This talk covers UX Research questions best practices, how to elicit the best reponses and insights using thoughtful questions. Conducting User Interviews for UX Research - Learn the art of conducting impactful user interviews that inform your design decisions effectively. Participant Recruitment for UX Research - How to secure a diverse and representative sample that provides valuable insights for your research studies

1. UX Research
Questions Best
Practices
ElroyChibex

2. UXResearchQuestionsBestPractice
Startwithbroadtheme
Startwitheasyquestion
Open-endedquestion
Askaboutspecificmoment
Follow-upquestion
Avoidleadingquestion
Userintroductionquestion
Topic-specificquestion
Productopportunityquestion
Productreactionquestions
ConductingUserInterviewsforUXResearc
Bodylanguageinuserinterview
Foursecondsofsilenc
Activelistenin
Setthestageandbuildrappor
Askonequestionatatim
Don’tforgetfollow-upquestion
Avoidleadinguser
Recordthesessionifpossibl
Minimizenote-takingduringthesessio
Don’tgoovertheallottedtime
Stakeholdermanagement
ParticipantRecruitmentforUXResearc
Howmanyparticipantsdoyouneed
Usinginternalsta
Recruitmentcriteri
Screeningparticipant
Screenersurvey
Workingwitharecruite
Participantswithaccessibilityneed
Gettingconsentfromparticipant
Incentivizingparticipants

3. bestpracticesforformulatingUXresearchquestions
thatyieldmeaningfulinsights
WhenconductingUXresearch,it’simportanttostayobjective,notaskleadingquestions,and
provideaconduciveenvironmentthatallowsparticipantstoanswerthoughtfullyandhonestly.
Askingtherightquestionscanalsogetyouanswersthatareconstructiveandactionable.

4. The first step to understanding what you want to
learn from users is deciding on the broad theme of
your study, for example
How do users decide which website to shop
from
What makes a user think a product is trustworthy
How do users shop online?
start with broad themes

5. start with easy questions
Interviewsyieldthebestresultswhentheyareprogressive.Youdon’twanttooverwhelmyour
participantsinitiallywithtoomanyin-depthquestionsthatrequirethemtothink.
Howoftendoyouvisitarestaurant
Whichrestaurantsdoyouvisitregularly
Whenwasthelasttimeyouvisitedarestaurant?

6. open ended questions
To gain deeper and richer insights
from your users, ask them open-
ended questions that allow them
to articulate in any manner they
choose.
Open-ended questions are a great way to derive unconstrained responses from users that are
not limited to one word like “Yes,” “No,” or “Maybe.”
Open-ended questions usually start with “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” “why,” and “how,”
which prompts participants to share more.

7. Ask about specific moments
Helpthemrecollectandansweryoubetterbyaskingthemquestions
thatallowthemtorecallspecificeventsandmemories.
Tellmeaboutatimewhen...
Howdoyoureacttoerrorstatesthatare
notuseful?
“Whatdidyoudothelasttimeyoucame
acrossanunhelpful404errorpage?”
Thisquestionismorelikelytogetthemtoreflectonaspecificincidentandgiveyoureal
insightsintotheirthoughtsandbehavior

8. Ask follow up questions
Don’tsettleforthefirstansweryoureceivefromyourparticipants.Itmightbethefirstthing
thatcomestotheirmindandmaynotbeanaccuraterepresentationofhowthingsreallyare.
Askthemfollow-upquestionsuntilyougainmoreclarityontheiranswers,especiallyiftheyare
unclear.
Follow-upquestionsusuallytaketheformof“why,”“what,”or“how.”Youmayalsoaskthemto
supporttheiranswerswithexamples.
Youcanask“why”fivetimesasconsecutivefollow-upquestionsuntilyouaresatisfiedthatyou
havecollectedallthenecessarydetailsfromtheparticipant.

9. Avoid leading questions
A question can be considered leading if
It contains your opinion or an expected answer.
It primes your participant to focus on one particular emotion and answer a certain way.
“How sad do these colors make
you feel?”
What about this UI is beautiful?”

10. Userintroductionquestions
Productopportunityquestions
Productreactionquestions
Canhelpyoufillinanygapsinknowledgeyouhaveaboutyourusers.Theycanalsohelpyou
breaktheiceandhelpgetparticipantscomfortable.
Whatdoyoudoinyourfreetime
Whatdoyoudoontheweekends
Whatareyourhobbies?
Howoftendoyoueatinrestaurants
What’syourfavouritefood?
Productopportunityquestionscanhelpyouassesshowyourusersfeelaboutyour
productafteraquickdemoorafterusingtheproductforashortamountoftime.
Whatdoyouthinkofthisproduct
Arethereanypotentialproblemsyouseeinthisproduct
Whydoyouthinkthisproductwouldbeusedornotusedbysomeone
Doyouseeyourselfusingthisproduct?Whyorwhynot?
Whenauserhasinteractedwithyourproductforaconsiderableamountoftime,youmayaskthem
productreactionquestions.Thesecanhelpyouobtainsuggestionsandideasfromparticipantsto
improveyourproduct.
What’sthemostandleastappealingpartofthisproduct
Whatdifficultiesdidyoufaceusingthisproduct
Isthereanywayinwhichthisproductdidnotmeetyourexpectations?

11. Conducting User Interviews
for UX Research
Learntheartofconductingimpactfuluserinterviewsthatinformyour
designdecisionseffectively

12. Bodylanguageinuserinterviews
Alotofcommunicationisnon-verbal.Atrulyengagedinterviewerisjustasimportantasthe
questionstheyask.
Here'showyoucancommunicatethatyou'repayingattention
Ensureyourbodyisonthesamelevelasthepersonyou'reinterviewing.Forexample,
don'tstandoverasittingperson
Makeandkeepeyecontact,smileandnodtocommunicatethattheparticipanthasyour
fullattention
Avoidempatheticphraseslike"Iunderstandhowyoufeel"or"somethingsimilar
happenedtome."Yourjobistohearandrecordexactlywhatthepersonistellingyou,
nottoinsertyourselfintotheconversation.

13. Active listening
Set the stage and build rapport
Active or engaged listening involves taking in information in a conversation. Just like any other
skill, it can be improved with practice
Smile and project a positive attitude | Introduce yourself and any people present | Ask for
permission to record | State your objectives | Ask personal questions first
focus your attention, show that you are listening, Ask relevant questions, Clarify,
Paraphrase, Defer judgement (don’t interrupt the speaker until they are done)

14. Askonequestionatatime
it'seasytoaskawholebunchofquestionsallatonce.
Theparticipantwilllikelybeoverwhelmed.Sotheywillendupansweringonlythelastquestion
askedortheonetheyrememberbest
Instead,lettheparticipantfullyrespondbeforeyouaskthenextquestion.
Useself-restrainttoaskjust
onequestionatatime
Don’tbetooanimatedwith
theparticipantresponses.

15. Don’t forget follow-up questions
Avoid leading users
People don't always give detailed answers to every question, so you might need to help them to
provide you with the information you need.
Ask your original question in a slightly different way
Connect your interviewee's answers together e.g - Is that what you meant earlier when you said…?
Dig deeper by using the 5 whys method.
Avoid asking questions that will lead users to give you the desired answer instead of the real answer
"How often do you listen to music on Spotify?" "How do you normally listen to music?"

16. Record the session if possible
Minimize note taking during the session
You can also use the recording for later reference or note-taking after the session.
Consider transcribing the recording — it will help you scan through important moments in a
session without needing to rewatch the whole thing
Always ensure the user knows the conversation will be recorded and get their consent.
You want to focus on the user, not on your notes. Note-taking can make some people nervous.
The best option is to bring in a dedicated notetaker who can concentrate solely on capturing and
organizing insights. Don't forget to introduce them to participants at the beginning of the
interview.

17. Participant Recruitment for
UX Research
howtosecureadiverseandrepresentativesamplethatprovides
valuableinsightsforyourresearchstudies

18. While recruiting participants, it’s important to
brief them about the goals of your study and
how their information will be used.
gain their full consent and
inform them of any incentives they’ll receive for participating
The quality of data you collect will depend on
The number of participants you induct into your stud
Their representativeness of your target audience

19. How many participants do you need?
AccordingtotheNNGroup,thegoldennumberofparticipantsforusabilitystudiesis5.
Rememberthatyouaretryingtogainqualitativeinsights,addingmoreparticipants
increasescostandbringsreducedROI
Quantitativestudiesrequireaminimumof20participant
Cardsortingstudiesrequireatleast15userspergrou
Eyetrackingstudiesrequire39userstogeneratestableheatmaps

20. Usinginternalstaff
Usingyourinternalteam,i.e.,peoplewhoworkatyourorganizationordepartment,asparticipantsin
yourresearchcanseemlikeagreatandinexpensiveidea,butyoushouldrefrainfromdoingsoifthey
areinvolvedinthedesignanddevelopmentofyourproduct.Thisisbecausetheycanbringin
unnecessarypersonalbiasesthatskewyourdata.
Yourinternalteamcanparticipateinpilottesting,whereyoutesttheflowand
functionalityofyourproduct.
Youmayalsoallowyourinternalteamtoparticipateinyourstudyiftheyrepresentyourtargetaudience.

21. Recruitmentcriteria
Thinkofyourstudyparticipantsasrepresentativesofyour
primarytargetaudience.Whatarethecharacteristicsthat
yourprimarytargetaudienceexhibits?
Examplesofselectioncriteriaincludeagegroup,geographicallocation,andanyspecific
experienceparticipantsshouldorshouldnothave.Includebothmainstreamandextremeusersin
yourstudytocoverthebroadspectrumofyourusers
Themorespecificyourcriteria,theharderitwillbetofindparticipantswhocheckallboxes

22. Screening participants and Screener surveys
alistofquestionsaimedatqualifyingordisqualifyingparticipantsforyourstudy.Thisscreener
canbeadministeredonlineorofflinethroughasurveyoraninterview.
Ascreeningsurveycontainsalistofqualifyingquestionsthatcanbeadministeredtopeople
onlineoroffline.
Ensureyoursurveycontainsopen-endedquestions.Thisencouragespeopletothinkontheir
ownandavoidguessingwhat’s“right.
Includedistractorsintheoptions.Theycloselyresemblethecorrectanswerbutare,infact,
wrong.Thishelpsyouidentifypeoplewhoguessorpickfavorableanswers
Avoidsharingtoomanydetailsaboutyourstudyduringthescreeningstageasthistoocan
influencepeopletoansweracertainway

23. Getting consent from participants
Ethicalresearchnecessitatesinformingyourparticipantsaboutallthedetailsofyourstudy,
includingwhatdatawillbecollected,used,andshared.Youarealsoobligatedtonotifythem
oftheconsequencesofparticipatinginyourstudy.
Aconsentformshouldideallyinclude
Thepurposeofyourstud
Theactivitiesandtasksthatwillbeinvolvedinthestud
Theoptiontowithdrawvoluntarilyfromthestud
Whatdatawillbecollected,stored,analyzed,shared,andwithwhom
Seekouttheirguardiansforinformedconsentifyouhavetodealwith childrenor someadults

24. Incentivising participants
Mostpopularlyofferedincentivesincludemonetarycompensationorgiftcards.But,
incentivescanalsotaketheformofcredits,discounts,merchandise,orfreeearlyaccesstoa
featureorservice.
Whenincentivizingyourparticipants
Useincentivesthatcanbenefitallyourtestparticipants
Decideinadvanceandinformparticipantsofwhenthey’llreceivetheirrewardsandthrough
whatmedium

25. Thankyouforlistening
Taskfortheweek:
CraftResearchQuestionsforyourprojecttopi
ConductuserInterviewsonyourprojecttopic