The Basics of Qualitative Research

Question 1

What is quantitative research?

Answer 1

Measuring the aspects of users and user behavior in a way that can be quantified and used for statistical analysis.

• The research must be numerically summarized without bias from your own opinion or personal experience with exercise.

Question 2

What are some quantitative methods?

Answer 2

Surveys, analytics, and formal experiments.

Question 3

What is the best practice for quantitative methods?

Answer 3

To collect objective measurements that are unbiased by the researcher’s hypotheses, presence, and personality.

*Getting a sample of users who can represent the entire user population in a statistically meaningful way often requires many research participants.

Question 4

What is qualitative research?

Answer 4

Usability tests that are often more exploratory and seek to get more in-depth understanding of the individual users’ or user group’s experiences, motivations, and everyday lives.

• It gives you an in-depth understanding of something in ways that are impossible to reduce to numbers.

Question 5

What are some qualitative methods?

Answer 5

Interviews, ethnographic field studies, and

Question 6

What does the term ‘objective’ mean in usability testing?

Answer 6

Indisputable observations (facts) made during an experiment.

Question 7

When is it better to choose qualitative methods over quantitative methods?

Answer 7

Qualitative methods are good when you don’t have a lot of information about the topic you want to research, because they allow you to be explorative.

Question 8

Which method require lesser time and fewer resources?

Answer 8

Qualitative research

Question 9

Which method is easier to fit into an iterative development process?

Answer 9

Qualitative research

Question 10

What does quantitative research seek to collect?

Answer 10

Objective measurements about an external reality without any influence or bias from the researcher

Question 11

Why is qualitative research not always as objective as quantitative research?

Answer 11

Because the researcher’s personality and experience will always, to some extent, influence the results.

Question 12

What are the three ways psychology professor, Steinar Kvale proposes in which qualitative research can strive for objectivity?

Answer 12

1. Through freedom from bias
2. Through intersubjective knowledge
3. Through being adequate to the object investigated

Question 13

What does ‘objectivity through freedom from bias’ mean?

Answer 13

We should strive to be open and unbiased, so our research represents the participants’ perspectives as much as possible.

Question 14

When conducting qualitative research you should avoid becoming a tour guide who leads your participants to where you think the important sights are, instead you should become a ? and why?

Answer 14

A co-explorer so you discover new things and see things from your participant’s perspective.

Question 15

What does ‘objectivity through intersubjective knowledge’ mean?

Answer 15

An understanding of objectivity as something that multiple people agree on. Ensuring that you are not the only person who interprets your data the way you do.

• Have another person who might have a different perspective help you analyze your data.

Question 16

What does ‘Objectivity through being adequate to the object investigated’ mean?

Answer 16

Research methods have different attributes and are good for different things, so what results you can get depend on what research method you choose.

Example, the interview reflects the participants’ memories and opinions about how they exercise, but a form of observation of their exercise might reveal a truer picture of how they exercise.

Question 17

What are your objectives when engaging in user research?

Answer 17

1. Be open and unbiased
2. Be aware of your own preconceptions
3. Discuss your interpretation of data with other, or have others help with the data analysis
4. Confirm your interpretations with your research participants
5. Choose the most appropriate method for the topic you are investigating

Question 18

How do you ensure that your user research is ethical?

Answer 18

• Be honest with your participants about who you are and what your project is about.
• Be sensitive to your participants’ feelings and to cultural norms.
• Represent your participants accurately, and be open to what they are saying and doing.
• Get your participants’ informed consent to be a part of your research, and get their permission to record and share data.
• Never pressure participants, and be careful about whom you share sensitive information with.
• Keep participants’ data safe.
• Don’t waste your participants’ time.

Question 19

What is deformation professionnelle?

Answer 19

A phenomenon that arises when so many testers from one profession come into contact with an item they must judge.

Question 20

Surveys, analytics, and formal experiments are examples of what type of research method?

Answer 20

Quantitative method

the researcher seeks to measure aspects of users and user behavior in a way that can be quantified and used for statistical analysis

Question 21

Objectivity Through Freedom From Bias

Answer 21

When we do qualitative research, we should strive to be open and unbiased, so our research represents the participants’ perspectives as much as possible.

Question 22

Objectivity Through Intersubjective Knowledge

Answer 22

Objectivity through intersubjective knowledge refers to an understanding of objectivity as something that multiple people agree on.

In qualitative user research, that means ensuring that you are not the only person who interprets your data the way you do

Question 23

Objectivity Through Being Adequate to the Object Investigated

Answer 23

Research is adequate to the object it investigates when the results show the real nature of the object. Both working in an unbiased way and discussing your interpretations with other people help ensure that your research reflects the nature of the topic you are investigating, but it is also important that you choose the research method that best fits your research topic. Research methods have different attributes and are good for different things, so what results you can get depend on what research method you choose.

Question 24

List some objectives when engaging in Qualitative user research?

Answer 24

1. Be open and unbiased - both when you meet research participants and when you analyze data from your research.
2. Be aware of your own preconceptions
3. Discuss your interpretation of data with others, or have others help with the data analysis
4. Confirm your interpretations with your research participants - either during or following research
5. Choose the most appropriate method for the topic you are investigating

Question 25

You are designing a usability test for a travel website that you think has different usability issues. What should your test focus on for it to be as objective as possible?

Answer 25

The most regularly used areas of the website.

It’s not a good idea to focus on things that you are not sure of it. If you don’t know if that area has problems, or you “believe” that area could have problems, it’s better to focus on the most used areas of the website to be more objective.

Question 26

How to Ensure that your User Research is Ethical

Answer 26

1. Be honest with your participants about who you are and what your project is about.
2. Be sensitive to your participants’ feelings and to cultural norms.
3. Represent your participants accurately, and be open to what they are saying and doing.
4. Get your participants’ informed consent to be a part of your research, and get their permission to record and share data.
5. Never pressure participants, and be careful about whom you share sensitive information with.
6. Keep participants’ data safe.
7. Don’t waste your participants’ time.

Question 27

What are Quantitative studies? and what are their strengths?

Answer 27

Provide data that can be expressed in numbers.

Providing data that is descriptive
e.g.) allowing us to capture a snapshot of a user population, but encounter difficulties when it comes to their interpretation.

Question 28

What are Qualitative studies?

Answer 28

Qualitative research studies can provide you with details about human behavior, emotion, and personality characteristics that quantitative studies cannot match. Qualitative data includes information about user behaviors, needs, desires, routines, use cases, and a variety of other information that is essential in designing a product that will actually fit into a user’s life.

Question 29

The data you collect depends on what?

Answer 29

The data you collect depends on the methods you’re using and what analyses you want to be able to do.