Qualitative research is used to understand human behavior. There are a variety of qualitative research methods that can be used to gather data about users and their needs.
In this blog post, we discuss when to do qualitative research, the different methods to collect data, and tips for choosing the right method or combination of methods for your research.
Plus, a handy UX methods cheat sheet to reference in a time crunch.
Align on depth and rigor of research
Ahead of any research project, it’s important to first consider how much research needs to be done. This will also help to narrow down the right method(s) to choose for your project. Not all research can be approached with the same depth and rigor due to the realities of business constraints, so tradeoffs need to be made.
Framework Credit: Jeanette Fuccella Source: https://uxdesign.cc/building-a-framework-for-prioritizing-user-research-ed46622ead99
Ask the following to yourself, your team and/or stakeholders:
- How much time do we have for research?
- What’s the risk if we don’t do research?
- How clear are we on the problem?
Once you have aligned on the time and scale of research, there are a couple more steps ahead of choosing the right research method(s).
Define your research statement
Before you can determine which research method(s) to use, you should first define your research statement. This will be a short sentence that clearly explains what your project is trying to achieve.
For example, suppose you are working on a redesign of a website. In that case, your research statement might be "To understand how users interact with the current website and identify areas for improvement."
When it comes to this research statement, be as specific as possible. This will help you expand on your plan with clear and actionable research goals.
Determine your research goals
After you have defined your research statement, you need to determine your research goals. These are the objectives that you want to achieve with your research.
Some possible research goals for a website redesign could be to understand user needs, identify pain points with the current design, and generate ideas for the new design. Again, be as specific as possible with your research goals. This will help you choose the best method to answer your user research questions.
Here are five common research goals:
- To understand user behavior
- To uncover user needs
- To generate new ideas
- To validate assumptions
- To compare designs