A - E
A/B testing: A research method used to test two different versions of a design to see which variation performs best. Each version is randomly assigned to a different user, and the user behaviour is then tracked to compare performance.
Accountability: A GDPR principle that requires researchers to take responsibility for what happens to personal data and to have appropriate policies in place to demonstrate their compliance.
Accuracy: A GDPR principle that requires any stored data to be accurate and up to date.
Affinity diagramming: A method of analysis used to group and categorise ideas based on shared characteristics or themes.
Alpha value: The probability that your results are due to error or random chance.
Analytics: Numerical data showing how a website or product is being used in the real world. It tracks metrics like the number of visits to a web page, the average time people spend on a page, and the number of clicks on a given link or button.
Anthropological study: A research method where researchers spend extended periods immersively observing and interacting with a participant or group to understand their behaviours and culture.
Assistive technology: Any tools or software that help to improve the functional capacity of individuals with disabilities to go about their daily lives.
Attitudinal research: Research that involves talking to people in some way, such as an interview, to find out what their stated attitudes, opinions or beliefs are.
Behavioural research: Research that focuses on users’ actions by observing them interacting with products and services.
Between-subjects study: A research method where different participants test different designs. It allows researchers to compare the performance or preference across versions without concern for carryover effects from one version to the next.
Biographical interview: A research method that goes beyond depth interviews by delving into the life-shaping factors of a participant. It uncovers connections between the participant's past and their interaction with products or services.
Bounce rate: The number of people who visit a site and leave after viewing just one page.
Call to action (CTA): A prompt or directive that guides users towards a desired outcome like purchasing a product or registering for an event. It is usually in the form of a button or link.
Card sorting: A research method that gives you insight into how users categorise information. Card sorting helps you to design the information architecture (IA) of a website or app in line with user expectations.
Closed card sort: A research method where participants sort content into predefined categories. Closed card sorts help you to validate if a set of categories that have already been defined (on a website, for example) match with users’ mental models.
Code: A label assigned to segments of data that carry meaning, such as a word, phrase, or sentence in qualitative research. These codes help in categorising and interpreting the data.
Comparative testing: An evaluation method that compares two or more designs against one another. It can be both formative and summative.
Confidence interval: A measure of how confident you can be that your results are not due to error or random chance.
Context of use: The environment and conditions in which a product or design will be used.
Contextual inquiry: A qualitative research method that combines observations and interviews to understand how users interact with a product or service in their natural environment.
Conversion rate: The percentage of visitors to a website who complete a desired action like completing a survey or making a purchase.
Cultural probe: A kit given to participants to collect artefacts and capture their experiences in their natural environment. They can be given as homework before coming to a research session, or they can be completed as part of a diary study.
Customer effort score: A measure of how much effort a user has to put in to complete a specific task with your company, like purchasing a product or getting an issue resolved.
Customer journey map: Visual representations that detail the interactions a user has with a product or service while pursuing a goal.
Customer journey: The path a user takes when interacting with a product or service when trying to complete a goal.
Customer satisfaction score: A metric that shows how satisfied or dissatisfied users are with a product or service.
Data minimisation: A GDPR principle which states that the only data that should be collected is data which is relevant and necessary to accomplish a specific purpose. In other words, researchers should only ask for what they need for the purpose of their study.
Deference effect: When participants tell researchers what they think the researcher wants to know. Participants may also do this so as not to offend or contradict a researcher.
Demographic data: Information about groups of people based on certain characteristics. These include age, gender, and where they live.
Diary study: A research method focusing on understanding habits, attitudes, emotions, and context in real-life scenarios. It is similar to ethnographic research and involves participants documenting their daily experiences over a period of time.
Discovery report: A report that summarises the findings from the initial research discovery phase. This report guides product or management teams in making decisions about significant changes or new developments in products or services.
Discussion guide: A document used to guide research sessions and outline the questions that participants will be asked.
Empathy map: A visual representation that helps designers empathise with users by mapping their thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
Ethnographic research: The name for a category of observational research that involves gathering insights into users’ needs, experiences and behaviours in their real-life context.
Ethnography: A qualitative research method where researchers join and participate in the community they are studying over an extended period of time.
Event tagging: A method used to track on-page behaviours by embedding small pieces of code in certain HTML elements on a webpage. Event tags are used to track things like when a button is clicked, or an item is downloaded.
F - K
Fast feedback report: A brief report that allows researchers to share key findings early. Often they are produced while a project is still in progress.
Focus group: A qualitative research method where a group of people gather to discuss and provide feedback on a specific topic, product, or idea under the guidance of a moderator.
Forced ranking: Any collaborative prioritisation activity that directly compares items to create an order of priority. Examples of this include dot voting and the prioritisation matrix.
Formative usability testing: An evaluation of a prototype’s usability to uncover which parts of the design don’t work. This test is usually carried out in the early and middle stages of design.
Gantt chart: A bar chart used to illustrate a project’s schedule.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): The European Union’s data privacy legislation that governs the way personal data should be used, processed and stored within the EU.
Generalisability: The extent to which the findings of a study can be applied to other situations. In other words, generalisability refers to how well the results from one study can accurately represent different situations or can be applied to different groups of users.
Hawthorne effect/Observer bias: The phenomenon where people alter their behaviour when they know they are being observed.
Hypothesis (A/B testing): A statement that predicts the outcome of an A/B test and explains the reasoning behind the prediction.
Ideation workshop: A workshop to help teams interpret research findings and come up with solutions.
Informal interviews: A type of interview that unfolds within a natural conversation. Researchers use this method when they come across a user in the wild and would like to take advantage of the situation to conduct some research.
Integrity and confidentiality: A GDPR principle that states that researchers should only collect and process user data if they can properly secure it.
Interview enhancements: Methods like biographical interviews, stimuli, and participatory activities used to deepen insights beyond traditional interviews or observation techniques.
Interview: A qualitative research method that involves conversing with people one-on-one to obtain information, insights or opinions from another party.
Iterative design: The practice of continuously improving, refining and updating a product.
Journey mapping: A workshop activity aimed at understanding participant behaviours, needs, and pain points throughout different stages of a product or service journey.
L - P
Landscape mapping: A follow-up activity for post-ups and affinity diagramming. It involves organising similar content into a predefined structure like a customer journey map to identify relationships, interactions and patterns across groups and time.
Lawfulness, fairness and transparency: A GDPR principle that requires researchers to inform users that they will collect user data and explain why they are collecting it.
Longitudinal survey study: A study that asks people the same questions at regular intervals over a long period of time.
Margin of error: A measure of how confident a researcher can be that the results of a quantitative study accurately represent the population. It helps researchers understand the reliability and generalisability of research findings.
Mental model: The perception or understanding that users have about how a product functions.
Mixed method: A research approach that combines quantitative and qualitative methods.
Moderated usability testing: A type of usability test where a moderator facilitates the usability test and asks follow-up questions.
Multivariate testing: A testing method, similar to A/B testing, that is used to test multiple variables on a webpage, like the different CTAs or the placement of images or text.
Net promoter score: A market research metric used to measure how likely a survey respondent would be to recommend a company, product or service to a colleague or friend.
Non-probabilistic sampling: A sampling technique that uses non-random criteria, like specific demographic information, to select participants.
Non-reactive observation (unobtrusive observation): A qualitative research method that involves the researcher observing but doesn’t influence what is being viewed.
Observational research: Research that involves observing participants as they carry out a task in a natural or controlled setting.
Observer bias/Hawthorne effect: The phenomenon where people alter their behaviour when they know they are being observed.
On-page behaviours: The actions users take while they are navigating a specific webpage.
Open card sort: A research method where participants sort items into categories and then label those categories. Open card sorts help you to understand how users think about content and the terms they use to classify items.
Organic traffic: Visitors to a website or mobile app who arrived by clicking a natural (unpaid) search result.
P-value: A measure which helps determine the statistical significance of a research finding.
Participatory design workshop: A collaborative session involving researchers, end-users, and internal stakeholders (e.g. designers, product managers, engineers) to collectively solve problems and create solutions.
Participatory design: A research method that actively involves end-users as participants in the design process. This method helps to ensure that the users' values, preferences and real-world contexts are reflected in the design of a product or service.
Persona: A fictional character that represents certain traits and qualities of real users based on facts and data about real users. Personas are an important tool for understanding and empathising with the target users.
Personally identifiable information (PII): Any data that can be used to identify a person. This can include a person’s name, home address or date of birth.
Post-up: A collaborative activity where participants write their ideas on sticky notes, post them on a wall, and discuss them together.
Primary research: Any type of research that collects original data directly from sources or participants, such as through interviews, surveys or experiments.
Prioritisation matrix: A collaborative tool used in a prioritisation workshop to work out the value and feasibility of different ideas. This tool helps teams agree on what to do now, next and later.
Prioritisation workshop: A workshop to decide what improvements to make to a product or service.
Probabilistic sampling: A sampling technique that aims to recruit participants who are representative of the overall population under study.
Probing: A set of interview techniques for encouraging research study participants to provide more information. The goal is to extract what has been left unsaid without directing or biasing.
Prototype: A simulation or model of what the final product will (or could) look like.
Purpose limitation: A GDPR principle stating that personal data must only be collected for a specific, explicit and legitimate purpose. Researchers can’t collect data just for the sake of it.
Purposive sampling: A sampling technique that selects the participants according to specific characteristics that need to be included in the same to answer a research question.
Q - Z
Qualitative research: A type of research that collects non-numerical data to understand people’s motivations, values, emotions and experiences in depth.
Quantitative research: A type of research that collects numerical data.
Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation (RITE): A usability testing method that involves making rapid design changes in an iterative manner between testing sessions.
Recall bias: Where participants inaccurately remember past events, behaviours, or experiences. It is mitigated by asking about behaviours as they happen, in the moment.
Research ethics: Fundamental ethical rules that should be followed by researchers to protect the rights, well-being and dignity of research participants.
Research operations (ResearchOps): The orchestration and optimisation of people, processes and craft in order to amplify the value and impact of research at scale.
Response effect: Differences in interviewees’ responses based on their relationship with the interviewer. Factors like the researcher’s sex, age, or community can influence the responses they get.
Right to anonymity: The right of a research participant not to be identified. This right requires researchers to remove or hide any PII about the participant.
Right to confidentiality: The right of a research participant to have their data stored and protected responsibility from unauthorised access or disclosure.
Sample size: The number of people in a research study.
Saturation: The point in data collection where no new information is discovered related to the study’s objectives.
Secondary research: Any type of research that involves analysing data that has been published or collected by someone else, such as articles, reports, or databases.
Semi-structured interviews: An interview where researchers prepare a set of themes or open questions to guide the discussion. The question order is flexible to accommodate the interviewee’s answers, and researchers can ask additional questions based on the conversation's flow.
Service safari: A qualitative research method where researchers take on the role of the user to gain firsthand information about a product or service’s strengths and weaknesses.
Single-case inquiry/study: A research method where ethnographic research is limited to one participant or group.
Social desirability effect: When participants provide researchers with information that they think will make them look good or if they hide information they perceive as embarrassing or unflattering.
Split-URL testing: A technique used to test multiple variations of an entire website rather than individual elements within a page using different URLs.
Stakeholder interviews: An interview with anyone who has a vested interest in the success of the product or service being developed. These interviews are generally conducted at the outset of a project to create consensus.
Stakeholder map: A visual representation that identifies the people and institutions involved in delivering or using a product or service. It also illustrates the relationships between these stakeholders and defines their roles.
Stakeholder: Anyone who is actively involved in or who has an interest in the project’s completion.
Statistical power: A measure of how likely your test is to find a significant difference in your data if one exists.
Statistical significance: A way to tell if the results from a quantitative study are likely to be real and not just happening by accident.
Stimuli: Tools used to evoke responses from participants in research. These can be physical or digital artefacts – such as prototypes, kits, photographs – or even tangible incentives like money.
Stimulus: Objects or prompts that researchers use to elicit responses and gather information from participants.
Storage limitation: A GDPR principle stating that data cannot be kept for longer than it is actually needed.
Storyboarding: A sequence of illustrations used to capture attention by clearly depicting the steps in a user journey.
Structured interviews: An interview in which interviewees are asked the exact same questions, in the exact same way and in the exact same order.
Summative usability testing: An evaluation of the usability of a fully designed product or service.
Survey: A tool used to gather feedback from a group of users about a product or service. It is primarily used to gather quantifiable data from a large number of users quickly.
The Double Diamond: A design process model created by the British Design Council. This model visualises the entire product design process and proposes four phases of design: discover, define, develop and deliver.
The inverted pyramid: A news reporting model used to show how information should be prioritised and structured.
The magic wand: A workshop activity where participants envision the ideal user experience without constraints, then work back to a more realistic experience.
Thematic analysis: A method for analysing qualitative data to identify patterns of meaning or themes through iterative cycles of coding.
Theme: A representation of a pattern of meaning identified within research data through interactive analysis of codes. Themes provide a framework for researchers to organise and interpret relationships within the data, with the ultimate goal of answering the research question.
Think-aloud protocol: A method that asks participants to verbalise their thoughts and actions as they engage in a usability test. This allows the product team to see the product from the user’s perspective.
Triangulation: The combination of multiple research methods to pursue a research question.
Unmoderated card sort: A research method where participants categorise items without a moderator. It offers a larger sample size than moderated card sorts, but lacks depth in understanding participants' reasoning.
Unmoderated usability testing: A type of usability test where no moderator is present to facilitate it. Participants complete tasks alone, typically following instructions provided by software.
Unstructured interviews: An informal interview that hands over most of the control to the interviewee. Researchers introduce a broad topic and then, the interviewee is asked to talk freely about their ideas, experiences, behaviours or beliefs concerning this topic.
Usability test script: A document that serves as a plan for your usability testing session with participants.
Usability testing: A process of testing designs or products on a sample of people who represent the target users to uncover usability issues, in order to improve the product or service.
User interview: A UX research method to learn how a user thinks or feels about a particular problem space, product, experience or task.
User research: The study of people’s behaviours, needs and motivations to inform the design and usability of products or services.
User testing report: A report that documents user interactions with a product or service. It focuses on both their successes and failures and provides thorough recommendations for improvements.
Validity: How accurately a piece of research reflects the reality of what it claims to represent.
Within-subjects study: A research method where all participants test all the designs, allowing researchers to compare their reactions to each design.