A Review of UX Research methods.

Comparing User Interviews and Surveys

In UX design, research is majority of the work. I started a project centred on Okada and its latest ban in Lagos. This project required lots of data and the environment isn’t exactly data driven. At first, I didn’t know which method to use to get specific info. But here’s my understanding of user research and a comparison of the methods I used.

About UX Research?

The goal of UX research is to inform the design process using the end user’s perspective. This way, a singular product gets built for different users instead of one. UX research borrows lots of inquiry methods from other fields. Here, the research is in two forms:

1.) data gathering

2.) incorporating that data to improve usability.

In this case, I’ll talk about data gathering and compare the 2 forms I used in my project. Data gathering is mostly used at the start of a project. You get to learn the project requirements of stakeholders. Also, you learn about the needs and the goals of the intended users. In UX research, the most common ways of data gathering are:

1.) past researches

2.) user interviews

3.) surveys.

I used the latter two in my project.

User Interviews

A user interview involves one-on-one talks with intended users. With prepared questions and a set date, you talk to different people to understand their perspectives on the problems. In my case, my primary target audience were Okada riders and commuters. But there was a partial ban so it was hard to interview riders. Instead, I moved to areas where Okada still operated. This meant I couldn’t plan sessions with these individuals. On one hand, it allowed spontaneity and the interviews felt more like insightful conversations. Interviews allow the flexibility to adapt questions. This way, you discover unarticulated problems and needs that you didn’t think of. But interviews can be expensive, e.g. to talk to the riders, I had to pay for their services.

Interviews can provide in-depth knowledge from a perspective. But they cannot cover a large group of people. In my project, I could only speak to 3 riders out of the thousands in the set.

Surveys.

To use surveys means you have to collect data from a large and diverse group. In most cases, surveys are in form of online forms. In my case, I set up a survey to get through to Okada commuters. This was in form of a Google form.

Data gotten from surveys are quantifiable. This help researchers identify the most common problems. But questions here are usually limited and you cannot have follow ups. Participants in some cases would give swallow insights. For example, in the Okada survey, certain participants filled in gibberish to get it over with.

This means survey questions have to be set up in a manner that keeps participants interested. One way is to set interconnected questions. For example: How often you patronise Okada before the ban? How has the ban affected your movement?

Surveys also allow anonymity. Certain people are uncomfortable with personal or recorded setups. Surveys allow such express their concerns, though limited. In the Okada project, the survey targeted folks who didn’t want to talk over a recording.

In any case, both user interviews and surveys are valuable UX research methods. Each offer unique strengths and weaknesses. The choice between them should align with research objectives, available resources, and the depth of insights required. Employing both in my project has yielded comprehensive user outcomes. It has helped to evolve my solution iterations so far.