User Experience Design Research & Evidence-Based Practice 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A UX researcher wants to measure how efficiently users complete tasks over multiple product versions. Which metric is most appropriate?
- Net Promoter Score (NPS)
- Task completion time and error rate (Correct answer)
- Social media sentiment analysis
- Monthly active user count
Correct answer: Task completion time and error rate
Task completion time and error rate are performance-based usability metrics that directly measure efficiency across versions.
Question 2: Which research method is best suited to discovering previously unknown user behaviors or needs without a predefined hypothesis?
- Confirmatory A/B testing
- Ethnographic field study (Correct answer)
- Benchmark usability testing
- Closed-ended survey
Correct answer: Ethnographic field study
Ethnographic field studies are exploratory and observe users in their natural environment, uncovering unexpected behaviors and needs.
Question 3: When presenting qualitative research findings, a UX researcher quotes a single compelling user comment to make a key point. What risk does this carry?
- The quote may be too short to be useful
- It may mislead stakeholders if the comment is not representative of broader patterns (Correct answer)
- Quotes are not allowed in UX reports
- Legal issues from sharing participant words
Correct answer: It may mislead stakeholders if the comment is not representative of broader patterns
A single quote, however vivid, can be anecdotal; findings should be grounded in patterns across multiple participants.
Question 4: In a diary study, participants self-report their experiences over several weeks. What is the key advantage over a one-time lab session?
- Lower cost per participant
- Captures longitudinal behavior and context in real life as it naturally unfolds (Correct answer)
- Easier for researchers to control variables
- Produces quantitative data only
Correct answer: Captures longitudinal behavior and context in real life as it naturally unfolds
Diary studies capture how usage evolves over time and in authentic settings, revealing patterns that a single lab session cannot.
Question 5: A researcher is analyzing interview transcripts and notices that similar phrases keep recurring across participants. This process is called:
- Affinity mapping
- Thematic coding (Correct answer)
- Triangulation
- Cognitive walkthroughs
Correct answer: Thematic coding
Thematic coding involves systematically identifying and labeling recurring patterns or themes within qualitative data.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes the 'double diamond' model in the context of UX research?
- A framework for testing two design variants simultaneously
- A process of diverging to discover then converging to define, repeated for both problem and solution (Correct answer)
- A method for recruiting two distinct user segments
- A visual tool for mapping user flows
Correct answer: A process of diverging to discover then converging to define, repeated for both problem and solution
The double diamond model alternates between divergent (discover/develop) and convergent (define/deliver) thinking across two diamonds.
Question 7: What is the main risk of using only self-reported data (e.g., surveys) without observational methods in UX research?
- Surveys are too expensive to administer
- Users may report what they think they do rather than what they actually do (Correct answer)
- Survey results cannot be visualized
- Self-reported data cannot be analyzed statistically
Correct answer: Users may report what they think they do rather than what they actually do
Self-report is subject to recall bias and social desirability bias, causing a gap between stated and actual behavior.
User Experience Design Research & Evidence-Based Practice 3
A UX researcher wants to measure how efficiently users complete tasks over multiple product versions.
Which metric is most appropriate?