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JeffSauroOctober13,2015
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Whenwespeakabouta
qualitativeresearchstudy,
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it'seasytothinkthereisonekind.
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Butjustaswithquantitativemethods,there
areactuallymanyvarietiesofqualitative
methods.
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Similartothewayyoucangroupusability
testingmethods,therearealsoanumber
ofwaystosegmentqualitativemethods.
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Apopularandhelpfulcategorizationseparatequalitativemethodsintofivegroups:ethnography,
narrative,phenomenological,groundedtheory,andcasestudy.JohnCreswelloutlinesthesefive
methodsinQualitativeInquiryandResearchDesign.
OUR SUPPORTERS
Whilethefivemethodsgenerallyusesimilardatacollectiontechniques(observation,interviews,and
reviewingtext),thepurposeofthestudydifferentiatesthemsomethingsimilarwithdifferenttypes
MostRecent
MostPopular
ofusabilitytests.Andlikeclassifyingdifferentusabilitystudies,thedifferencesbetweenthemethods
canbeabitblurry.Herearethefivequalitativemethodsinmoredetail.
TheDifferencebetweenObserved
andLatentVariables3daysago
1. Ethnography
EthnographicresearchisprobablythemostfamiliarandapplicabletypeofqualitativemethodtoUX
TheFacilitationSpectrum:From
BabysittertoTherapist10daysago
professionals.Inethnography,youimmerseyourselfinthetargetparticipants'environmentto
5WaystoIncreaseStudy
understandthegoals,cultures,challenges,motivations,andthemesthatemerge.Ethnographyhas
ParticipationRates17daysago
itsrootsinculturalanthropologywhereresearchersimmersethemselveswithinaculture,oftenfor
years!Ratherthanrelyingoninterviewsorsurveys,youexperiencetheenvironmentfirsthand,and
sometimesasa"participantobserver."
Forexample,onewayofuncoveringtheunmetneedsofcustomersisto"followthemhome"and
observethemastheyinteractwiththeproduct.Youdon'tcomearmedwithanyhypothesesto
necessarilytestrather,you'relookingtofindouthowaproductisused.
2. Narrative
Thenarrativeapproachweavestogetherasequenceofevents,usuallyfromjustoneortwo
individualstoformacohesivestory.Youconductindepthinterviews,readdocuments,andlookfor
TheOriginsandEvolutionofThinking
Aloud24daysago
Ninemisconceptionsaboutstatistics
andusability
Doesbetterusabilityincrease
customerloyalty?
ConfidenceIntervalCalculatorfora
CompletionRate
themesinotherwords,howdoesanindividualstoryillustratethelargerlifeinfluencesthatcreated
10ThingstoKnowaboutUsability
it.Ofteninterviewsareconductedoverweeks,months,orevenyears,butthefinalnarrativedoesn't
Problems
needtobeinchronologicalorder.Ratheritcanbepresentedasastory(ornarrative)withthemes,
andcanreconcileconflictingstoriesandhighlighttensionsandchallengeswhichcanbe
opportunitiesforinnovation.
Forexample,anarrativeapproachcanbeanappropriatemethodforbuildingapersona.Whilea
personashouldbebuiltusingamixofmethodsincludingsegmentationanalysisfromsurveysin
depthinterviewswithindividualsinanidentifiedpersonacanprovidethedetailsthathelpdescribe
theculture,whetherit'sapersonlivingwithMultipleSclerosis,aprospectivestudentapplyingfor
college,oraworkingmom.
3. Phenomenological
https://www.measuringu.com/blog/qualmethods.php
97ThingstoKnowaboutUsability
HowtoConductaUsabilitytestona
MobileDevice
Howcommonareusabilityproblems?
Whyyouonlyneedtotestwithfive
users(explained)
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11/27/2016
5TypesofQualitativeMethods:MeasuringU
Whenyouwanttodescribeanevent,activity,orphenomenon,theaptlynamedphenomenological
Whatfiveuserscantellyouthat5000
studyisanappropriatequalitativemethod.Inaphenomenologicalstudy,youuseacombinationof
cannot
methods,suchasconductinginterviews,readingdocuments,watchingvideos,orvisitingplacesand
events,tounderstandthemeaningparticipantsplaceonwhatever'sbeingexamined.Yourelyon
Shouldyouuse5or7pointscales?
theparticipants'ownperspectivestoprovideinsightintotheirmotivations.
5SecondUsabilityTests
Likeotherqualitativemethods,youdon'tstartwithawellformedhypothesis.Inaphenomenological
8WaystoShowDesignChanges
study,youoftenconductalotofinterviews,usuallybetween5and25forcommonthemes,tobuild
ImprovedtheUserExperience
asufficientdatasettolookforemergingthemesandtouseotherparticipantstovalidateyour
findings.
TheFiveMostInfluentialPapersin
Usability
Forexample,there'sbeenanexplosioninthelast5yearsinonlinecoursesandtraining.Buthow
ABriefHistoryoftheMagicNumber5
dostudentsengagewiththesecourses?Whileyoucanexaminetimespentandcontentaccessed
inUsabilityTesting
usinglogdataandevenassessstudentachievementvisavisinpersoncourses,a
phenomenologicalstudywouldaimtobetterunderstandthestudentsexperienceandhowthatmay
impactcomprehensionofthematerial.
5ExamplesofQuantifyingQualitative
Data
4. Grounded Theory
Whereasaphenomenologicalstudylookstodescribetheessenceofanactivityorevent,grounded
theorylookstoprovideanexplanationortheorybehindtheevents.Youuseprimarilyinterviewsand
existingdocumentstobuildatheorybasedonthedata.Yougothroughaseriesofopenandaxial
codingtechniquestoidentifythemesandbuildthetheory.Samplesizesareoftenalsolarger
between20to60withthesestudiestobetterestablishatheory.Groundedtheorycanhelpinform
designdecisionsbybetterunderstandinghowacommunityofuserscurrentlyuseaproductor
performtasks.
Forexample,agroundedtheorystudycouldinvolveunderstandinghowsoftwaredevelopersuse
portalstocommunicateandwritecodeorhowsmallretailmerchantsapproveordeclinecustomers
forcredit.
5. Case Study
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MadefamousbytheHarvardBusinessSchool,evenmainlyquantitativeresearcherscanrelateto
thevalueofthecasestudyinexplaininganorganization,entity,company,orevent.Acasestudy
involvesadeepunderstandingthroughmultipletypesofdatasources.Casestudiescanbe
explanatory,exploratory,ordescribinganevent.TheannualCHIconferencehasapeerreviewed
trackdedicatedtocasestudies.
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Forexample,acasestudyofhowalargemultinationalcompanyintroducedUXmethodsintoan
agiledevelopmentenvironmentwouldbeinformativetomanyorganizations.
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Summary
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Thetablebelowsummarizesthedifferencesbetweenthefivequalitativemethods.
APracticalGuideto
MeasuringUsability
Method
Focus
72AnswerstotheMost
CommonQuestionsabout
QuantifyingtheUsabilityof
WebsitesandSoftware
Ethnography
Contextorculture
Narrative
SampleSize DataCollection
Observation&
interviews
BuyonAmazon|Download
Storiesfrom
Individualexperience&
1to2
sequence
individuals&
documents
Peoplewhohave
Phenomenological experienceda
5to25
Interviews
phenomenon
GroundedTheory
Developatheoryfrom
groundedinfielddata
Interviews,then
20to60
Organization,entity,
https://www.measuringu.com/blog/qualmethods.php
openandaxial
coding
Interviews,
2/5
11/27/2016
CaseStudy
5TypesofQualitativeMethods:MeasuringU
individual,orevent
documents,reports,
observations
Tweet
Learn More
5ReasonstoPerforma
QualitativeStudy
3WaystoCombine
7StepstoConducting
QuantitativeandQualitative BetterQualitativeResearch
Research
Related Topics
Qualitative
Posted Comments
Thereare10Comments
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November3,2016|anonymouswrote:
Thisisverysimpleandshortguideforqualitativeresearchmethods
September14,2016|AYOADEwrote:
Preciseandhelpful.Thankyouforgivingmeafocus.
August22,2016|AshiruMuhammadwrote:
veryinteresting!Ireallyenjoyedreadingit.
August5,2016|AbubakarMagajiwrote:
Thatisgreat!veryinterestingIreallyappreciateyourpostingbecousethiswhatexactlyIamlooking
for.Thankyouforsharingyourknowledgetous,
July2,2016|ilmawrote:
thankyouforthepost.itisveryhelpful.
April9,2016|MTANDIERICKRwrote:
Goodandhelpfulexplanationforresearchers
October20,2015|fifa16mall.comwrote:
Imeanit!
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