Types of research
When you hear the words 'usability testing' or ‘card sorting’, the chances are you’ll need a bit more information about the task you have been selected to complete. Don't worry! The PFR team will always provide more details about our paid studies and you can ask any questions you may have, but hopefully the following article will help you understand some terms before the application process even starts.
Moderated market research, user research and usability testing
Three terms you will hear a lot are market research, user research and usability testing, but what do they mean?
Market research happens when companies wish to carry out interviews, focus groups or sometimes surveys with their customers or potential customers, to discuss their products and services. You are likely to be more familiar with this term and might have recollection of surveys being conducted in the street, you might have been asked your opinion about a product in a store, or you might have shared your feedback online about a supermarket after doing the weekly shop. If you have done so, you have already taken part in market research.
User research is somewhat similar to market research, but more geared towards the user experience industry. Unlike old school market research, the term user research became more popular with the advent of the digital world and the concept of positive user experiences.
Usability testing (in very simple terms) is the science behind making websites and digital products work well and look good. This covers a wide range of activities (website testing, app testing, or you may be asked to review a digital form or interact in a 1-2-1 interview or group discussion) and, by taking part, you will help to change the future of our digital products.
To make things easier, we have categorised below various types of research and testing and how sessions are conducted.
What will I be doing?
During the research our clients could be testing out their ideas, existing products, prototypes, new concepts, designs, advertising, communication systems or forms…and there are no right or wrong answers, just your honest views and opinions!
🤝 1-2-1 discussion or in-depth interview
Don't let the term discussion or interview trick you into thinking this is a formal process. During this type of session, the moderator will share a concept, idea or product and launch the discussion. You will be asked to contribute your thoughts and be open in your response, providing as much detail as possible.
🖥️ Website testing
During the session, you may be asked to look at a website on either a desktop, laptop, tablet or mobile. The website might be live on the internet, or it may be a prototype of a new website, which is still being created. Sometimes you may be asked to carry out a specific task or focus on a certain area within a website (e.g. checking out after an online shop or completing an online form). You might have experience of doing similar things or it could be completely new. Most important, you don’t have to be a technical whizz to take part – on the contrary. Website testing normally requires we find people with a good mix of different technical abilities, from the technophobes who may use the internet very rarely or feel a bit uncomfortable doing so through to those who use it regularly for a number of different things and feel extremely comfortable navigating the digital world.
🎮 Game testing
Game testing is very exciting. Avid gamers – sign up now! You may get invited to test a famous game you are very familiar with or an unknown title that is about to launch. And it's not just about the games, you may also get selected to test virtual reality headsets, gaming accessories, augmented reality gaming apps or even consoles.
📱 App testing
This usually refers to a mobile application used on a phone, tablet or desktop. During the session you will be asked to look at an application and test its features and navigation. During app testing, you may be asked to use a number of devices to compare their ease of use or you might focus on just one.
📷 Device testing
Normally involves mobile phones and tablets, but could also be a gaming console or even an appliance like a hoover. Very similar to website testing, you will most likely to be asked to review a website on a mobile phone or tablet and asked to feed back on how easy or difficult it is to use and is required for usability testing.
🥤 Product testing
In the past we have invited people to test tea, beer, hair products, pet food packaging and even... potatoes! It can be quite a fun experience that sometimes goes into diary study territory, allowing the participant to explore the product over the course of days or weeks.
How is the session conducted?
🧍In person or face-to-face
This means the researcher or research team and the participant or group of participants will be in the same location during the session. It could be a 1-2-1 setting or a focus group. Usually this is held at the office of the company conducting the research, or a viewing facility or usability lab, but some research sessions may even take place in a café. The sessions may also take place at home, allowing you to take part in paid research and make extra money without leaving your house.
💻 Online or remote
Carried out from home, work or anywhere you are able to take part without being disturbed. Usually we ask people to have a device (computer, laptop, or tablet) with a stable internet connection and a good phone signal.
☎️ Telephone
Some market or user research sessions are carried out by telephone. All you need for this research is a phone and typically the conversation will be structured around some questions on your experiences. We ask that people participating in this type of paid research are somewhere quiet where they won’t be interrupted and with good phone signal.
We call all of these types of research moderated sessions, as they always involve the presence of a researcher or research team. These three types of sessions can last anywhere from five minutes to three hours, but the average is 60 minutes.
Unmoderated research and testing
The term unmoderated means that you can complete a research or testing task in your own time, without a researcher (or moderator) present.
What will I be doing?
📝 Survey
The most straightforward type of unmoderated task – we show you some questions and you answer them! Surveys can get a bit lengthy sometimes and even include somewhat complex questions (or ask you to upload images or screenshots), but they are usually quite quick and easy to complete.
🔖 Open card sort
Traditionally, card sorting was performed in person, using real cards (hence the name!). These days, this task is mainly done online, via a platform that allows the user to drag and drop or simply click on digital cards to organise them into groups. Imagine you’re given a pile of randomly labelled cards (‘jackets’, ‘delivery’, ‘terms and conditions’, ‘shoes’, for example). You’re asked to group these labels into piles which make sense to you. You will then label these groups according to why you have put them together (e.g. ‘shoes’ and ‘jackets’ could be grouped together and labelled ‘clothing’ or ‘products’). The researchers want to see how participants group things together, analyse patterns and use this data to influence the creation of improvement of a website or app.
🔖 Closed card sort
Similar to the open card sort, but users have to drag and drop labels under predetermined headings, instead of being allowed to create their own. They are given groups and asked to organise the items under those groups. After a closed card sorting session, users may also be asked to complete a survey, detailing their choices further and explaining the reasons behind these.
🔖 Reverse card sort
A variation of closed card sorting. The key difference here is that you are required to use a hierarchy under the headings, listing the most important labels first. This shows the researcher your priorities and the labels you believe will be needed by the user most regularly.
🌴 Treejack or tree testing
During a treejack, the user will be asked to look for a particular product or service on a simplified version of a website navigation bar and their journey will be analysed. Tree testing takes visual prompts out of the equation and tests just the labels being used. It is not all about reaching the end destination: it’s much more about the user experience of searching and finding what the user is looking for.
🖊️ Diary study or in-home product testing
A longer form of unmoderated research, which sometimes may fall into a hybrid format. If you are taking part in a diary study or testing a product at home and providing feedback on the go, it's likely you are being asked to test a product (physical or digital) or service for a certain amount of time and complete surveys or tasks as you go, documenting your experience. In a small number of cases, the research team will ask for a debrief at the end of the study, which could be done remotely or in person.
How is the session conducted?
Due to its nature, unmoderated sessions are almost always conducted remotely, so you can complete them from your home, work, or anywhere else as long as you do it before the deadline provided by our team.
Unmoderated tasks, with the exception of diary studies or product testing, tend to be shorter than moderated sessions, lasting an average of 10 minutes.
