods include:
- focus groups
- interviews
- contextual enquiries (observing someone in their operating environment and asking questions)
These methods are key to understanding what people think, as well as their motivations and frustrations. Common outputs for this type of research are common messages, themes and threads.
Which method should you use?
Ask yourself the question: what am I trying to achieve? Are you trying to gather data, understand what people think, or a combination of both?
The graphics below will will help you get an idea.
Image 1 shows us how our goals can be grouped into quantitative or qualitative research. Once you have an idea of what you want to achieve, think about which research method is best suited.
Image 2 highlights an example of an appropriate method that matches each research needs. When you overlay some of the key research methods, it should be clear on how to approach.
Sometimes you’ll need to use more than one research method and that’s okay. It’s important to test early and often.
