UX Tutorial: How to Conduct Qualitative User Research

Learn the basics of UX and user research to analyze what your users are doing and why they are doing it, with Patricia Reiners

UX research can seem like an intimidating area of study but it is actually based on a set of simple principles and methods that you can learn and apply to your own projects.

Patricia Reiners (@ux_patricia) is a UX/UI designer based in Berlin who is an Adobe resident and the host of the Future of UX podcast. In this tutorial, she explains the basic principles and techniques of qualitative user research and how to use it to improve your product’s UX.

4 Basic Principles and Techniques for Qualitative UX Research

1. Quantitative research

Quantitative research is a necessary precursor to qualitative research: it provides the data that shows what your users are doing on your site. However, it does not explain why they’re doing it. Google Analytics is a popular tool to garner the quantitative date you need.

2. Market analytics

One way of determining how to improve your product is by understanding what the rest of the market is doing, seeing what works for your competitors, and trying to identify what you can do better.

3. User testing

You can test the usability of your product in person or online by asking users to solve a problem or complete a task with your product. You can then analyze how the process went and see where it can be improved. This method can be one of the most productive but is also very resource intensive.

One common type of user testing is A/B testing, where one group is given one version of a product and another group is giving a separate version. Comparing the experience of both groups will help you see which version works best.

4. Surveys

An old-fashioned survey may seem outdated and unsophisticated but they are often the best way to get direct answers to direct questions. If the information you need to find out to improve your UX can most easily be ascertained with a simple question, don’t hesitate to make it online or in person.

If you liked this tutorial, you can learn more about how to design your own research plan to help you create the digital experiences of the future with Patricia Reiner’s online course
UX Research 101.

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- Introduction to UX Design, a course by Ethan Parry,
- Introduction to Adobe XD, a course by Ethan Parry
- Introduction to UX Writing, a course by Mario Ferrer