quantitative ux research course

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Data-Driven Design: Quantitative Research for UX

How this course will help your career, what you will learn.

What quantitative research is and how it differs from qualitative

Why quantitative research is important

Alternatives to quantitative methods

Simple statistical analysis

Quantitative methods in detail: surveys, early-design testing, web/app analytics and A/B testing

Participant recruitment and screening

Quantitative research is about understanding user behavior at scale. In most cases the methods we’ll discuss are complementary to the qualitative approaches more commonly employed in user experience. In this course you’ll learn what quantitative methods have to offer and how they can help paint a broader picture of your users’ experience of the solutions you provide—typically websites and apps.

Since quantitative methods are focused on numerical results, we’ll also be covering statistical analysis at a basic level. You don’t need any prior knowledge or experience of statistics, and we won’t be threatening you with mathematical formulas. The approach here is very practical, and we’ll be relying instead on the numerous free tools available for analysis using some of the most common statistical methods.

In the “Build Your Portfolio: Research Data Project” , you’ll find a series of practical exercises that will give you first-hand experience of the methods we’ll cover. If you want to complete these optional exercises, you’ll create a series of case studies for your portfolio which you can show your future employer or freelance customers.

Your instructor is William Hudson . He’s been active in interactive software development for around 50 years and HCI/User Experience for 30. He has been primarily a freelance consultant but also an author, reviewer and instructor in software development and user-centered design.

You earn a verifiable and industry-trusted Course Certificate once you’ve completed the course. You can highlight it on your resume , your LinkedIn profile or your website .

Gain an Industry-Recognized UX Course Certificate

Use your industry-recognized Course Certificate on your resume , CV , LinkedIn profile or your website.

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Is this course right for you?

This is a beginner-level course for anyone who wants to understand and apply quantitative research in user experience settings. This course is particularly valuable for:

• User researchers and UX practitioners interested in gaining insight into user behavior at scale.
• Project managers and stakeholders who want to help their team to understand the full range of research tools available to them.
• Stakeholders who are keen to get involved in and manage the creative process of developing a new product or service.
• Entrepreneurs looking to use quantitative insights to develop products that fit the market and users’ lives.
• Anyone who is interested finding out more about how users and interactive systems behave in actual use.

Learn and work with a global community of designers

When you take part in this course, you’ll join a global community and work together to improve your skills and career opportunities. Connect with helpful peers and make friends with like-minded individuals as you push deeper into the exciting and booming industry of creativity and design. You will have the opportunity to share ideas, learn from your fellow course participants and enjoy the social aspects afforded by our open and friendly forum.

Lessons in This Course

• Each week, one lesson becomes available.
• There’s no time limit to finish a course. Lessons have no deadlines .
• Estimated learning time: 28 hours 2 mins spread over 9 weeks .

Lesson 0: Welcome and Introduction

• 0.1: Welcome and Introduction (39 mins) Preview Preview Start course now
• 0.2: Let Our Community Help You (1 min) Start course now
• 0.3: How to Earn Your Course Certificate (16 mins) Start course now
• 0.4: Expand Your Network and Grow Your Skills in Our Online Forums (5 mins) Start course now
• 0.5: Meet and learn from design professionals in your area (1 min) Start course now
• 0.6: Gain Timeless Skills Through Courses From the Interaction Design Foundation (21 mins) Start course now
• 0.7: Mandatory vs. Optional Lesson Items (7 mins) Start course now
• 0.8: A Mix Between Video-Based and Text-Based Lesson Content (6 mins) Start course now
• 0.9: Build Your Portfolio: Design Data Project (7 mins) Start course now
• See all lesson items See less lesson items

Lesson 1: Why Design with Data?

• 1.1: Welcome and Introduction (6 mins) Start course now
• 1.2: Introducing Quantitative Research Methods (17 mins) Start course now
• 1.3: How to Fit Quantitative Research into the Project Lifecycle (16 mins) Start course now
• 1.4: Qualitative and Quantitative Research – What’s the Difference? (15 mins) Start course now
• 1.5: Why Do Triangulation in User Research? (10 mins) Start course now
• 1.6: Why Care about Statistical Significance? (17 mins) Start course now
• 1.7: Pitfalls in Recruiting Participants for User Research (24 mins) Start course now
• 1.8: How to Screen Research Participants (11 mins) Start course now
• 1.9: Community-based learning and networking (6 mins) Start course now
• 1.10: Congratulations and Recap (10 mins) Start course now

Lesson 2: Statistics

• 2.1: Welcome and Introduction (6 mins) Start course now
• 2.2: Basic Statistics (33 mins) Start course now
• 2.3: Does Usability Follow a Normal Distribution? (21 mins) Start course now
• 2.4: Parametric vs Non-Parametric Statistics (27 mins) Start course now
• 2.5: Data Types (23 mins) Start course now
• 2.6: Hypothesis Testing (22 mins) Start course now
• 2.7: How to Choose a Statistical Test (24 mins) Start course now
• 2.8: How to Use Statistical Tests (17 mins) Start course now
• 2.9: How to Use Tests for Categorical Data (18 mins) Start course now
• 2.10: Using Percentages in Categorical Tests (12 mins) Start course now
• 2.11: Likert Scale Case Study (26 mins) Start course now
• 2.12: What Is Sampling in Data Analytics? (37 mins) Start course now
• 2.13: Correlation in User Experience (18 mins) Start course now
• 2.14: Effect Size and Power in Statistics (11 mins) Start course now
• 2.15: Confidence Intervals (12 mins) Start course now
• 2.16: Community-based learning and networking (6 mins) Start course now
• 2.17: Congratulations and Recap (31 mins) Start course now

Lesson 3: Surveys

• 3.1: Welcome and Introduction (18 mins) Start course now
• 3.2: Why and When to Use Surveys (17 mins) Start course now
• 3.3: How to Get Started with Surveys (31 mins) Start course now
• 3.4: Writing Good Questions for Surveys (28 mins) Start course now
• 3.5: Survey Bias (17 mins) Start course now
• 3.6: General Tips on Surveys (20 mins) Start course now
• 3.7: Ensuring Quality (30 mins) Start course now
• 3.8: Standardized Usability Questionnaires (21 mins) Start course now
• 3.9: Data Analysis and Significance in Surveys (29 mins) Start course now
• 3.10: Build your Portfolio Project: User Survey (7 mins) Start course now
• 3.11: Congratulations and Recap (31 mins) Start course now

Lesson 4: Early-Design Testing

• 4.1: Welcome and Introduction (5 mins) Start course now
• 4.2: Early-Design Testing (21 mins) Preview Preview Start course now
• 4.3: Getting Started with Early-Design Tests (35 mins) Start course now
• 4.4: Tree Testing (15 mins) Start course now
• 4.5: First-Click Testing (17 mins) Start course now
• 4.6: Ensuring Quality in Early-Design Tests (25 mins) Start course now
• 4.7: Data Analysis and Significance in Early-Design Tests (30 mins) Start course now
• 4.8: Tree-Testing Research Example (27 mins) Start course now
• 4.9: Build your Portfolio Project: Early-Design Testing (15 mins) Start course now
• 4.10: Community-based learning and networking (6 mins) Start course now
• 4.11: Congratulations and Recap (31 mins) Start course now

Lesson 5: Web and App Analytics

• 5.1: Welcome and Introduction (5 mins) Start course now
• 5.2: Analytics Data Types (16 mins) Start course now
• 5.3: When and Why to Use Analytics (23 mins) Start course now
• 5.4: Analytics and User Experience (13 mins) Start course now
• 5.5: The Mechanics of Analytics (39 mins) Start course now
• 5.6: Metric Categories in Analytics (22 mins) Start course now
• 5.7: Web Analytics Process (9 mins) Start course now
• 5.8: Identifying Key Stakeholders (18 mins) Start course now
• 5.9: Defining Primary Goals (35 mins) Start course now
• 5.10: Identifying the Most Important Site Visitors (38 mins) Start course now
• 5.11: Paths Through a Site (25 mins) Start course now
• 5.12: Determine KPIs (13 mins) Start course now
• 5.13: Ad Hoc Analyses (42 mins) Start course now
• 5.14: Analytics in the organization (19 mins) Start course now
• 5.15: Advanced Analytics (25 mins) Start course now
• 5.16: Data analysis case study: IxDF (40 mins) Start course now
• 5.17: Congratulations and Recap (36 mins) Start course now

Lesson 6: A/B and Multivariate Testing

• 6.1: Welcome and Introduction (5 mins) Start course now
• 6.2: Getting Started (39 mins) Start course now
• 6.3: What to Test (26 mins) Start course now
• 6.4: What’s Involved (35 mins) Start course now
• 6.5: An A/B Test Example (25 mins) Start course now
• 6.6: Redirect and Multivariate Test Examples (31 mins) Start course now
• 6.7: A/B and Multivariate Case Studies (41 mins) Start course now
• 6.8: Build your Portfolio Project: A/B and Multivariate Testing (15 mins) Start course now
• 6.9: Congratulations and Recap (31 mins) Start course now

Lesson 7: Course Certificate, Final Networking, and Course Wrap-up

• 7.1: Get Your Course Certificate (1 min) Start course now
• 7.2: Course Evaluation (1 min) Start course now
• 7.3: Continue Your Professional Growth (1 min) Start course now

Learning Paths

This course is part of 3 learning paths:

How Others Have Benefited

Louiselle Morand Salvo, Switzerland

“Very well structured (overall syllabus + individual lessons), useful tools, and very precise information. The feedback on the questions is detailed; I'm impressed by the work done by the teacher!”

Andrea Wilkins, United Kingdom

“The instructor is an incredible teacher. He was so engaging and felt so relaxed throughout. You can tell he's done this before. I could listen to him teach all day.”

Norman Laborde, Puerto Rico

“William explained complex concepts in a way that was approachable. The resources he offered were valuable and I have a good list of new books and bookmarks that resulted from the course.”

How It Works

Lessons are self-paced so you’ll never be late for class or miss a deadline.

Your answers are graded by experts, not machines. Get an industry-recognized Course Certificate to prove your skills.

Use your new skills in your existing job or to get a new job in UX design. Get help from our community.

Start Advancing Your Career Now

Join us to take “Data-Driven Design: Quantitative Research for UX”. Take other courses at no additional cost. Make a concrete step forward in your career path today.

• Frequently Asked Questions

You’ll find courses for all levels—whether you're an aspiring designer, an experienced designer, or a professional looking to implement design principles in your work.

Best-rated beginner design courses, a great place to start or a good refresher for seasoned designers:

AI for Designers

Perception and Memory in HCI and UX

Human-Computer Interaction: The Foundations of UX Design

User Experience: The Beginner’s Guide

Design for the 21st Century with Don Norman

Best-rated advanced design courses: 

Conducting Usability Testing

Mobile UI Design

UX Management: Strategy and Tactics

Agile Methods for UX Design

Mobile UX Strategy: How to Build Successful Products

Don't worry if you miss the course. We will re-run it shortly. We open and close enrollment to control the classroom size.

Why? Networking is a large part of your learning journey, so we want just the right number of people inside the courses. That’s also why we display the "XX% booked" on our course icons. 

If it’s very important that you enroll now, please let us know by emailing us at [email protected] .

With a Professional membership, you can take as many courses as you’d like, at no extra cost. For example, if there are over 40 active courses, you can enroll in all of them at the same time and move from one to another freely.

With a Student membership, you can take a maximum of two courses at the same time. You can still take as many courses as you like—free of extra charges. You’d just have to finish (or drop them) so that you don’t have more than two ongoing courses at any one time. 

Once you’re enrolled, you can take all the time you need to complete a given course.

You’ll get a digital industry-recognized course certificate at no extra cost every time you complete a course with a score of 70% or more. 

Certificates never expire and can be saved as a .jpg file, so they’re easy to share. There’s no limit to how many certificates you can earn during your membership.

You can see an example of a Course Certificate at the bottom of the Course Catalogue .

There’s no specified time by which certificates must be awarded. Instead, they’re given to you as and when you’ve answered all quiz questions. This applies even if the questions are answered long after the official end date of the course.

Course lengths vary to fit your schedule. You can squeeze in short sessions daily or dive deep in longer bursts—whatever fits your busy life. 

The course outline provides a rough estimate of how much time you would spend learning before enrolling. 

Once enrolled in a course, you’ll gain access to a new lesson each week. You’re free to complete the lessons without any deadlines or end dates.

If you need to unlock lesson content sooner, please let us know by emailing us at [email protected] .

Your answers will be graded by our experts and course instructors (not by machines) approximately two weeks after you submit your work. 

We mark/grade in so-called "sprints." This is much more efficient than doing little batches every day. It's part of our lean/agile work philosophy and is one of the factors that keeps our membership prices so low.

No, you’ll not be locked out of any lesson or course. 

You’ll have access to all course materials throughout your membership. There’s no pressure to keep at the same pace as the lesson release dates.

Sticking to a schedule has its benefits. When you follow along with other members, you can reap the benefits of our online community, ask questions, and exchange ideas. This has the potential to accelerate your learning.

Yes! Everyone's learning journey looks different, and we encourage you to continue learning and improving your progress. 

To retake a course, just follow these steps:

NB: Before you start, please note that when you drop a course, you’ll lose your progress and any answers you submit. Screenshot or save answers you'd like to reuse.

1. Go to your profile and click on the course you'd like to retake.

2. Underneath your progress bar at the top of your screen, you'll see “UX Courses” with an arrow (>) pointing to the course landing page.

3. Click through to the landing page and scroll to the bottom. 

4. Tap the red button that says, “Drop my course now.”

5. Head back to our UX Courses page and re-enroll yourself in the course.

You're all set to try again!

In some cases, we can open lessons for members who are retaking a course so that they don't have to wait for familiar lessons to unlock each week. If you'd like us to do this, please let us know at [email protected].

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0.1 - Welcome and Introduction

• Transcript loading…

4.2 - Early-Design Testing

New to UX Design? We’re Giving You a Free ebook!

Download our free ebook The Basics of User Experience Design to learn about core concepts of UX design.

In 9 chapters, we’ll cover: conducting user interviews, design thinking, interaction design, mobile UX design, usability, UX research, and many more!

Quantitative UX Metrics and Research

Learn how to measure the success of product design through obtaining data and then turning that data into actionable information. Gain insight into how industry professionals assess product success and provide strategic recommendations by studying the user. You gain a fundamental understanding of how usability data is collected and interpreted through methods used for assessing product development, such as customer surveys, website visits, benchmark studies, A/B testing , psychometrics and statistical techniques. Some of the topics of this class include basic statistics review, hypothesis testing, nonparametric testing; and the collection, analysis and visualization of data. When it comes to usability and its applications, you set up questionnaires for assessing perceived usability, design a post usability questionnaire, design experiments using a standardized usability questionnaire, and analyze and present usability results. You also create a survey and launch it on dScout to analyze results faster.

Using System Usability Scores (SUS) to compare designs, course content and assignments are derived from real-life industry problems that prepare you for hands-on product development through user research. By completing this class, you walk away with a strong research project for your personal portfolio.

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Learn how to plan, execute, analyse and communicate user research effectively.

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Gain a solid foundation in the philosophy, principles and methods of user experience design.

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Learn the essentials of software development so you can work more effectively with developers.

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Our team are available to answer any of your questions.

User research course for UX

Professional certificate in user research.

The industry standard course in UX research

Master the research skills that make UX professionals so valuable. Become a confident, credible and effective user researcher with a globally recognised qualification.

Why take this user research course:

• Gain the most in-demand skills* and boost your career in a thriving industry.
• Learn a complete range of UX research methods. Expand your toolkit to conduct high-quality research at pace.
• Become an insights expert. Translate findings into actionable insights and communicate them with conviction.
• Showcase your expertise. Build a professional user research portfolio and earn a university credit-rated qualification.
• Get the confidence to succeed. Count on our mentors, career advisors and student community throughout your journey.

*Research is one of the top 10 most in-demand skills globally (LinkedIn, 2023).

A comprehensive, in-depth curriculum

This user research course has been created and validated by experts in UX research. It is credit-rated by Glasgow Caledonian University. Self-paced learning gives you the flexibility to study in your own time. Monthly deadlines and submissions give you structure and accountability. The best of both worlds.

Introduction to user research

Understand the role of a UX researcher. Explore the types, methods and ethics of research.

Planning the research

Learn how to build a research plan, collaborate with stakeholders, recruit participants and manage data.

Fundamental user research skills

Master the core skills of interviewing and usability testing. Learn how to moderate and take notes.

Expanding your toolkit

Explore qualitative research methods like ethnography, contextual enquiry, service safaris and diary studies.

Analysing qualitative research

Learn to analyse research data and translate it into user goals, affinity diagrams, personas and journey maps.

Quantitative research

Learn to design, conduct and analyse online surveys, A/B tests and more.

Communicating the research

Learn how to report and present your findings with confidence.

AI for user research

Explore how AI tools can assist researchers.

Portfolio project

Build a professional portfolio to showcase your research expertise.

Get the syllabus and learn more about our user research course:

Who is this course for?

This course is for anybody looking to build their skills and advance their career with UX research.

• UX designers seeking to enhance their user research skills
• UX researchers looking for a formal qualification that validates their expertise
• Researchers or social scientists considering a career in UX
• Product managers/owners who need research skills to succeed in their roles
• Anyone who enjoys interacting with users, seeking a meaningful UX research career

Stephen Kennedy

Deputy Head of Product & Design, Ryanair

“The course has significantly enhanced my user research skills. In my role as the Deputy Head of Product & Design, I not only feel more self-assured in carrying out user research tasks, but I also feel well-equipped to lead and guide my team.”

Learn from experts

The Professional Certificate in User Research has been created with seasoned UX research professionals.

Next user research course

10 october 2024, pay upfront, pay monthly.

• Based on 6 monthly payments
• 0% interest

What’s included

Support at every step.

From day one, you’ll be part of a lively community of tutors, mentors and fellow students that support each other along the way.

Student Success team

Our friendly and responsive team will help you stay on track and keep you accountable.

Course mentor

Your course mentor is an expert user researcher who brings years of practical insight.

Student community

Collaborate, share tips and build connections on our lively student Slack channels.

Request more details

Submit your contact details to get:

• The full course syllabus
• Your questions answered, by phone or email
• Helpful career advice with no obligations

Or if you're happy to get started, enrol today.

Get helpful career advice and have your questions answered, with no obligations.

“I love what I do now and I wouldn’t be where I am without the UX Design Institute.”

UX Designer & Researcher Lucky Beard

Or if you're happy to get started, you can enrol today .

Frequently asked questions

More questions? Schedule a call with an education advisor, or email us at [email protected]

What is user research?

The objective of user experience design is to create products and services that users will feel good about using. But how do we know what users want? How can we empathise with them or understand their goals and objectives while also knowing which problems they want our products to solve? That’s where user research comes in.  User research is the process of researching a product or service’s current or potential users. User research helps UX designers understand their users so that the products they create are more likely to satisfy them while meeting business objectives. Learn more about user research here .

What do user researchers do?

In UX design, a user researcher, also known as a UX researcher, uses qualitative and quantitative research methods and analysis to gain insight into the users of a product. A UX researcher’s work is ultimately in service of a product’s UX design but UX researchers aren’t designers. Instead, they synthesise and present their findings to the design team through presentations, personas, journey maps and other tools that will enable the team to understand the users they’re designing for. Learn more .

Do I need design or coding experience?

No, you don’t need any design or coding experience. Bring an open mind and aptitude to learn.

What are the admissions criteria?

Students are admitted on a case-by-case basis after a consultation with one of our Education Advisors. Key factors we’ll discuss with you include:

1. Background

You don’t need experience in design or technology to enrol in our courses, although having one or both is a definite bonus.

2. Commitment

You do need to be motivated and committed. We set a high bar. Studying for one of our professional qualifications requires a certain amount of time, energy and focus. Our team will be there to support you along every step of the way but success will come as a result of your own diligence.

3. English language

You need to be comfortable learning in English. All video lessons, course materials, webinars, correspondence and the final exam are delivered in English.

How is the course structured?

There are two learning paths available to you:

1. Structured path

The most popular option is to follow the 16 week structure. Each week you are given a deadline with a number of video lessons to complete. You’ll also follow recommended start and finish dates for each project.

2. Self-directed path

Alternatively you can complete the course entirely at your own pace. As the course is delivered entirely online, it means that you’re free to complete it whenever you are free. You’ll still be able to take part in any of the webinars - either live or catching up through recordings. Once enrolled, you'll have access to all of the course materials for eight months.

Will I get a mentor?

Yes. All our mentors are industry professionals with many years of experience working in the field. Our mentors host webinars and will be available during these live sessions to answer questions, review progress and run quick tutorials.

Will I build a portfolio?

Yes. Practical work is an important part of the course. You’ll complete a series of projects which will give you hands-on experience in user research. Completed project work can be added to your portfolio to showcase the skills that you’ve acquired through the course.

Will I work on a team?

Yes, if you want to. Each course is limited to a maximum of 75 people. This allows you to build relationships with your fellow students on a dedicated Slack channel, and collaborate on projects and study time.

Is the course recognised?

The UK higher education system is internationally renowned for its excellent standards. Our courses are all credit-rated by Glasgow Caledonian University, a highly-rated UK university. The Professional Certificate in User Research is allocated 15 credits at Level 7 on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework. For your country, there will be an equivalent award in the relevant educational system. For guidance, please review the Certification Equivalents Table.

Quantitative User Research Methods

This training course aims to provide a high-level overview and a strong foundation in quantitative research methods, and serves as an excellent starting point for those looking to build their knowledge and confidence in data-driven UX research.

Course description

This course is designed to help UX professionals, researchers, and anyone looking to expand their research toolkit with a solid foundation in quantitative research. Focusing on practical skills and hands-on experience, the course covers the most commonly used quantitative research methodologies in UX. You will leave with the knowledge and confidence to undertake your own research projects, and you will gain a strong foundation in quantitative research methods – enabling you to make data-driven decisions and enhance your UX strategy.

“I was impressed by how well the course was designed, pitched and presented. I learned so much and applied some of that learning the same day – immediate impact!” Katherine Tyte NHS England

Is it for you?

If you’re a UX professional, researcher, designer, or simply someone who is keen to learn more about quantitative research methods in user experience, this course is tailored to suit your needs. Whether you’re looking to expand your research toolkit or seeking to enhance your understanding of data-driven decision-making in UX projects, this course provides the essential knowledge and hands-on experience you need. The focus on practical skills and real-world applications provides relevant and useful instruction for all attendees seeking to develop quantitative research skills.

This course aims to provide a high-level overview and a strong foundation in quantitative research methods, and serves as an excellent starting point for those looking to build their knowledge and confidence in data-driven UX research. By attending this course, you’ll gain valuable insights into the world of quantitative research and take the first steps towards enhancing your UX research projects through data-driven insights and methodologies.

What you will learn

• Quantitative vs qualitative research and their applications in UX
• Selecting appropriate quantitative research methods
• Writing effective survey questions and analysing results
• Unmoderated usability testing techniques and interpretation
• Data visualisation and reporting best practices

Learning objectives

After completing the training, you will be able to:

• Understand the key differences between quantitative and qualitative research methods in UX
• Identify and apply appropriate quantitative research methods
• Write effective survey questions and analyse survey results
• Conduct and interpret unmoderated usability testing to enhance your UX projects
• Effectively visualise and present data to communicate findings to stakeholders
• Confidently plan and execute quantitative research projects to inform data-driven decision-making

Necessary for remote learning

• Access to Zoom
• Access to Miro

Course dates & booking

Remote (zoom).

Thursday 28th November 2024: 09:30 – 17:00 £595 (excl. VAT)

We will provide course materials and a certificate of completion

Book a place (opens in new window)

Places available

Tuesday 14th January 2025: 09:30 – 17:00 £595 (excl. VAT)

Our trainers

Melissa Chaudet

Contact us to see how we can help

Please complete the following form, alternatively, you can email us . For jobs and work experience opportunities, please visit our jobs page .

Office hours

We are available weekdays, 9am to 5:30pm.

We aim to respond to all messages within 24 hours, if sent within our office hours.

Read enough? Get in touch

Contact Kelly Thomas to discuss your needs or find out more about what we do.

🔍 UX Research for beginners

About Course

Embark on a transformative journey into the heart of User Research with our exclusive Masterclass. Discover the intricate world of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, where every insight becomes a catalyst for exceptional user experiences.

What Will You Learn?

• User-Centric Inquiry: Delve into the art of asking the right questions to unveil user needs, behaviors, and expectations.
• Qualitative Depth: Learn the nuances of qualitative research, unraveling the human stories behind the data.
• Quantitative Precision: Master the science of quantitative research, turning data into actionable insights.
• Acquire a profound understanding of diverse research methods.
• Learn to blend qualitative and quantitative insights for comprehensive user understanding.
• Gain hands-on experience through real-world case studies.

Course Content

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User Research for UX

DESIGN X475.3

Get an introduction to the fundamentals of UX research. You gain an understanding of the logistics and theory of conducting user research and how to impact user experience design and product development. You also learn best practices for determining when to use particular methodologies, either qualitative or quantitative research and how to develop appropriate research interviews.

You then apply user research to better understand user behaviors, needs and motivations through observation techniques, task analysis and other feedback methodologies. You also learn about eye tracking and where a person is looking when using a device.

User experience research (UXR) aims at improving the usability of products or services by incorporating experimental and observational research methods to guide the design, development and refinement of a product. Class assignments offer you opportunities to define research objectives, develop a research plan, conduct contextual interviews, execute a research study, analyze results and report findings effectively. You conclude the course with a portfolio project that demonstrates your research skills, when and how to apply different research methods for products or services.

Course Outline

Course Objectives

UC Berkeley Extension designs the best possible online learning experience to give you the skills to produce a quality portfolio and become a confident research and design professional.

• Understand usability testing and user experience
• Study logistic and theoretical components of applied research
• Explore best practices for developing a research plan
• Learn how research contributes to a design effort
• Develop, conduct, analyze and report findings from a user research study
• Ensure that research is applicable to product development
• Explore quantitative and qualitative research methods

What You Learn

User research is used to identify user behaviors, needs, experience and motivations through various qualitative and quantitative methods to improve the process of solving user’s problems and refine a product or service.

• Research plans
• Moderator goals
• Recruiting/sourcing
• Legal considerations
• Contextual inquiry
• Accessibility and ethics
• Persona development
• Research presentation
• Heuristic evaluations
• Cognitive walkthroughs
• UX research in the organizational context
• Usability vs. user experience
• Quantitative vs. qualitative methods
• Mixed methods to understanding users
• Ethnography research
• Diary studies to understand user behaviors
• Synthesize, create and plan online surveys
• Survey findings with stakeholders to create buy-in
• Research questions and methods
• Interaction with participants and observers for quality data collection
• Iteration accompanied with user research to product development
• Introduction to eye tracking in UX research
• Engagement with internal stakeholders and external clients

How You Learn

We are online! All of the design classes are conducted online including: video classes, mentor-led learning and peer-to-peer support through our student online platform, Canvas.

• Reading assignments
• Quizzes (at instructor’s discretion)
• Small-group activities
• Homework assignments
• Capstone project

Is This Course Right for You?

If you are interested in conducting user research to create better products and websites, or want to pursue a career in the UX field, you should enroll. Our experienced instructors monitor your development along with peer-to-peer support on our student online platform.

After completing this course, you are ready for Information Architecture (IA) and Content Strategy .

Section 039

Type: Live Online

Instructor:

Cost: $1,107.00

See section 039 Details

Type Live Online

Schedule and Location

Instructional Hours

Live Online

Delivery Options

Available for Credit

Section Notes

This course runs Sept 4 to Nov 11

Type  Live Online   

Access classroom-style interactive learning from anywhere in the world! Attend scheduled online sessions with your instructor and classmates in addition to completing your coursework. You will need to be present with your camera turned on for the whole period of class, as if you were in the classroom.

Live Online format allows you to take classes from anywhere with an internet connection.  Learn more about this format .

Enroll early to secure a space in course. Enrollment will not be accepted after the second class meeting.

The following is the minimum recommendation:

Apple MacBook or PC

8 to16 GB RAM

Section Materials

(Mandatory)

Usability Testing for Survey Research by Emily Geisen and Jennifer Romano Bergstrom

Fall 2024 enrollment opens on June 17!

Session Time-Out

Lisa Garel is a UX Design Manager at Aveda, with over a decade of experience in design. She began her career in marketing, after receiving a BS in Business Administration from the University of Colorado. Lisa also has a Web Design Certificate from Sessions College for Professional Design, and a MS in Human Computer Interaction from DePaul University. Lisa has experience in many industries, including FinTech, real estate, e-commerce, and media. She has had the opportunity to lead teams for companies such as LTK, Zillow, and lululemon. Specializing in organizational change to strategically position design teams, Lisa has spearheaded initiatives in UX process, UX in agile, international design standards, and content design. In addition, she has also managed many research initiatives, including designer and stakeholder training, research ops development, and building relationships with UX agencies internationally.  

DESIGN X475.3 - 039 - User Research for UX

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Qualitative vs. Quantitative UX Research—What’s the Difference?

The idea of user-centered products is a focal point across a variety of industries—tech-related or otherwise. Companies are seeing the benefits of placing their users at the forefront of their design decisions. But how do you know what your users’ needs actually are?

The best way to ensure a final product delivers on users’ needs is to conduct lots of user research throughout the design process. There are a variety of ways to conduct user research, but most methods fit into one of two categories: qualitative and quantitative user research.

While one is generally in no way better or more useful than the other, there are key differences that make qualitative data more useful at certain times than others—and vice versa. In this article, we’ll focus on the differences between these research methods as well as when and how to use each type.

We’ve broken down this guide to qualitative versus quantitative user research as follows:

• Quantitative vs. qualitative UX research
• More about quantitative UX research
• More about qualitative UX research
• When to conduct qualitative or quantitative user research
• Examples of qualitative and quantitative research methods
• Making qualitative and quantitative UX research work together
• Key takeaways

Let’s get started!

1. Quantitative vs. qualitative UX research

In short, quantitative user research is research that yields numerical results, while qualitative research results in data that you can’t as easily slot into a calculation. 

The type of research you conduct is very much reliant on what your research objectives are and what kind of data will best help you understand your users’ needs.

Our one, overarching piece of advice: Don’t underestimate either type of research. Both can offer invaluable insights that can guide your design process to incredible outcomes.

2. More about quantitative UX research

Let’s start with the numbers. What is quantitative UX research , what does it look like, and what are the benefits of conducting this type of user research?

Quantitative user research is the process of collecting and analyzing objective, measurable data from various types of user testing.

Quantitative data is almost always numerical and focuses on the statistical, mathematical, and computational analysis of data. As the name suggests, quantitative user research aims to produce results that are quantifiable.

Examples of quantitative data

Quantitative data answers questions of:

In UX design, analytics are a huge source of quantitative data. Page visits, bounce-rates, and conversion rates are all examples of quantitative data that can be gathered using analytics.

User testing sessions can also be great wellsprings for quantitative data. Task completion times, mouse clicks, the number of errors, and success rates are all forms of quantitative data that you can obtain by including some quantitative elements in your user testing.

Benefits of quantitative user research

Due to the objective nature of quantitative user research, the resulting data is less likely to have human bias as it’s harder to lead participants to a certain outcome and has well-defined, strict, and controlled study conditions.

Quantitative data is also often simple to collect, quicker to analyze, and easier to present in the form of pie charts, bar graphs, etc. Furthermore, clients may prefer to see hard statistics and find it easier to link them back to their KPIs as a way to justify investment for future improvements.

3. More about qualitative UX research

This leads us to our second type of research: qualitative user research . What is it exactly, and what are the benefits of incorporating it into your research process?

Qualitative user research is the process of collecting and analyzing non-numerical data in the form of opinions, comments, behaviors, feelings, or motivations. Qualitative data aims to give an in-depth look at human behavioral patterns.

Examples of qualitative data

Qualitative data cannot be as easily counted and funnelled into a calculation as it’s quantitative cousin. Where quantitative research often gives an overarching view, qualitative research takes a deeper dive into the why .

Qualitative research often takes the form of user surveys, interviews, and observations or heuristic analysis and focus groups. Just as with quantitative data, user testing sessions offer tons of opportunities to gather qualitative data.

Benefits of qualitative user research

Qualitative research gives a more in-depth look at your users and will often reveal things that quantitative data can’t. Qualitative testing employs a “think-aloud” approach that allows you to get inside the mind of the person using your product and see how they use it in their own environment and what sort of response they have to it.

Qualitative data helps you make accurate, informed choices for your users instead of guessing about causation. Obtaining this empathetic and emotionally-driven evidence may make it easier for stakeholders to invest in changes to the product.

4. When to conduct qualitative or quantitative user research

While qualitative user research can be conducted at any point in the design process, quantitative user research is best done on a final working product, either at the beginning or end of a design cycle. This is due to a few reasons, which we’ll cover in this section.

The goals of quantitative research are summative and evaluate metrics on an existing product or site. Companies often use quantitative research to evaluate if a redesign of a final product is needed, to track a product’s usability over a period of time, and compare a product with its competitors. It’s also used to calculate ROI (return of investment) in order to understand how efficient a product is at making an appreciable profit.

Conversely, qualitative user research is both formative and summative and is used to inform design decisions at any point in the design cycle, help ensure that you’re on the right track. Qualitative research identifies the main problems in design, pinpoints usability issues, and helps uncover possible solutions for them within the design process.

Furthermore, because quantitative user research usually involves large numbers of users (>30 participants), conducting quantitative usability tests too early or too often in the design process can be costly, whereas the more intimate and smaller qualitative testing (5-8 participants) is often more affordable and easier to justify.

5. Examples of qualitative and quantitative research methods

Here, we’ve listed some examples of qualitative research methods, quantitative research methods, and research methods that fit into both categories.

Qualitative

• User interviews
• Focus groups
• Diary studies
• Shadow sessions

Quantitative

• Funnel analysis
• Mouse or heat maps
• Cohort analysis

Both qualitative and quantitative

• A/B testing
• Card sorting
• Tree testing
• Storyboarding
• Visual affordance usability testing

6. Making qualitative and quantitative UX research work together

As you may have noticed, there are many research methods that render both quantitative and qualitative data. Furthermore, it’s uncommon for designers to run just one form of user research. This is because quantitative and qualitative user research data are best used together in order to obtain a more comprehensive idea of the issues at hand and their possible solutions.

Conducting both quantitative and qualitative research helps you form hypotheses as well as come up with the metrics on how to test it. Using just one type of research often leads you with unanswered questions and vague or false metrics. When used in conjunction, quantitative data will answer your “what, how many, and how much?” questions while qualitative data gives you the answers to “why?”

7. Key takeaways

Quantitative and qualitative user research are both necessary in the process of designing products and experiences that truly meet users’ actual needs and goals.

Quantitative research are larger tests that give a summative evaluation of the overall usability of an existing product and are always reported in numerical form through metrics like satisfaction ratings, task times, number of clicks, and bounce or conversion rates.

Qualitative user research are smaller sessions that give non-numerical, formative information as to what the main issues of usability issues of a product are and are reported as quotes, emotions, or observations.

While quantitative and qualitative user research methods have different goals, they are complementary to each other and give designers a fuller, more comprehensive idea of the success of their product design.

If you’d like to learn more about UX research, check out these articles:

• What is user research and what’s its purpose?
• How to conduct inclusive user research
• Top 5 UX research interview questions to be ready for
• 5 Mistakes to avoid with your UX research portfolio

Quantitative UX Research: Overview

• First Online: 01 June 2023

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What is Quant UX research? And, just as importantly, what is not Quant UX research? If you are wondering whether it might be a good fit for you, this chapter will help you answer those questions.

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Chapman, C., Rodden, K. (2023). Quantitative UX Research: Overview. In: Quantitative User Experience Research. Apress, Berkeley, CA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-9268-6_3

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Quantitative UX Research in Practice

September 2, 2018 2018-09-02

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UX is sometimes perceived as a “soft” science. Often, that’s due to our field’s reliance on qualitative research and observations. To investigate how digital product teams use quantitative research to get “hard” data (or why they don’t) we surveyed 429 UX professionals.

In This Article:

How often teams use quantitative research, which methodologies teams use, success criteria, quant research challenges, your quant to-do list.

We asked respondents to roughly estimate how frequently they, or someone else on their team, perform  quantitative studies .

When interpreting these results, bear in mind that there may be some  sample bias  at play. We recruited our respondents from Twitter and LinkedIn outreach, and offered a chance at a free report or online seminar as an incentive. We also mentioned that the survey was about quant practices. As a result,  our sample consisted of NN/g-fan UX practitioners  who potentially were interested or had heard of quantitative research methods. I’d bet that sample (and probably you, since you’re reading this) likely performs more quant research on average than the wider UX community as a whole.

(Although, since you  are  reading this article, that likely means the results of this survey are probably fairly representative for the kinds of projects  you  work on, even though they may not be representative for all design projects in the world.)

We were somewhat surprised to hear that the majority of our respondents (71%) said they performed quantitative research either “sometimes” or “at least one study per project.” This result makes sense when we look at the methodologies that respondents report using.

We asked respondents to tell us how frequently their teams were using 11 popular UX research methodologies — 7  quantitative  and 4 qualitative. For each methodology, respondents told us if they were using it “often,” “sometimes,” “rarely,” or “never.”

The most frequently used methodologies, as reported by our respondents, were, in order:

• Analytics (Quant)
• Qualitative usability testing (Qual)
• Interviews (Qual)
• Large-sample surveys (Quant)
• Small-sample surveys (Qual)
• A/B or multivariate testing (Quant)
• Card sorting (Quant/Qual)
• Quantitative usability testing (Quant)
• Focus groups (Qual)
• Tree testing (Quant)
• Eyetracking (Qual/Quant)

Predictably, the relatively  lower-cost methodologies  rank near the top (analytics, qualitative usability testing, interviews) while more expensive methodologies are towards the bottom (quantitative usability testing and  eyetracking , which can be both prohibitively costly).

These results give some context to the surprisingly high frequency of quantitative studies in design projects. 74% of respondents who reported using quantitative research at least once per project also reported using analytics “often” (86 out of 117).

Analytics data can  play a significant role in UX design . Unfortunately, in this survey, we don’t have an indication of exactly  how respondents were using analytics in their projects. 

It’s possible that many of the analytics-heavy respondents, who reported using quantitative research at least once per project or sometimes, used that analytics data in a meaningful way to guide their design projects — for example, to help them identify problem areas in the product. 

However, it’s also possible that those simply reporting that their teams were just  collecting  analytics data in every project, not that it had any real significance for their work. This possibility is supported by some of the open text-field comments from our respondents.

“We don’t have funding for more advanced quantitative research methods (beyond click tests, surveys, etc.)” “My company started as an A/B testing and CRO company and hasn't evolved their thinking beyond conversion rates.” “My manager has access to the analytics and measures success on traffic within our products/sites rather than interpreting the numbers to extract meaningful insights.” “They're the only metrics we have access to. We don't collect any usage data, so sales and revenue exclusively drive product decisions.”

User research (not just quantitative, but qualitative too) can help us determine whether our designs work as we want them to, and whether we’re meeting our goals.

We asked respondents in our survey how they know when a design project is successful. In a multiselect, they could choose from 5 options:

• Based on calculated improvements using metrics and quantitative research (like quantitative usability testing, NPS, and analytics)
• Based on observed improvements through qualitative research (like qualitative usability testing and interviews)
• As long as the leadership/executives are happy, the design changes are counted as a success
• We don’t really know

In an ideal world, success would be evaluated by both qualitative and quantitative data — observations and measured results.  That would tell us if we’re hitting our goals and making our users happy, which would make the leadership or stakeholders happy as a natural consequence.

Unfortunately, those aren’t the results we found:  only 24% of respondents checked  both of the options for looking at quant  and  qual research.  While quant and qual data were each prioritized by over 40% our respondents, so were happy executives/stakeholders. Additionally, a disheartening  18% of respondents admitted that they “don’t really know”  whether or not their design changes are actually improvements.

We often hear complaints from UX teams that they  want  to do more quant research, but too many insurmountable obstacles get in the way. To capture this in our survey, we asked respondents to choose their quant research challenges from a multiselect list of nine of the concerns we hear most frequently, plus an “other” write-in field.

• Quantitative research is too expensive
• Quantitative research is too time-consuming
• Difficulty recruiting enough participants for large sample sizes
• Lack of knowledge on the team about how to conduct or analyze quantitative research
• Lack of knowledge on the team about what quantitative research is, when to use it, or what the methodologies are
• Lack of understanding of the value of quantitative research
• Lack of understanding of the value of research in general — not just quantitative research
• Difficulty interpreting or reporting quantitative research findings
• Another group in the organization is responsible for quantitative research, and UX isn’t included
• I’m not sure

Difficulty recruiting large samples  was the most popular response (37%). Some respondents reported struggling to collect large samples because their end users were blocked by gatekeepers. For example, one respondent who works on an enterprise product explained, “We rely on Product Management to decide when we can or cannot contact customers who may not want to offer their employees' time.”

After difficulty recruiting, the rest of the options had fairly similar rates of selection (16–29%). Only 2 respondents out of 429 reported performing at least one quantitative study per project and having no significant concerns. The primary takeaway here seems to be that  almost everyone struggles with quantitative research in some way  — even those who reported doing quantitative research frequently. 

Ignorance as a Roadblock

Notably, lack of knowledge about quant methods and analyzing quant data ranked towards the top of this list.  Quant research can be intimidating to UX professionals, their teams, or their stakeholders,  and ignorance is a substantial roadblock. 

“[Our challenge is,] in particular, the advanced math behind A/B testing” “Lack of data scientists (1 at the moment) and limited quant skills (or training) for qualitative researchers. Can be off-putting […] when there are better people who correct you too ;)” Several respondents working in consultancies or agencies complained that they struggled to “get client buy-in” on quant research.  “Our UX team understands the value of it, and how/when to use it. The product teams in the rest of the organization, however, is a different story...” “Owner does not see the value in quantitative research. Crazy, I know.”

Despite these challenges, there’s some good news in these results:  only 16% of respondents found quant UX research to be too expensive.  Obviously, whether or not something is considered “expensive” depends on three factors: the cost, the cost–benefit ratio, and the available budget. (Even research with a favorable cost–benefit ratio will be too expensive if the cost exceeds the available budget.)

A decade ago, it was the common understanding in the UX field that  quantitative studies were expensive  and reserved for extravagant, well-funded projects in big companies. We’ve always advocated  discount usability instead of deluxe usability  methods, in order to get user research more widely used. 

However, while  cheap methods are still great  and should account for the majority of research on a design project, quantitative methods are less of an unaffordable luxury than they used to be, for three reasons:

• The cost is down,  due to improvements like  remote research  services (e.g., UserZoom) and automated data collection.
• The cost–benefit ratio is more favorable,  because quantitative findings are used as more than just vanity statistics — instead, they’re often used for longitudinal tracking, demonstrating ROI, and triangulation with qualitative findings.
• User-research budgets in general are growing,  as more companies move to higher levels of  UX maturity .

Based on these findings, we have the following recommendations for you to consider on your next project.

• You can probably afford to do some quant research, so plan for it.  Even if that means starting with the cheaper or more lightweight methods like analytics, that’s ok. Getting your team or your client started with quant research is the important thing, and you can work to expand your quant methodologies as you build up expertise.
• As early as possible, consider how you can get the necessary sample size,  since this is the problem holding most teams back and shouldn’t be left to the last moment. If you struggle with getting around gatekeepers who block your access to users, it might take some networking to convince them of the importance of your research. If recruiting is a constant obstacle for your team (and you have the resources), consider dedicating an in-house part-time or full-time recruiter to the job.
• Before even starting the project,  educate yourself and your team on the available quant methods, the appropriate uses for each, and how to interpret findings  and turn them into action items. Don’t let “lack of knowledge” stand in your way.
• Don’t just use the most popular methods , but consider when some of the more specialized methods will be more valuable to answer specific design questions.
• Combine methods . In particular, use a combination of quant and qual studies to inform each other, increasing the effectiveness of both.
• Plan how you will judge the success of your design  at the very beginning , preferably using a combination of quantitative data and qualitative observation. That way you’ll join the elite 24% of UX practitioners that do this right.

To learn about the value of quantitative research, quantitative methodologies, and how to choose between them, check out our full-day seminar,  Measuring UX and ROI .

Related Courses

Measuring ux and roi.

Use metrics from quantitative research to demonstrate value

Statistics for UX

Calculate, interpret, and report the numbers from your quantitative UX studies

ResearchOps: Scaling User Research

Orchestrate and optimize research to amplify its impact

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