Comparing Qualitative and Quantitative UX Research

Summary

This video explains the key differences between qualitative and quantitative research in user studies. Qualitative research answers 'why,' focusing on understanding user attitudes and behaviors through methods like interviews and observations. Quantitative research answers 'how much' and 'how many,' providing statistical insights through methods like A/B testing and web analytics. The presenter compares both approaches, discussing when to use each: qualitative for in-depth understanding and problem-solving, and quantitative for measuring and validating with numerical data. The takeaway is that neither approach is inherently better; the choice depends on the research goal.

Takeaways

• 😀 Qualitative research answers 'why', while quantitative research answers 'how much' and 'how many'.
• 🤔 Qualitative research focuses on understanding attitudes and behaviors through interviews, focus groups, and diary studies.
• 👀 Observations of behavior in qualitative research can be gathered through contextual inquiry and direct observation.
• 🔢 Quantitative research provides numerical data and statistical significance to experiences, often involving large datasets.
• 📊 Common quantitative methods include web analytics, A/B testing, card sorting, tree testing, and eye tracking.
• 🤝 The question is not about which method is better but about when to use each depending on the type of insight needed.
• 🔍 Qualitative research findings are based on impressions, interpretations, and prior knowledge from the researcher.
• 📈 Quantitative research findings are statistically meaningful and likely to be replicable in different studies.
• 👥 Qualitative research typically involves a small number of participants, while quantitative research requires many participants.
• 📚 Qualitative methods are flexible and can include both structured and unstructured approaches, while quantitative methods involve well-defined and controlled study conditions.

Q & A

What is the main difference between qualitative and quantitative research?

Qualitative research answers 'why,' while quantitative research answers 'how much' and 'how many.'

What are the primary purposes of qualitative research?

Qualitative research helps us understand attitudes (people's thoughts and beliefs) and behaviors, typically gathered through methods like interviews, focus groups, and observational studies.

What are the primary purposes of quantitative research?

Quantitative research is used to put numbers and statistical significance behind experiences. It often involves methods such as web analytics, A/B testing, and card sorting.

How do the outcomes of qualitative and quantitative research differ?

Qualitative outcomes are based on the researcher's analysis, impressions, and prior knowledge, while quantitative outcomes are statistically meaningful and likely replicable.

What type of participants are typically required for qualitative and quantitative research?

Qualitative research typically requires only a few participants, while quantitative research requires a larger number of participants for statistically significant results.

What are some examples of qualitative research methods?

Examples include user interviews, focus groups, diary studies, contextual inquiry, and direct observation.

What are some examples of quantitative research methods?

Examples include web analytics, A/B testing, card sorting, tree testing, and eye tracking.

In what scenarios should you use qualitative research?

Use qualitative research when trying to answer questions about 'why' something happens or how to fix a problem.

In what scenarios should you use quantitative research?

Use quantitative research when trying to answer questions about 'how much' or 'how many,' such as measuring user engagement or testing different versions of a product.

How do the approaches differ between qualitative and quantitative research?

Qualitative research uses flexible approaches, with a range of structured and unstructured methods, whereas quantitative research involves well-defined, strictly controlled study conditions.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Difference Between Qualitative and Quantitative Research

The speaker discusses the fundamental difference between qualitative and quantitative research, emphasizing that qualitative research answers 'why,' while quantitative research answers 'how much' and 'how many.' Qualitative research is focused on understanding people's attitudes and behaviors, gathered through methods like user interviews, focus groups, and contextual inquiry. Quantitative research, on the other hand, deals with statistical significance, derived from data collected in large amounts, using methods such as web analytics, A/B testing, and eye tracking.

🤔 When to Use Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

The speaker highlights the key distinctions in outcomes, participants, and approaches between qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative findings are based on the researcher's analysis and interpretations, while quantitative findings provide statistically meaningful results. Qualitative research typically involves a small number of participants and flexible approaches, whereas quantitative research requires many participants and strictly controlled study conditions. The speaker concludes by emphasizing that the choice between qualitative and quantitative research depends on whether one is trying to answer 'why' or 'how much.'

Keywords

💡Qualitative research

Qualitative research focuses on understanding the 'why' behind human behaviors and attitudes. It involves gathering in-depth insights through interviews, focus groups, and observational methods like contextual inquiry. In the video, it's described as a method that explores thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors to determine reasons and motivations, especially in user research.

💡Quantitative research

Quantitative research answers questions related to 'how much' or 'how many' by using numerical data. It often involves statistical analysis and methods like A/B testing, web analytics, and eye tracking. The video explains that quantitative research is used to measure and quantify experiences or behaviors in user research, providing statistically significant results.

💡Attitudes

Attitudes refer to people's thoughts, beliefs, and feelings, which qualitative research aims to uncover. In the video, attitudes are discussed as part of what researchers try to understand through interviews and diary studies, representing the subjective, internal aspects of user experiences.

💡Behaviors

Behaviors describe the observable actions or approaches individuals take when performing tasks. In the context of qualitative research, behaviors are studied through direct observation methods such as ethnographic approaches and contextual inquiry. The video emphasizes understanding these behaviors to inform user experience design.

💡Statistical significance

Statistical significance refers to the mathematical validation of results, ensuring that findings are not due to random chance. In quantitative research, the video highlights that statistically meaningful results can be replicated across studies, which adds robustness and reliability to the data collected.

💡User interviews

User interviews are a qualitative research method used to gather personal insights from individuals about their experiences, attitudes, and behaviors. The video mentions this as one of the key ways to collect qualitative data, allowing researchers to explore the 'why' behind certain user actions.

💡Contextual inquiry

Contextual inquiry is an ethnographic research method where researchers observe users in their natural environment to understand how they interact with products or systems. In the video, this is mentioned as a way to collect behavioral data in qualitative research by directly observing user tasks and actions.

💡A/B testing

A/B testing is a quantitative research method where two versions of a webpage, product, or feature are compared to see which performs better in terms of user behavior. In the video, it is described as a quantitative method that helps provide numerical data and statistically significant insights about user preferences.

💡Web analytics

Web analytics is the measurement, collection, and analysis of web data to understand user behavior on websites. The video mentions it as a key tool in quantitative research, where large amounts of data are analyzed to provide insights about how users interact with a website or digital product.

💡Focus groups

Focus groups are a qualitative research method where a small group of people discusses a product, service, or concept to explore their attitudes and opinions. The video describes this method as useful for gathering insights into user beliefs and thoughts, helping researchers understand the 'why' behind user behavior.

Highlights

Qualitative research answers 'why' while quantitative research answers 'how much' and 'how many'.

Qualitative research helps understand both attitudes and behaviors, gathered from user interviews, focus groups, and diary studies.

Quantitative research helps put numbers and statistical significance behind experiences.

Quantitative methods include web analytics, A/B testing, card sorting, tree testing, and eye tracking.

The question is not which is better, but when should you use which.

Qualitative findings are based on researcher's analysis, impressions, and prior knowledge.

Quantitative findings are statistically meaningful results that can likely be replicated.

In qualitative research, you only need a few participants, while quantitative research requires many.

Qualitative research uses flexible approaches with both structured and unstructured methods.

Quantitative research involves well-defined, strictly controlled study conditions.

The purpose of qualitative research is to answer the 'why' and 'how to fix' something.

Quantitative research aims to answer the 'how much' and 'how many' questions.

Qualitative research involves attitudes, which are people’s thoughts and beliefs, and behaviors, which are people’s approaches to tasks.

Ethnographic methods like contextual inquiry and direct observation are common in qualitative research.

Both qualitative and quantitative research are valuable, but they serve different purposes depending on the question at hand.

Transcripts

- What is the difference

between qualitative and quantitative research

is probably one of the most common questions I get

when it comes to any kind of user research.

Though a lot of things in research can be complex,

the answer here really is not.

Qualitative research answers why

while quantitative research answers how much and how many.

So why versus how much and how many.

Qualitative research helps us understand

both attitudes and behaviors.

Attitudes being people's thoughts and beliefs.

This is usually gathered from user interviews,

focus groups, and diary studies.

Behaviors being observations

about people's approaches to tasks,

collected through ethnographic approaches

like contextual inquiry and direct observation.

Quantitative research, on the other hand,

helps us put numbers and statistical significance

behind our experiences.

Insights and quantitative methods are typically derived

from mathematical analysis

since the instrument of data collection

captures such large amounts of data

that are easily coded numerically.

A few quantitative methods include web analytics,

A/B testing, card sorting, tree testing, even eye tracking.

Now of these,

the question is not which is better than the other,

but rather when should I be using which.

I'm gonna do a side-by-side comparison

to walk you through this,

starting with the most basic

which is what we've already gone over.

Qual answers why and how to fix something

where quant answers how much and how many.

Now, when it comes to outcomes,

in qual, findings are based on researcher's analysis,

impressions, interpretations, even prior knowledge.

In quant, findings are statistically meaningful results

that are likely replicated in a different study.

When it comes to participants,

in qual, you only need a few, think a handful.

In quant, you need many.

And then when it comes to approaches,

in qual, you'll be using kind of flexible approaches

with a range of structured and unstructured methods.

In quant, you'll have well-defined,

strictly controlled study conditions.

The question isn't which is better than the other,

but really when are you trying to do what.

Are you trying to answer the why's and the what's

or are you trying to answer the how much and how many?