UX Reference · Topic
Research methods
Research methods help teams gather and interpret evidence about people and their activities. These entries cover planning, fieldwork, analysis and evaluation.
49 entries
A/B TestingA/B testing is a controlled experimental method in which users are assigned to different variants so researchers or product teams can…Also: Split testing, online controlled experiment, randomized experiment
Assumption MappingAssumption mapping is the process of identifying, organizing, and prioritizing unverified beliefs that influence a product, service…Also: Risk assumption mapping, assumption prioritization, riskiest assumption mapping
Benchmark TaskA benchmark task is a repeatable task used to measure usability or experience performance consistently across designs, releases, products…Also: Standardized task, benchmark scenario, repeatable usability task
Card SortingCard sorting is a research method in which participants organize items into groups so researchers can study how people understand…Also: Open card sorting, closed card sorting, hybrid card sorting
CodebookA codebook is a structured guide that defines the codes used to categorize, interpret, and compare qualitative data.Also: Coding manual, qualitative coding guide, analysis code list
Contextual InquiryContextual inquiry is a field-based research method in which researchers observe and interview people in the context where work, service…Also: Contextual research, in-context interview, field inquiry
Data QualityData quality is the degree to which data is accurate, complete, consistent, timely, valid, and fit for its intended use.Also: Information quality, data fitness, record quality
Data SaturationData saturation is the point in qualitative research where additional data collection is unlikely to add substantially new information…Also: Saturation, thematic saturation, code saturation
Diary StudyA diary study is a research method in which participants record events, experiences, behaviors, or reflections repeatedly over a defined…Also: Diary method, experience diary, longitudinal diary
EthnographyEthnography is an in-depth qualitative research approach for studying people, practices, meanings, and social contexts in everyday settings.Also: Ethnographic research, field ethnography, workplace ethnography
Evidence MatrixAn evidence matrix is a structured table or framework that organizes findings, supporting data, sources, confidence levels, affected…Also: Evidence table, research matrix, findings matrix
Expert ReviewExpert review is an evaluation approach in which trained evaluators examine a product, prototype, interface, or service journey to…Also: UX expert review, usability inspection, expert evaluation
Field StudyA field study examines people, behavior, tools, tasks, and environments in real-world settings rather than only in a lab, interview, or…Also: Field research, in-context research, workplace study
Heuristic EvaluationHeuristic evaluation is a usability inspection method in which evaluators examine an interface against established usability principles or…Also: Heuristic review, usability heuristic review, heuristic inspection
Human-Centered DesignHuman-centered design is an approach to designing interactive systems that focuses on users, their goals, contexts of use, needs…Also: HCD, user-centered design, human-centred design
Interview GuideAn interview guide is a structured plan of topics, prompts, and follow-up questions used to conduct a research interview.Also: Interview protocol, discussion guide, interview schedule
Jobs to Be DoneJobs to Be Done is a product and service framing approach that focuses on the progress a person is trying to make in a specific situation…Also: JTBD, job theory, customer job
Moderation GuideA moderation guide is a session-level document that outlines the introduction, consent reminders, questions, tasks, probes, prompts, and…Also: Discussion guide, interview guide, test script
ObservationObservation is a research method in which researchers watch people, tasks, environments, or interactions to understand what actually…Also: Field observation, workplace observation, contextual observation
Opportunity AreaAn opportunity area is a focused space for potential improvement identified from evidence, user needs, service problems, or strategic…Also: Opportunity space, design opportunity, improvement area
Participatory DesignParticipatory design is an approach in which people affected by a system are meaningfully involved in design, decision-making, evaluation…Also: Co-design, participatory systems design, collaborative design
PersonaA persona is a research-grounded representation of a user group that summarizes goals, behaviours, context, constraints, and needs…Also: User persona, design persona, research persona
Problem StatementA problem statement is a clear description of a user, service, product, or operational problem that explains who is affected, what is…Also: Problem framing, design problem, challenge statement
Prototype FidelityPrototype fidelity is the level of detail, realism, and interactivity represented in a prototype.Also: Low-fidelity prototype, high-fidelity prototype, prototype realism
Recommendation PrioritizationRecommendation prioritization is the process of ranking proposed UX, content, accessibility, product, or service improvements based on…Also: UX prioritization, issue prioritization, recommendation ranking
Recruitment CriteriaRecruitment criteria are the conditions used to identify, include, exclude, or prioritize participants for a research or evaluation study.Also: Participant criteria, sampling criteria, inclusion criteria
Research FindingA research finding is an evidence-based statement derived from analysed research data that describes a meaningful pattern, issue…Also: Finding, study finding, evidence statement
Research OperationsResearch operations is the set of people, processes, tools, governance practices, and infrastructure that enables user research to be…Also: ResearchOps, ReOps, UX research operations
Research ParticipantA research participant is a person who takes part in a study by providing information, performing tasks, sharing experiences, being…Also: Participant, study participant, respondent
Research ProtocolA research protocol is a structured plan that describes the purpose, participants, procedures, materials, data handling, ethics, and…Also: Study protocol, research plan, evaluation protocol
Research RepositoryA research repository is an organized collection of research materials, evidence, findings, reports, recordings, notes, tags, and…Also: UX research repository, research library, insight repository
Sampling StrategyA sampling strategy is the plan for selecting participants, cases, sites, tasks, or data sources for a study.Also: Sampling plan, participant selection strategy, qualitative sampling
Search Log AnalysisSearch log analysis is the review of search queries, search results, refinements, zero-result searches, and related behavior to understand…Also: Site search analysis, query log analysis, search analytics
Session ReplaySession replay is a method of recording and reviewing user interactions with a website or application to understand behavior, friction…Also: Session recording, interaction replay, behavior replay
Severity RatingA severity rating is an assessment of how serious a usability issue is based on its effect on users, tasks, frequency, recoverability, and…Also: Issue severity, usability severity, problem priority rating
Support Ticket AnalysisSupport ticket analysis is the systematic review of support requests, complaints, helpdesk records, or service queries to identify…Also: Helpdesk analysis, support log analysis, customer support analysis
SurveyA survey is a structured research method that uses standardized questions to collect data from a defined group of respondents.Also: Questionnaire, structured questionnaire, online survey
Task AnalysisTask analysis is a method for studying what people need to do to achieve a goal, including the steps, decisions, tools, dependencies…Also: Workflow analysis, hierarchical task analysis, activity breakdown
Task ScenarioA task scenario is a realistic description of a situation that asks a participant to attempt a task without directly telling them which…Also: Usability scenario, test task scenario, user task prompt
Test PlanA test plan is a structured document that defines how a usability test or evaluation will be conducted, including objectives…Also: Usability test plan, evaluation plan, testing protocol
Thematic AnalysisThematic analysis is a qualitative analysis method for identifying, organizing, and interpreting patterns of meaning across a dataset.Also: Theme analysis, qualitative thematic coding, reflexive thematic analysis
Think-Aloud ProtocolThink-aloud protocol is a method in which participants verbalize what they are thinking while performing a task, allowing evaluators to…Also: Thinking aloud, verbal protocol, concurrent verbalization
Tree TestingTree testing is an information architecture evaluation method in which participants use a simplified text-based hierarchy to find where…Also: Reverse card sorting, navigation tree testing, IA tree testing
TriangulationTriangulation is the use of multiple data sources, methods, researchers, or perspectives to strengthen the interpretation of research…Also: Multiple-method validation, evidence triangulation, source triangulation
Usability IssueA usability issue is a documented problem that prevents, delays, misleads, frustrates, or increases effort for users trying to complete a…Also: Usability problem, UX issue, interaction problem
Usability TestingUsability testing is an evaluation method in which representative users attempt realistic tasks while a team observes what helps, blocks…Also: Usability test, user testing, moderated testing
User InterviewA user interview is a qualitative research method in which a researcher asks participants open-ended questions to understand their…Also: UX interview, qualitative interview, research interview
UX AuditA UX audit is a structured review of a digital product, service, or workflow to identify usability, accessibility, content, interaction…Also: User experience audit, usability audit, expert UX review
UX InsightA UX insight is an interpreted understanding of user behaviour, need, motivation, friction, or context that helps explain why an…Also: User insight, design insight, research insight