Remote UX Research Methods

Reading Time: 8 minutesA remote UX research is the best way to get insights and information from the target audience as this research method has access to a bigger pool of potential consumers.

Unlike traditional UX research, remote UX research can be done from anywhere in the world, it is not like traditional research that has to be conducted from a certain place.

What is UX Research?

User Experience Research is a procedure that helps to uncover the consumer’s behaviour, motivation and needs with a systematic approach. This approach includes observation, task analysis and different types of feedback.

UX Research is the study of users and their needs. It helps in finding the right solutions as well as aids in innovating new product ideas.

The UX research helps the designers understand what users might need in the product in order to upgrade the current product.

And it is not a one-time thing, even after the product launch, one has to follow UX research methods and try to optimise the existing solutions.

The goal of UX Research is uncomplicated, or it just looks pretty straightforward. The secret is to look at the whole design from the user’s perspective and determine what is lacking or what should be added.

If you are new to UX research, want to know how to plan and conduct one, read our article on planning effective UX research.

Difference Between UX Research And Remote UX Research

Remote research has become a growing option after the breakout of the pandemic.

This is the era of digitalisation where the population increased their activities on the internet. And with these advancements, remote research has become more feasible.

Key Points of Difference

1. Flexible
   Remote research is flexible in a way that it gives you the time and space to get in touch with the consumers from anywhere. It is hence providing a more significant and diversified pool of consumer information.
2. Virtual Environment
   Given the available options to conduct interviews or feedback sessions, remote research allows the researcher to set up an online connection. This can help the researcher get in touch with more consumers to understand how a product can be improved.
3. Expertise
   Since remote research is about one researcher getting in touch with the consumers, the outcome depends on the researcher’s expertise.
4. Time Efficiency
   Remote researching means digging out information from wherever the researcher is. This reduces the cost of travelling and one can utilise this saved time for better research.

UX research is a crucial part of understanding what a user needs.

UX Research is the study of users and their needs which helps in building solutions and it is in use for quite some time.

Before Remote UX research, researchers had to go to the office, site or lab. So, many researchers will be acquainted with the traditional method of researching or also known as in-house research.

Remote UX research is flexible but does have its shortcomings.

Challenges posed by remote UX research are:

1. Language barrier
   Remote UX research has no geographical constraint but language can become the main barrier if the researcher does not know the language.
2. User Challenge
   Given a vast pool of users, researchers will have to study properly to get feedback from the apt user.
3. Time
   With research being held across the globe, time can create a major setback.

Having looked at what UX research is and how remote UX research is different, we shall now understand how remote UX research is conducted.

Two Ways of Conducting UX Research

Synchronous & Asynchronous

Synchronous

In this method, the researcher and users can gather at a certain place or hold a virtual meeting at a specific time.

Advantages

1. This method collects immediate responses.
2. It generates more responses between users and researchers and avoids any miscommunication.

Disadvantages

1. It becomes a challenge to answer and clarify the doubts of many participants at the same time.

Asynchronous

In this method, the researcher prepares a feedback form or set of questions and distributes it to the participants who can give their answers at any given time.

Advantages

1. Provides flexibility to the participants so they can give feedback without the time and place constraints.
2. When the participants access the feedback at their time, they can pay more attention to the question, which generates better responses.
3. It makes the responses storable on a cloud or in a file.

Disadvantages

1. The content may be misunderstood that could lead to incorrect answers or feedback.
2. With no interaction with others, the participant may have a decreased interest in giving feedback.

Remote Usability Test

After the researcher is done collecting the feedback, a model is created. Once the changes are added to the existing product as a test, users are asked to use the amended product. This is called the usability test.

Types Of Remote Usability Tests

Moderated & Unmoderated

Moderated

The moderated test is when a participant is asked to use the product in the presence of someone. The person monitoring will be able to record first-hand information like expression & queries.

Advantages & Disadvantages

1. The monitor can ask questions to the participant during the test to understand the behaviours.
2. It is possible to give an extra task to the participant.
3. Documenting the outcome becomes a task as it may require technical support and other resources.
4. The monitor may unintentionally disclose what is expected out of the real test which may lead to false, correct results.

Unmoderated

The participants are not guided with the product or through the test, and there is no one monitoring them during the course of the test. The participants are given a test website or the URL, and the screen video is recorded once they start using the prototype.

Advantages & Disadvantages

1. The participants monitor themselves.
2. The participants can take the test from anywhere and at any given time.
3. If something is going wrong, the facilitator will not be able to do anything.
4. The expression of the participants can not be registered.

Mistakes To Avoid

1. As a researcher, one must be very careful while selecting the participants. The participant should be from the target audience of the product that needs to be amended or made better.
2. It is important to generate the test script before the participants are given the prototype. It is important to understand that the participants will not know what is given to them and so the test has to be guided enough so the users reach the end goal. But the challenge is that the participants should not be made aware of the test goal. The best way to iterate is to get it tested by a friend or colleague.
3. Balancing both, the look and function of a product are important. One aspect of the product should not be compromised for the other.
4. Customers respond to responsive designs. Not giving a thought to what will trigger the customer will affect the product’s demand. No matter the segment a product is catering to, there are always new ways to grab the attention of the customers.
5. Pay attention to keywords, quality, spelling and grammar in all the content. It is equally important to keep the content consistent, fresh and relevant.

Tools That Can Help With Remote UX Research

Researchers have to be extremely resourceful individuals. They have to always work on gathering information, putting the finding together that makes the understanding of the issue better. They have to work with graphs and stats, going back and forth with emails and follow-up.

A researcher is responsible for a lot of things, finding out the target audience, scheduling a session with them, interviewing them, preparing the questions or the survey and analyzing the feedback. There are apps and companies that can help share the load of all the hassle.

Tools for Finding the Right Participant

It can be a troublesome task to find the correct target from an ocean of users. There are apps and organisations that can simplify this phase. There are tools that can allow the researchers to go through the feedback of participants from their pool.

These companies provide survey or video conference tools and if the researchers have specific needs then they can engage their own participants.

Here are tools that can help:

1. User Interviews
2. Respondent
3. Ethnio

Tools for Scheduling

A researcher has to schedule meetings, research sessions and write emails. They at times might have wished for a calendar that would update itself and keep the calendar organised.

Here are some tools that can help:

1. Calendly
2. YouCanBookMe
3. Google Calendar

Tools for Video Conferencing

While interviewing or video conferencing there are chances that the researcher might want to see the whole video again to check or verify certain things.

Here are some tools that can help:

1. Zoom
2. Google Meet
3. Skype

Tools for Notes & Points

While researching, it is obvious that a researcher will come across certain important points or key factors that they would like to keep in mind for future use.

Here are some tools that can help:

1. Evernote
2. Pear Note
3. ConfimKit

Tools for Survey & Feedbacks

The research is either based on secondary research or primary research. The method of primary research is more reliable and thus researchers opt for this method. It consists of first-hand information gathering that includes, interviews, feedback forms and survey forms.

Here are tools that can be used:

1. Survey Monkey
2. Google Forms
3. Google Survey

Tools for Transcribing Recorded Videos

Transcription tools help keep a record of the activity and events happening during the entire session.

Here are some tools that can help:

1. Rev
2. Trint
3. Reduct

Tools for Prototype Testing

The usability of the prototype helps us to conclude. We can monitor the customer interaction with the test model through a live session. This aids in contemplating how the end-user will finally interact with the design.

Here are some tools that can be used:

1. UserZoom
2. Focus Vision
3. Loop11

Tools for Specialised Testing

Tools that aid specific tests like diary studies and other qualitative researches.

Here are certain tools that can be of help:

1. Dscout
2. Optimal Workshop

Tools for A/B Testing

This kind of testing allows the researchers to test two versions together to see which is better. In this half, the participant will see version A and the other half will see version B.

Here are tools that cater to this need:

1. Optimizely
2. VWO

Tools to Collect Automated Feedback

These tools can help merge the in-app messaging tools with an orientation of those tools which help gather information about your customers. Many of these tools allow your users to give quick replies.

Some of these tools are:

1. Appcues
2. Usabilla

Tools for Analysing & Heat Mapping

Analytic and heating mapping aids in keeping a check on what happens on the website daily. These tools let you see where the customers tap and which page do they visit the most on the website.

Here are some tools that can help in heat mapping:

1. CrazyEgg
2. FullStory
3. HotJar

And for analytics you can use:

1. Google Analytics
2. Heap Analytics
3. Mix Panel

Tools for Obtaining Insights

In research there are many elements that a researcher needs to work on and managing them all together can be a hard task. Another important thing in the research is to share it with the team.

These tools can aid this process

1. Dovetail
2. UserVoice
3. Notion

Tools Required During Field Research

No matter the kind of research that has been done, some basic tools will be required. When conducting field research, tools become even more important.

Here are tools that can come in handy:

1. Sticky Notes
2. Voice recorder
3. Pen and dairy

These are just a few areas in research and some tools that can serve the purpose of research.

Conclusion

UX research provides a crucial aid in strategizing UX design. Remote UX research is an efficient and more affordable method to find a solution.

With the help of remote UX research, a researcher can switch the perception from the client saying “ I want this to happen.” to the user saying “We are facing this problem.”

With this changed perception, the task is half achieved. We would love to hear your thoughts on how you like to conduct UX research and which tools are you using. Happy UXing!