UX RESEARCH

an introduction

Arnas Aleksandravičius, PhD

UX Researcher & Consultant
WHAT IS UX (USER EXPERIENCE) AND UI (USER INTERFACE)?
UX stands for User Experience. User Experience is a set of perceptions resulting from interactions
between a human and a product or a service.

UI stands for User Interface. User Interface is a point of interaction between a human and a machine.

User Experience is a much broader term than User Interface:

• First, UI only applies to digital products while UX applies not only to digital products. For example,
you can evaluate the experience of drinking a glass of wine, even though it does not have an
interface.
• Second, even for digital products, user experience can be affected by more than just an interface
because other factors also come into play. For example, the quality of content or the brand image
of a specific product or service.
ONGOING DEBATE: WHAT DOES THE TERM UX COVER? WHAT IS CX?
There is still an ongoing debate on what is covered by the term User Experience, and what isn’t. The
term User Experience is often attributed to Don Norman from Nielsen Norman Group. As he and
his colleague wrote in the NN/g blog, “Originally the term was meant to describe the totality of the
interactions that users have with an organization“.

However, over time people started to use the term UX only when describing the experience of one
interaction with a product, and the term Customer Experience (CX) has been introduced to describe
the totality of the interactions with a company.

Probably the best clarification in this debate was made by Kim Salazar: “Customer experience (CX) is
a term commonly used to define UX over long periods of time.“
WHAT IS UX RESEARCH?
UX research is the process of studying the needs, motivations, and behaviours of the target
audiences with the purpose of making better products or services.

UX researchers use a variety of research methods to learn about problems to be solved or

opportunities to be pursued.

Conducting UX research can be useful at all development stages:

• First, you need to learn what the users need so you could create it (a solution);
• Second, after you create something, you need to learn if what you created provides good or bad
user experience, and how this solution could be improved.
QUANTITATIVE VS QUALITATIVE UX RESEARCH
Quantitative research is a process of collecting and analyzing information that either is numerical,
or can be converted to numbers. To put it very simply, quantitative research deals with numbers.
These numbers are called quantitative data. Quantitative data can always be counted or measured.

Qualitative research is a process of collecting and analyzing information that is not in the form of
numbers. Qualitative research deals with texts, pictures, videos, and their descriptions. All these
are called qualitative data. Qualitative data is hard or impossible to count or measure, but it can be
analyzed to look for categories, patterns or meanings.

Note: As you can see, both quantitative and qualitative research can be useful as they answer
different questions: the what and the why. You will have the best chance for success if you do both!
GENERATIVE VS EVALUATIVE UX RESEARCH
Generative research is used to generate deep understanding of your target users so you could
provide them something they need (a solution). Generative research is conducted at the beginning,
using methods like interviews, focus groups or diary studies.

Evaluative research is used to evaluate the success of the solution you have provided. Evaluative
research is conducted at later stages, when you have something to show and assess. It is done using
methods like usability testing or surveys.

Note: As you can see, both generative and evaluative research have their purpose and time. You will
have the best chance for success if you do both!
ATTITUDINAL VS BEHAVIOURAL UX RESEARCH
Attitudinal research is used to gather information about people’s opinions and beliefs. It focuses
on what people think, as opposed to what they do. Methods of attitudinal research include surveys,
interviews, focus groups, or more specific methods like card sorting.

Behavioural research is used to gather information about people’s actions. It focuses on what
people do (or how they behave), as opposed to what they think or say. Methods of behavioural
research include usability testing, tree testing, eye-tracking or web analytics.

Note: While behaviour data is generally seen as more accurate and realistic, attitudinal research
can also provide meaningful insights, especially at the beginning of the project. You will have the
best chance for success if you do both!
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO BECOME A UX RESEARCHER?
The analysis of in-demand skills for UX researchers showed that two types of skills matter to all
the employers: methods and communication. Other often-mentioned skills were collaboration,
qualification (education), experience, and process management.

The three most in-demand research methods according to the analysis are: usability testing,
surveys, and interviews. The prospective employees are also often expected to know statistics and
field research / ethnography.

The importance of communication means that the results of UX research only matter if they are
communicated effectively to other stakeholders.
INTRODUCTION TO USABILITY TESTING
Usability testing is a method or a technique within the field of User Experience research. It can be
either quantitative or qualitative. It is mostly behavioural and almost always evaluative.

Usability testing is conducted to evaluate a product or service by testing how easy or hard it is to use
for representative users. During usability testing sessions, participants perform various tasks while
the researcher observes their behaviour and asks questions.

Usability tests can be either moderated or unmoderated. Moderated usability tests can be either
in-person or remote. These are the basic choices you will have to make before testing, and it will
depend on your budget, type of product, and its development stage.

To learn more about usability testing, watch my YouTube playlist or download my free usability
testing guide.
INTRODUCTION TO UX SURVEYS
UX survey is also a method within the field of User Experience research. UX surveys are mostly
quantitative and always attitudinal. They can be used any time, both as a generative or an evaluative
method.

To conduct a UX survey successfully, you need to define its objectives (how can this survey help
you?) and then draft the questionnaire accordingly. Also, you need to make sure that you recruit
the right respondents: your actual users or someone who is like them. When your survey is ready to
launch, don’t forget to test it with a small sample.

I will soon be preparing a detailed article and a YouTube video on conducting UX surveys, stay tuned!
INTRODUCTION TO USER INTERVIEWS
User interview is a method withing the field of User Experience Research. It is a qualitative,
attitudinal method. It is mostly used as a generative research method, but can also be helpful to
gather qualitative feedback to evaluate a product or a service.

As with UX surveys, you need to have clear objectives for the interviews and then draft the
questionnaire accordingly. With user interviews, it is extremely important to prepare well so you
could moderate them with confidence and make your respondents feel comfortable.

Read my article to find out how to prepare for your first user interview.
COMMUNICATING THE RESULTS OF YOUR RESEARCH
Remember: communication is one of the two most important skills for the job!

In reality, there is not one good way to communicate because every organisation is different. You
have to take your audience (your colleagues or clients) into account and adapt to them. Choose the
time and approach that best fits your organisation, but keep in mind the following:
• Present your findings in such language and formats that are quick and easy to understand.
Including videos and quotes from your actual users can help. Get creative.
• Provide actionable insights. Don’t just tell them the results. Instead, tell them what to do. Discuss
with different team members and help them understand what actions need to be taken.

After that, I hope you are looking forward to your next study!
FINAL NOTE
That’s all, folks!

I hope it was useful.

Let’s meet at MasterUXR.com and YouTube. Besides, I would love to connect with you all and discuss
UX and user research on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Thanks, and good luck with your work!