https://medium.design/a-guide-to-research-methodologies-9976020de99e

Photo by David Travis on Unsplash

Part of the job of a design researcher is making sure everyone on the product team is comfortable participating in, and even conducting their own research. As senior design researcher at Medium, I put a lot of effort towards making sure I’m providing the design team with useful tools and frameworks that will help them develop that level of comfort and empower the team to get the information they need for their work.

Whatever your question, theright research method is essential to getting the answers you need, and so I’ve outlined some of the most popular research methods, when to use them, and how.

Types of Research covers the differences between quantitative, qualitative, attitudinal, and behavioral research.
Methods covers a set of methods and when to use them. It’s not an exhaustive list, but some of the most common combined with some of my favorites. I imagine it will grow!
Participant Count covers how many people to include for each method mentioned.

Types of Research

A given project should include two or more complementary research methods, because different methods are best employed for different objectives and at different phases of the product development lifecycle.

Research methods as they relate to the product lifecycle may look something like this:

Field studies, surveys, diary studies, and user interviews during the discovery and ideation phase.
Card sorting, concept testing, usability, and acceptance testing during design.
Beta testing, diary studies, A/B testing, or surveys to measure success.

Research used early in the product lifecycle is typically generative or exploratory, with the objectiveof understanding the opportunity or problem space, while research used later in the lifecycle is typically evaluative, measuring the efficacy of our work.

Separate from sprint work will be foundational research, which is not tied to a given project or sprint but used to deepen our overall understanding of users.

In addition to being generative or evaluative, research is either quantitative or qualitative and attitudinal or behavioral.

Nielsen Norman Group

This graph illustrates how different types of research methods address different types of research needs. Methods complement each other best when they fall into different quadrants. This is evidenced by the common user interview + usability test combination, wherein we conduct attitudinal and then behavioral research.