UX Research (UXR) is the process of understanding user behaviors, needs, preferences, motivations, and attitudes by using various observation and feedback collection methods. It’s what allows us to test hypotheses, assumptions, and solutions beyond just "gut feeling."

This resource was originally put together by Lade Tawak. It serves as a starting point for anyone pursuing a career in Design Research, as well as teams looking to incorporate research into their product process.

Why Conduct UX Research?

It's not just about doing research; it's about doing it the right way and asking the right questions. Bad research can be just as costly as no research at all.

• What is User Research and what is it's purpose — Career Foundry
• The vital role of user research — Medium | Design at IBM
• Skip User Research Unless You’re Doing It Right — Medium | Microsoft Design
• UX Research Is Essential to Product Success — UX Matters

Phase 1: Planning & Recruitment

Great research starts with a plan. You need to identify your stakeholders, define your objectives, and—most importantly—find the right people to talk to.

Research Planning

• A Stakeholder Interview Checklist — Boxes and Arrows
• Questions to ask before starting user research — GV Library
• Research Questions Are Not Interview Questions — Erika Hall
• How many participants do you need? — NN/g
• The UX Research Plan That Stakeholders Love — Smashing Magazine

Participant Recruitment

• The Basics of Recruiting Users — Interaction Design Foundation
• 7 ways to find participants — MeasuringU
• Writing the perfect participant screener — Userfocus

Phase 2: Some Research Methods

The method you choose depends on the questions you are trying to answer.

Interviews & Focus Groups

• 17 Types of Interviewing Questions — Portigal
• 12 Ways To Improve User Interview Questions — Smashing Mag
• Laddering: Uncovering Core Values — UX Matters

Usability Testing

• Quantitative versus qualitative usability testing — NN/g
• Turn User Goals into Task Scenarios — NN/g
• Rapid Iterative Testing & Evaluation (RITE) — Slideshare

Other Qualitative Methods

• Diary Studies: How to run a diary study — Dovetail
• Participatory Design: Co-Creation: Designing With the User — UX Booth
• Ethnographic Research: Shadowing in User Research — Interaction Design Foundation
• Guerrilla Research: 7 Step Guide to Guerrilla Usability Testing — User Brain

Phase 3: Synthesis & Reporting

Collecting data is only half the battle. You have to make sense of it to drive design decisions.

Note Taking & Analysis

• Group note taking for user research — NN/g
• Techniques to identify themes — Analytic Tech
• Interpretation of contradictory findings — NN/g

Reporting Findings

• How to Write Actionable User Research Summaries — People Nerds
• How to Write Compelling User Research Insights in 6 Steps — People Nerds
• How to (not) present UX findings — UX Collective

The Essential Library

Books

• Interviewing Users — Steve Portigal
• Just Enough Research — Erika Hall
• Observe: A Practitioner's Guide — Mike Kuniavsky
• Think Like a UX Researcher — David Travis & Philip Hodgson

Courses & Specializations

• Introduction to Human Centered Design — IDEO
• UX Research and Design Specialization — University of Michigan
• UX Research – Methods and Best Practices — Interaction Design Foundation

Basic Beginner UX Research Tools

Communities & Career

Connecting with others is often the best way to learn the nuances of the craft.

• Mixed Methods — Community focused on those doing quantitative and qualitative research.
• ResearchOps — Focused on the operational side of research.
• UX Research Collective — A great place for shared learnings.
• How to optimize your user research resume — People Nerds