Plan a research study
To decide what to research, with which method, and how to turn it into useful conclusions. In each step, choose one or more entries; open “How it’s used” to decide without leaving this page.
Step 1
Decide what you want to know
A good research question determines the method.
How it’s used
Full entry, with sourcesTwo complementary ways of doing research: qualitative seeks to understand why and how; quantitative, to measure how much and how often.
Why it happens
- Quantitative research answers how much? how many? how often?
- Qualitative research answers why? how? what does it mean?
- Together they give a fuller, more reliable picture.
- Avoid
- Using five interviews to estimate how many people think something: that’s not what they’re for.
How it’s used
Full entry, with sourcesThe gap between what people say about their behavior and motives, and what they actually do.
Why it happens
- We don't see everything that influences our decisions.
- When asked, we give an explanation that sounds reasonable.
- That is why you have to observe, as well as ask.
- Avoid
- Taking literally what people say they would do with a product that does not exist yet.
How it’s used
Full entry, with sourcesUnderstanding customers by the progress they are trying to make in a specific situation, the “job” they hire a product for, not by their demographics.
How it’s done
- Look at the situation. When, where and with whom the product is chosen.
- Find the job. What progress is sought and what alternatives are used.
- Design for that job. Improve what matters in that situation.
- Avoid
- Confusing the job with a product feature.
Step 2
Choose how to get the information
Ask, observe, or measure: each approach sees different things.
How it’s used
Full entry, with sourcesA long, open, guided conversation with a single person to understand in detail their experiences, motivations and way of seeing a topic.
How it’s done
- Prepare a guide of topics, not a closed questionnaire.
- Have a conversation following what the person tells you.
- Record and analyze looking for themes and quotes.
- Output
- Detailed accounts of experiences and motivations
- Avoid
- Asking for general opinions instead of concrete stories (“the last time you…”), asking leading questions or selling your idea.
How it’s used
Full entry, with sourcesA method in which people are observed and asked questions while they carry out their tasks in their own setting, like an apprentice beside a master.
How it’s done
- You accompany the person while they do their real work.
- You ask in the moment, without interrupting too much.
- You interpret with them what you have observed.
- Output
- Notes on how a person works in their setting, and why
- Avoid
- Turning it into a sit-down interview far from where everything happens: ask the person to show you how they do it, as if you were going to learn their job.
How it’s used
Full entry, with sourcesAn observation method in which you accompany a person for a period, like their shadow, to see what they do, with whom, and why.
How it’s done
- Agree with the person when and for how long to accompany them.
- Observe and note what they do, with whom, and where.
- Ask afterward about what was not clear.
- Output
- Notes on a person’s complete routine
- Avoid
- Intervening or giving opinions while you observe: it changes what the person does.
How it’s used
Full entry, with sourcesParticipants record their activities, experiences or emotions over a period at the moment they happen, using text, photos or audio.
How it’s done
- Give the instructions. What to record, when and with what.
- Follow along. Reminders and review of what comes in each day.
- Close with an interview. Talk with each person about their diary.
- Output
- Records of activities and emotions noted in the moment
- Avoid
- Asking for too much each day: people stop writing.
How it’s used
Full entry, with sourcesA questionnaire with the same questions for many people, designed to measure in numbers how many think, do or prefer something.
How it’s done
- Define what to measure. Which decision depends on the answer.
- Write and test. Test the questionnaire with a few people before sending it.
- Send and analyze. Count, compare groups and read carefully.
- Output
- Numerical data on what many people think, do or prefer
- Avoid
- Asking about what they will do in the future (“would you use it?”): what people say they will do isn’t what they later do.
How it’s used
Full entry, with sourcesA conversation led by a moderator with a small group on a specific topic, to learn their opinions and how they build them by talking to each other.
How it’s done
- Prepare. A topic guide and the stimulus to be shown.
- Moderate. Open the conversation and share out the turns.
- Analyze. Look for themes, agreements and disagreements.
- Output
- A group’s opinions and how they build them through conversation
- Avoid
- Using it to measure how many people prefer something: it is small and the group sways opinions.
Step 3
Make sure it is reliable
Know when to stop and how to cross-check what you find.
How it’s used
Full entry, with sourcesThe point where new interviews or observations add almost no new themes. It helps decide how many people to interview.
Why it happens
- The first interviews uncover almost all the themes.
- Each additional interview repeats what you already knew.
- When nothing new appears, you have reached saturation.
- Avoid
- Using “five users” as a fixed rule for any kind of research.
How it’s used
Full entry, with sourcesUsing several sources, methods, researchers, or theories to study the same thing and check whether the results agree.
Why it happens
- Each source has its own biases.
- By cross-checking them, the biases of one offset those of another.
- What agrees is more reliable; what does not is worth investigating.
- Avoid
- Looking only for sources that confirm what you already thought.
Step 4
Organize what you learned
Go from many notes to patterns.
How it’s used
Full entry, with sourcesWriting each research observation on a note and grouping the notes by affinity, bottom-up, until the themes that connect them emerge.
How it’s done
- Write one observation on each note.
- Group the notes that are alike, without prior categories.
- Give a title to each group and arrange the groups.
- Output
- Observations grouped into themes
- Avoid
- Starting with categories already decided: that way you only confirm what you believed.
How it’s used
Full entry, with sourcesThe process of organizing, grouping, and interpreting what has been researched until patterns, insights, and design opportunities emerge.
Why it happens
- Get all the information out while it is fresh.
- Group and regroup it, looking for patterns and differences.
- Interpret it until insights and opportunities are formulated.
- Avoid
- Jumping from data to solutions without going through interpretation.
Step 5
Tell it so it gets used
Turn the patterns into something the team will remember.
How it’s used
Full entry, with sourcesA new, well-grounded interpretation about people and their context that explains why they do what they do and opens design opportunities.
Why it happens
- Start from observed facts, never from assumptions.
- Connect several findings until a common motive emerges.
- Phrase it as desire and friction: what the person wants and what stops them.
- Avoid
- Calling a piece of data or a team opinion an insight.
How it’s used
Full entry, with sourcesA method for summarizing research in a few fictional characters, with a name, goals and context, who represent groups of users.
How it’s done
- Research with real users.
- Group similar goals and behaviors.
- Each group becomes a character.
- Output
- A few fictional characters, with a name, goals and context
- Avoid
- Making them up in an afternoon or filling them with stereotypes and details that don't help decide.
How it’s used
Full entry, with sourcesA method for representing a person's path through a service, step by step, with their actions, touchpoints, emotions and pain points.
How it’s done
- Research with real people, not imagined ones.
- Draw the journey with its emotions and pain points.
- Choose the moments most worth improving.
- Output
- A step-by-step map of the journey, with actions, touchpoints, emotions and pain points
- Avoid
- Drawing it from the office without talking to anyone: it will be the team's opinion, not the real experience.