Overcoming the social desirability bias in UX research
The aim of this post is to share one piece of research and some best practice to help you create a better online experience.
Research
The Social Desirability Bias — the tendency for people to answer questions in a way they think you want them to respond. This can mean people tell you something, but they lie a little. They don’t do this on purpose, but it’s based on people’s innate motivation to answer questions in a way that will be viewed favorably by others and to avoid embarrassment.
If you are interviewing people on the topics below you should be especially mindful of this bias;
- Abilities
- Personality
- Sexual behaviour
- Drug use
Research conducted by Res (1993) found that indirect questioning can be used to reduce the effect of this bias on these types of topics.
Direct vs Indirect Questions
Direct questions
These questions are framed in terms of someone’s own beliefs and evaluations. For example, what do you think about this product? How do you use this product?
Indirect questions
Indirect questions are framed in terms of a third party. For example, I’d like you to predict the likely response of a <insert typical user>. Thinking of the <insert typical user>, how do you think they would go about using this feature?
In practice
Use indirect questions when interviewing people on topics that are prone to socially desirable responding. Look above 👆 👆 the research suggests so.
In terms of the “typical user” mentioned above they will change depending on the context and what is relevant to you. For example, when I conduct research on behalf of Ausmed in some contexts I would say the typical user is a healthcare professional in others I would say a nurse. It is important that the “typical user” remains consistent through your testing to ensure the integrity of your research.
Any questions please reach out David Di Sipio 🙌 . Follow Melbourne’s User Experience and Psychology Community @uxandpsych — sharing research on what makes people tick to create better online experiences. We also run a MeetUp once a month in Melbourne!
If you liked this article you will probably like this one Testing in the Wild — Gorilla Style . Also a UX resource I’m currently finding super helpful — Persuasive Patterns Card Deck.
