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How to Gather Data?
The primary research methods you'll use to gather data on your topic will depend on your question, your customers, and your research needs. This page provides information on three key research methods: interviews, surveys, and focus groups. Take a look at the resources below to learn about each research type and determine which one(s) is the best fit for your needs.
Interviews
Interviews are used to capture important information about users, like their backgrounds, beliefs, and motivations. Typically you would interview one individual at a time.
- Conducting Qualitative InterviewsFrom the book Research Methods for the Social Sciences: An Introduction. Provides tips on creating your interview guide.
- Writing an Effective Guide for a UX InterviewPreparing a guide for a user interview ensures that topics relevant to your research questions are covered, and that the interview captures in-depth information about people’s lives and needs.
Doing Interviews by ISBN: 1526426072Publication Date: 2018A step-by-step guide that teaches the craft of interview research with practical, hands-on guidance. Includes chapters on Planning an Interview Study and Conducting an Interview.
Surveys
Surveys are a good tool to consider if you want to collect information from a large group of people: they can be more efficient than interviews or focus groups. While surveys are most commonly used to collect quantitative data, they can collect some qualitative data if designed correctly.
Designing and Doing Survey Research by ISBN: 9781849208130Publication Date: 2012-04-05Describes the process of designing and conducting a survey, including developing questions and preparing for analysis.
Doing Surveys Online by ISBN: 1473947677Publication Date: 2015-11-02By suggesting the pros and cons and do's and don'ts for each strategy, as well as covering all recent opportunities and developments in the field, this book helps readers to ensure they are getting the most out of the surveying they are doing online.
Questionnaire Design by ISBN: 9781398604124Publication Date: 2022-05-31This guide demonstrates exactly how to construct and design effective survey material that will capture the insight you want to achieve.
Testing with Humans by ISBN: 9780990800934Publication Date: 2018-10-15Talking with other people will give you the strongest leaps of inspiration and understanding, but experiments give you the strongest proof. This book gives you concrete tactics, tools and examples to answer key questions: Why run experiments? When to test the business versus the product? What makes a good experiment? How do you turn experiments into decisions and actions? How can we bring experiments into our business culture?
Focus Groups
Focus groups are interviews with small groups of people. Typically these groups would be comprised of people who share similar characteristics or common interests.
Focus Groups by ISBN: 0761925821Publication Date: 2006-07-11"From design to analysis, delve into the art of the focus group with this comprehensive and systematic overview of the technique."
- Designing and Conducting Focus Group InterviewsA guide on creating and conducting successful focus groups, from moderator skills to basic structure of the interview.