UX Research - Get Started With Qualitative User Research (2023)

Summary

In this informative video, Maureen, a seasoned product and UX designer, offers a step-by-step guide to conducting qualitative user research. She emphasizes the importance of user research in building relevant and usable solutions, and provides practical tips for freelancers or those new to UX on how to create a research brief, select interviewees, and conduct insightful interviews with limited resources. The guide is designed to help designers gather deep insights into user behavior and motivations without the need for extensive budgets or tools.

Takeaways

• 😀 Maureen, a product and UX designer with four years of experience, offers a guide on conducting qualitative user research.
• 🔍 User research is crucial for understanding user behavior, motivations, and needs, and it forms the foundation of design work.
• 📊 There are two types of user research: quantitative, which answers 'how many', and qualitative, which answers 'why'.
• 💡 Qualitative research is preferred for in-depth insights and is particularly suitable for freelancers or those with limited resources.
• 📝 A user research brief is essential and includes the research goal, questions, and method.
• 🎯 The research goal outlines the purpose and scope of the research, guiding the overall direction.
• ❓ Research questions should be user-centered and aim to answer key queries during the research process.
• 🔎 Choosing the right research method, such as interviews, can lead to deep insights into user behaviors and motivations.
• 👥 Finding interview participants requires defining screening requirements and seeking individuals within the target audience.
• 🗣️ Crafting an interview guide involves formulating key questions and allowing room for follow-up to maintain a natural conversation flow.
• 🚫 Avoid leading and closed questions to prevent bias and encourage open-ended responses.
• 🤝 During interviews, create a safe space, ensure natural conversation, and react neutrally to maintain an unbiased perspective.

Q & A

What is the main focus of Maureen's video?

The main focus of Maureen's video is to provide a step-by-step guide on how to conduct qualitative user research, particularly for those who might not have access to extensive resources or tools.

What are the two types of user research mentioned in the video?

The two types of user research mentioned are quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative research answers the question 'how many,' while qualitative research answers 'why' and focuses on understanding behaviors, motivations, and needs.

Why is user research important in the design process?

User research is important because it provides insights based on evidence, reduces the likelihood of building the wrong solution, and ensures that the solutions are relevant and usable for the users, addressing their real problems.

What are the three elements of a user research brief?

The three elements of a user research brief are the research goal, research questions, and the research method. These elements guide the purpose, scope, and approach of the research.

How does the research goal differ from research questions in a brief?

The research goal explains the purpose and scope of the research, essentially why the research is being conducted. Research questions, on the other hand, are the specific inquiries that the research aims to answer.

What is the advantage of using interviews as a research method?

Interviews as a research method allow for deep insights into motivations, needs, and behaviors from a small number of participants, providing a rich understanding that can inform project decisions.

Why is it recommended to avoid talking to friends and family during user research?

It is recommended to avoid friends and family unless they are part of the target audience to prevent bias and ensure that the research is representative of the actual user base.

How can one find participants for user interviews without a large network?

One can find participants by using digital communities like Facebook groups or Reddit, as well as by posting flyers in physical locations relevant to the target audience.

What is an interview guide and why is it important?

An interview guide is a set of questions prepared for conducting interviews. It is important because it helps maintain the research goal, ensures key questions are asked, and allows for natural conversation and follow-up questions.

What are some tips for writing good interview questions?

Good interview questions should be neutral, avoiding leading questions that assume certain answers or behaviors. They should also be open-ended to encourage detailed responses rather than simple yes or no answers.

How can one ensure a natural conversation during user interviews?

To ensure a natural conversation, the interviewer should start with small talk, treat the prepared questions as a guideline rather than a script, and react neutrally to the interviewee's responses without judgment.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Introduction to Qualitative User Research

In this introductory paragraph, Maureen, a product and UX designer with four years of experience, sets the stage for a video guide on conducting qualitative user research. She emphasizes the challenges faced by those without extensive resources or organizational support, particularly freelancers and UX design beginners. Maureen outlines the necessity of user research, distinguishing between quantitative and qualitative approaches, with the latter focusing on understanding 'why' through in-depth interviews. The importance of user research is underscored by its ability to provide evidence-based insights, reduce the risk of creating irrelevant solutions, and ensure the relevance and usability of the final product. The paragraph concludes with an overview of the video's content, which includes a step-by-step guide on qualitative user research methods and practical tips for those with limited budgets and audiences.

05:04

📝 Crafting a User Research Brief

This paragraph delves into the initial steps of conducting user research, starting with the creation of a user research brief. Maureen explains the significance of understanding the 'why' behind the research before determining the 'how'. The brief is composed of three key elements: research goals, research questions, and the chosen research method. The research goal clarifies the purpose and scope, while the research questions are designed to be user-centered and begin with questions like 'how', 'what', and 'why'. Maureen provides an example related to a dating app to illustrate these concepts. The paragraph also discusses the importance of selecting an appropriate research method, with a focus on qualitative interviews for their depth of insight, despite their time-consuming nature. The section concludes with advice on finding participants for the interviews, suggesting the use of digital communities and physical spaces relevant to the target audience.

10:04

🤝 Conducting Effective User Interviews

In the final paragraph, Maureen provides guidance on how to effectively conduct user interviews, emphasizing the importance of creating a safe and non-judgmental space for participants. She advises on the preparation of an interview guide with key questions and the flexibility to allow for natural conversation and follow-up inquiries. Tips for writing good interview questions are offered, including avoiding leading and closed questions to foster open and informative dialogue. The paragraph also covers strategies for conducting the interview itself, such as asking 'why' repeatedly to uncover deeper insights and maintaining a neutral demeanor to prevent the interviewee from feeling judged. Maureen encourages viewers to engage with the content by asking questions in the comments and suggests subscribing to the channel for more UX and UI design insights. The video concludes with a recap of the importance of qualitative user interviews and an invitation to the audience to continue learning about the topic.

Keywords

💡Qualitative User Research

Qualitative user research is an exploratory method that seeks to understand the 'why' behind user behaviors, motivations, and needs. It is typically conducted with a smaller sample size to gain in-depth insights. In the video, Maureen emphasizes the importance of qualitative research for UX designers, especially those with limited resources, as it can provide valuable information to inform design decisions and ensure that solutions are relevant and usable.

💡Quantitative User Research

Quantitative user research, in contrast to qualitative, is concerned with the 'how many' aspect of user behavior. It involves collecting numerical data and statistics from a larger sample size to identify patterns and trends. The script mentions this type of research to differentiate it from the qualitative approach that is the focus of the video.

💡User Interface

The user interface (UI) refers to the space where interactions between users and a digital product take place. It encompasses the visual elements and interactive components that users engage with. Maureen discusses conducting user research specifically for the user interface, indicating the importance of understanding how users interact with these elements.

💡Research Brief

A research brief is a document that outlines the purpose, goals, and scope of a research project. In the context of the video, Maureen explains that the research brief is crucial for defining the research goal, questions, and method, which guides the entire user research process.

💡Research Goal

The research goal is the overarching aim of the user research, explaining why the research is being conducted. Maureen uses the example of a dating app to illustrate how a research goal might be to understand how people make connections online, setting the stage for the specific research questions to be explored.

💡Research Questions

Research questions are the specific inquiries that a researcher seeks to answer during the research process. They should be user-centered and often begin with 'how,' 'what,' 'why,' or 'in which way?' Maureen emphasizes that these questions guide the creation of the interview guide and help define the research method.

💡Interview Guide

An interview guide is a set of questions and topics prepared for conducting an interview. It helps maintain the structure of the conversation while allowing for natural dialogue. Maureen advises avoiding leading or closed questions and instead formulating open-ended questions to elicit detailed responses.

💡Screening Requirements

Screening requirements are the criteria used to select participants for a research study. Maureen discusses the importance of defining these criteria to ensure that the interviewees fit the target audience and can provide relevant insights for the research.

💡Digital Communities

Digital communities refer to online groups or forums where people with common interests interact. In the script, Maureen suggests using platforms like Facebook groups or Reddit to find potential interviewees for user research, highlighting the accessibility of these communities for recruitment.

💡Neutral Questions

Neutral questions are those that do not lead the respondent towards a particular answer or assumption. Maureen advises using neutral questions during interviews to avoid bias and to genuinely understand the user's perspective and experiences.

💡Small Talk

Small talk is casual conversation about non-controversial topics, often used to establish rapport at the beginning of an interview. Maureen suggests starting interviews with small talk to create a safe space and to make the interviewee feel comfortable, which can lead to more open and honest responses.

💡Natural Conversation

A natural conversation is one that flows smoothly without feeling forced or scripted. Maureen emphasizes the importance of maintaining a natural conversation during user interviews, suggesting flexibility with the interview guide and reacting neutrally to what the interviewee shares.

Highlights

Maureen, a product and UX designer with four years of experience, shares a step-by-step guide on conducting qualitative user research.

User research is essential for understanding user behavior, motivations, and needs, forming the foundation of design work.

Qualitative user research focuses on 'why' questions by interviewing a few people deeply, unlike quantitative research that answers 'how many'.

Practical steps are provided for conducting user research with limited resources, suitable for freelancers or those starting in UX design.

A user research brief is crucial, consisting of research goals, questions, and methods, guiding the research process.

Screening requirements help identify the right participants for interviews, ensuring they fit the target audience.

Utilizing digital communities and physical world strategies, such as Facebook groups or local events, to find interview participants.

Creating an interview guide involves formulating key questions and allowing for a natural conversation flow during the interview.

Avoiding leading and closed questions is key to gaining unbiased and in-depth insights from interviewees.

Establishing a safe space for interviews encourages honest feedback, including negative and critical responses.

Recording interviews requires permission and clear communication on how the recordings will be used.

The importance of asking 'why' repeatedly during interviews to uncover the root of behaviors, needs, or motivations.

Maintaining a natural conversation during interviews by using the interview guide flexibly and starting with small talk.

Reacting neutrally to interviewee responses to avoid judgment and ensure an open and honest dialogue.

The video offers to answer questions about user interviews and research in the comments, promoting engagement.

The video concludes by encouraging viewers to subscribe for more UX and UI design knowledge and to use the bell icon for updates.

Transcripts

Hey, in this video, I'm going to share a step-by-step guide on how to

undertake qualitative user research.

My name is Maureen.

I have been working as a product and UX designer for the past four years.

And in this video, I want to give you some practical steps

on how to conduct user research.

Now, when you're not part of a big organization, you might not have the tools

or resources for high end user research.

So how do you go about.

When you're just starting out in UX design or when you're a freelancer first, I'm

going to focus on what user research is.

And then I'm going to give you some practical tips on how to undertake

a specific kind of user research, which is the user interface.

All the things that you need to undertake a user interview are free and

accessible software for video calls.

For example, Google meet or zoom, a word document to write down your

research, brief and questions.

For example, Microsoft words or Google docs and access to a community.

To find five or seven people to interview with that.

Let's dive right in.

What is user research?

There are typically two different kinds of user research, quantitative

and qualitative quantitative user research answers the question, how many.

Qualitative user research answers the question, why and

quantitative user research.

You reach out to many people to get statistics and qualitative user research.

You interview a few people to really understand dare behavior and motivations.

We use user research to better understand the behavior

motivation and needs of our users.

User research is normally the foundation of our design work, but

we can also conduct you as a research throughout the whole design process.

So why do we need user research?

First of all, we can use the insights that we gained from user research to

build solutions based on evidence.

We also reduce the probability of building the wrong thing.

And the most important thing is we ensure that we build a solution

that is relevant and usable to our.

We ensure that we solve the real problems that our users have.

User research can also be used to understand and which direction

we should go when it comes to products, experiences, or features.

So now, you know, a bit more about what user research is and why it is important.

As I just mentioned, there are two different kinds of research.

Qualitative and quantitative.

And in this video, I'm going to focus on qualitative user research that is done

with a few people and answers the question why we're going to assume that you're a

freelancer or just starting out in UX.

So you might not have access to a lot of resources or a bigger audience.

I'm going to share a few practical steps on how to conduct user research.

But access to little budget and just a few people.

So, first off we start with writing a user research, brief, a project brief.

This is a kickoff document that shows you why you want

to conduct this user research.

It's important to first figure out why you want to conduct a review.

Before you look into how you want to conduct a user research.

The research brief consists of three important elements, the

research goal research questions and the research method.

Let's look at the research goal.

First, the research goal explains why you are conducting the research.

It shows the purpose and the scope of the research.

For example, when you're designing a day, Uh, research goal might be to find out how

people are looking to make connections.

When you've written down the research, go it's time to think

about the research questions.

These are not the questions that you would ask the interviewee, but these

are the questions that you would like to get answered during the research.

For example, back to our dating.

A research question could be, how do people connect with

others online or using apps?

Just for context, this research brief could just be a Google document or a word

document important to keep in mind when writing down these research questions

is that they should be user centered.

The research questions oftentimes begin with how, what, why, in which way?

For example, a research question could be.

Why are people using mobile apps to connect with us?

Research questions help you write an interview guide later on, and

they also help you define which research method you should use.

So now we discussed the research goals and you've written down some research

questions that you want to get answered.

Let's discuss the research method.

This is the method that you will use to get the information

that you're looking for.

And this is important because the method also implies what kind

of insights you will get new.

These insights will then further inform the project or the solutions

that you will be working on.

There are many different research methods and you can also use a combination of

quantitative and qualitative methods.

But in this video, we will be focusing on the research

method of interviewing people.

The benefit of interviewing people is that you can get really deep

insights and motivations needs and behaviors from just a few people.

The downside of interviews is that they're quite time-consuming.

So take your time in between.

And also keep in mind that it is oftentimes enough to talk

to five people to cover most of the insights that you need.

So after you have written your research brief with the goals, the questions,

and you found a research method, it's time to find people to interview.

And for this, it's very important to first define screening requirements.

What is it that you're looking for in the people that you want to interview?

Try to find people that fit your target audience and try to avoid

talking to friends and family unless they are part of that target audience.

So for example, when we look back on our dating app, the screening

requirements could be single people between 18 and 45 years.

That already have experienced connecting with others through mobile apps.

So where do you actually find these people?

Bigger companies use research coordinators or even recruitment services, but

keeping in mind that you're just on your own or you're freelancer, you might

want to use Facebook groups or Reddit.

You can use Facebook search filters or subreddits to find relevant groups, make

sure that you first ask permission from these groups before you post anything that

requires any kind of personal information.

So, for example, with our dating app, I would look for groups of single

people in Berlin, on Facebook, since this is a qualitative user research,

I'm looking for people to interview.

So I would reach out to single people in Berlin.

Maybe there is a group on Facebook and I would ask them if they are

interested in participating in a user research interview, since this

is qualitative user research, I'm looking to interview a small number of.

As I just mentioned five to seven people is already sufficient to find the most

important insights to go forward with.

So now we covered digital communities, but what happens when your topic

has a place in the physical world?

In that case, you can leave out flyers and places that are

relevant for your target audience.

For example, sport clubs or events, spaces, or supermarkets, what you

would do is just leave your email.

Phone number and some information about the interview that you want to take.

Just keep in mind that leaving out flyers might not be as effective

because you can't really screen the people that will reply to your flyer.

After you created the research brief and you found the right people, it's

time to write an interview guide.

These are the questions that you want to ask.

The people that you're interviewing here are a few.

That I applied when writing an interview guide the first and foremost is to

keep your research goal in mind.

So what is it that you want to find?

The second important thing is to formulate a few key questions.

These are the most important questions that you want to ask, but also

leave room for followup questions, because you want this interview

to be like a natural conversation.

Rather than a script that you're reading.

Also, you can never really tell what people will answer to your question.

So leaving room for followup questions allows you to dig even

deeper and gain more valuable insights from your interviewee.

Here are two tips to write good interview questions, tip one, avoid

leading questions, leading questions.

Try to get a certain answer out of your user.

And we.

So don't assume anything and try to ask very neutral questions, going back

to the example of our dating app and example of a neutral question could be,

Hey, can you tell me a bit more about your experience with mobile dating apps?

An example of a leading question could be, what do you hate about tender?

The reason why this is a leading question is because I assume this person

has used tender and doesn't like, it.

The second tip is to avoid closed questions.

These are questions that your user can only answer with.

Yes or no.

In our dating app.

A closed question could be, have you used tender that question can

only be answered with yes or no.

An open question.

Which specific dating apps do you use?

These are some tips and tricks that you can use when you're interviewing

your selected participants.

First of all, you want to create a safe space for the person that you're

interviewing, reassure your interviewee.

That negative feedback is okay as well as critical feedback, because these are

the things that you want to learn more.

If you want to record the conversation or maybe even film it that makes sure

that you always ask permission and also explain to your interviewee what you

will do with the recordings before you jump right in the questions, explain the

research goal so that your interviewing knows what this conversation is about.

During the interview, avoid something.

I always ask why as many times, as you can to really dig deep and get to the root

of a certain behavior need or motivation.

One important thing to keep in mind.

And this might be the most difficult thing when you're just starting

with user interviews is to try and keep the conversation natural.

So use the questions that you've written down before as a guideline, but not as a.

Thanks.

I do to keep the conversation natural is to start with a bit of small

talk and also treat the questions that I've written down before.

Very flexible.

So when the conversation leads to a certain topic, and I actually want to

talk about that later on, I might talk about it early on in the interview,

because that feels more natural.

And then the last tip I have for.

It's to react neutral.

So don't put any judgment and what your users might tell you.

For example, when we're interviewing someone for a dating app and

this person says, oh, I've used 20 different dating apps.

Avoid any reactions.

Oh really?

That's a lot because we don't want the interviewee to feel judged and start.

What I like to do is repeat what my interviewee just told me.

So for example, someone just told me that they used 20 different dating

apps, and then I would say, okay, so you used 20 different dating apps.

Why is that repeating what your interview we just told you has to be.

First of all, it shows that you're interested in what the

other person is telling you.

And second of all, it allows you to check and see if you

understood the person correctly.

Before we finish up, let us know if you have any questions about user interviews

or use a research in the comments.

We'll answer your questions as soon as we can, hopefully this video has helped

you to understand what user research is, why it is important and how to

conduct user interviews on your own.

Of course, there are plenty of other methods to conduct user research.

And the one that I discussed today are qualitative user interviews

because that's the most accessible one for people that are working on

their own or working as a freelance.

If you want to learn more about UX and UI design, subscribe to the career

Foundry channel and hit the bell icon to be notified when we release new

videos, I really hope you enjoyed the video and you now better understand how

to conduct qualitative user interviews.

Thank you for watching and see you next time.