February Recap- Designers designing research: What methods do you choose?

Last week, Sam Ladner, PhD, brought to our attention that even designers have unspoken theories about social life.  These assumptions can impact how we think about the world, so we should become aware of our assumptions before starting any design research. 

What assumptions do I have?

Do you find yourself thinking “how many people did we talk to in our usability tests,” “how many hits did our site get,” or “how can I add statistics to my reports?”  This means that you have an implicit assumption that social phenomena can be counted and this leads you to focus on gathering quantitative information for your design research. 

Maybe this doesn’t sound like you, and you think that counting and numbers are just not enough!  You realize that people have different experiences, therefore you include more qualitative information into your design research.  You want to see the world through the eyes of your respondents and aspire to have your participants’ voices heard.

Which design research method is best?

Knowing your implicit assumptions will help you understand whether you will gravitate towards qualitative or quantitative research methods.  The best method is usually a mix of both qualitative and quantitative.  However, you should also ensure that your design research method coincides with the type of project you’re on, your strengths, and your clients.  You may find that you are in a situation where your clients have assumptions that everything can be counted, so you may need to be prepared to include some numerical data in your research. 

Check out the Mobile Work Life Project!

Sam and her team are working on a sociological research study of work/life balance and mobile phones.  Please let her know if you’d like to be a participant and follow the project on Twitter at @mobileworklife.  Thank you, Sam, for taking the time to share your ideas with us!

Hope to see you at our March Events!

uxWaterloo has these two events lined up for March, and we hope to see you there!

• March 2, 2011- Lunch Event- Creative Thinking Hacks with Scott Berkun
• March 22, 2011- Seven Minute Soapbox on User Experience