July 3, 2019
3 min

The other side of the conversation: 3 reasons why UX researchers should take a turn as a participant

Lately, I’ve found myself sitting in the participant’s chair at the UX research table more and more and it’s been an eye-opening collection of experiences. As UX researchers, we’re definitely not our users, but we are someone else’s. We use products, services and tools too! I’ve recently discovered that participating in user research not only helps out a fellow UXer with their qualitative research, but has also helped me grow my skills.

Here are 3 reasons why you should try being a participant for yourself.

1. Build empathy for the participant experience 🫶

Having facilitated hundreds of UX research sessions over the years, I didn’t think I would be as nervous as I was going in as a participant! When we design our research sessions we don’t often give our participants a heads up on what we’re going to talk about because we don’t want to influence them for one, but truly not knowing what to expect made me feel slightly jittery. Before and at the beginning of these experiences, I felt quite unprepared. I wasn’t expecting to feel that way.

During these sessions I often found myself wondering things like: Were my answers detailed enough? Will my responses be kept confidential? (I could never seem to remember if that had been covered in the introduction!). I worried that I wasn’t giving helpful responses or if I was talking too much. When misunderstandings arose in the conversation, I felt responsible and I was kicking myself for not communicating clearly enough!

As a participant, I completely lost track of time during the session and developed an entirely new appreciation for timekeeping as a facilitator! I could have talked well beyond the scope of the interview timeframe and needed to be kept on track.

I also very quickly discovered that thinking aloud is a lot harder to do than it sounds. It’s not a simple matter of verbalizing your thoughts as they happen. You have to think them, process them, decide how to verbalize them and then talk – all while someone (often a complete stranger) is looking at you expectantly and eagerly. It’s awkward and it feels weird. And look, it is widely acknowledged that it’s challenging and unnatural, but I didn’t fully appreciate or understand that until I was required to do it myself in a research environment.

Did I experience some of these thoughts and feelings because I’m a UX researcher and I know what the other side looks and feels like? Maybe. It’s certainly possible and I’d be remiss if I didn’t call out this potential bias, but I do feel that having done this I now have a greater capacity to empathize with the participant experience. I’ve now been on the receiving end of the introductory spiel (and tuned out during it!), I’ve now got first-hand experience with the on-the-spot answering of those questions we carefully craft and I’ve scrambled for words when I’ve been asked to explain why I said what I said.

These experiences have taught me that there’s a good chance the participant is just as nervous as I am and that a little reassurance or confirmation of usefulness goes a very long way. I’ve learned that regardless of the skill or experience of the researcher, interview questions can be super confusing and hard to answer. Having questions rephrased and being told that what I shared was helpful made me feel significantly more comfortable and able to think clearly and open up more - therefore providing more value to the researcher.

I’ve also been itching to find out what happened next after the sessions ended. Was I helpful and in what way? Where did the insight I provided lead? I’ve learned that while we walk away with more questions, so might our participants and what can we do about that? We’re so busy, but stopping for a moment further down the track if/where possible to reach out and say ‘Hey, I just thought you might like to see what we did with all that great information you shared with us’ might be nice. It’s not always practical or possible and sometimes we have to wait until the thing goes live, but it’s food for thought.

2. Learn from other researcher’s styles 📚

Every UX researcher is different and we all have our own approaches and styles. As a notetaker for other researchers, I’ve always enjoyed having the opportunity to observe them in action, but somehow experiencing it as a participant felt different in the best possible way. It felt more immersive. Perhaps it was because I didn’t have to think about anything else or observe the participant’s reactions and was able to absorb every second of that experience as it was happening to me rather than in front of me.

I participated in a usability testing session with two researchers - one facilitating and one taking notes - and the notetaker was so unobtrusive and quiet that I completely forgot they were there! They said a quick hello at the beginning of the session and then sat back behind me and blended in with the furniture and didn’t make a sound until they piped up with a question at the very end. Note taking is such a grossly underrated UX research skill. There’s a lot to think about, a lot to avoid thinking about (e.g., jumping into solution right there in the session) and of course we have to be mindful of the potential impact of our behavior on the participant, but this went beyond stifling disappointment or resisting the urge to speak. This was a dignified and seamlessly elegant note taker existence unlike anything I have ever seen.

In other sessions as a user interview participant I was delighted when researchers injected multiple moments of humor into those previously mentioned introductory spiel snooze fests. It did more than just make me feel comfortable - humor helped me focus better on what was being said and remember important details during and well after the session had ended.

I also learned a thing or two about comfortable silences when I participated in a contextual session with two researchers. One researcher kept prodding and repeatedly asking questions while the other exuded a quiet and calm demeanor and simply patiently waited for me to complete my task and talk about it in my own time (and way). It won’t work in all situations or with all participants, but it made me feel relaxed and comfortable enough to talk through what I was thinking and seeing. This approach also made thinking aloud easier for me.

It’s important to remember that it doesn’t matter if you’re an experienced UX researcher or if you’re just starting out, everyone can learn something new from another researcher and stepping up into a session as an actual participant is a great way to do that.

3. Give back and grow our industry 🌱

One of my favourite things about the UX industry has always been its sense of community. We’re a group of people who care. We care about our users, we care about each other and we care about our capability as an industry and where we’re headed. Agreeing to be a participant in another researcher’s study is a great way to give back.

As I mentioned earlier, we use products and services too and in addition to this, there’s a whole heap of them out there designed just for us! It makes sense that in the same way that we as researchers ask our own customers and users to help us design better products, we should be open to doing the same for the people who design for us.

The cool thing about being a participant who is also a researcher is that we pick up issues other people might not. We might be a little tougher and less likely to let a usability issue slide. We might be the person that provides the external and fresh-eyed validation a researcher needs to convince a stakeholder that a design needs to be changed or worked on some more. A researcher in the participant’s chair is a powerful hybrid - it’s a participant and expert reviewer in one.

As a general rule of thumb, if you’re invited to participate in another researcher’s study, I do think it’s best to always be upfront with them about who you are and what you do so that they can determine if you are potentially too biased to be included. It’s their study and informed consent matters. Think about what you would want as a researcher. And if they’re specifically asking you to participate because you’re a researcher - that’s awesome!

So those are just some of the reasons why you should take a spin in the participant’s chair. Professional development is a lifelong learning process for us all. I’m looking forward to implementing what I’ve learned from these experiences and continuing to plonk myself in that participant chair to keep growing my perspective and helping out other researchers along the way.

Happy researching (and participating)!

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What do you prioritize when doing qualitative research?

Qualitative user research is about exploration. Exploration is about the journey, not only the destination (or outcome). Gaining information and insights about your users through interviews, usability testing, contextual, observations and diary entries. Using these qualitative research methods to not only answer your direct queries, but to uncover and unravel your users ‘why’.

It can be important to use qualitative research to really dig deep, get to know your users and get inside their heads, and their reasons. Creating intuitive and engaging products that deliver the best user experience. 

What is qualitative research? 🔎

The term ‘qualitative’ refers to things that cannot be measured numerically and qualitative user research is no exception. Qualitative research is primarily an exploratory research method that is typically done early in the design process and is useful for uncovering insights into people’s thoughts, opinions, and motivations. It allows us to gain a deeper understanding of problems and provides answers to questions we didn’t know we needed to ask. 

Qualitative research could be considered the ‘why’. Where quantitative user research uncovers the how or the what users want. Qualitative user research will uncover why they make decisions (and possibly much more).

Priorities ⚡⚡⚡⚡

When undertaking user research it is great to do a mix of quantitative and qualitative research. Which will round out the numbers with human driven insights.

Quantitative user research methods, such as card sorting or tree testing, will answer the ‘what’ your users want, and provide data to support this. These insights are number driven and are based on testing direct interaction with your product. This is super valuable to report to stakeholders. Hard data is difficult to argue what changes need to be made to how your information architecture (IA) is ordered, sorted or designed. To find out more about the quantitative research options, take a read.

Qualitative user research, on the other hand, may uncover a deeper understanding of ‘why’ your users want the IA ordered, sorted or designed a certain way.  The devil is in the detail afterall and great user insights are discoverable. 

Priorities for your qualitative research needs to be less about the numbers, and more on discovering your users ‘why’. Observing, listening, questioning and looking at reasons for users decisions will provide valuable insights for product design and ultimately improve user experience.

Usability Testing - this research method is used to evaluate how easy and intuitive a product is to use.  Observing, noting and watching the participant complete tasks without interference or questions can uncover a lot of insights that data alone can’t give. This method can be done in a couple of ways, moderated or unmoderated. While it can be quicker to do unmoderated and easier to arrange, the deep insights will come out of moderated testing. 

Observational - with this qualitative research method your insights will be uncovered from observing and noting what the participant is doing, paying particular attention to their non-verbal communication. Where do they demonstrate frustration, or turn away from the task, or change their approach? Factual note taking, meaning there shouldn’t be any opinions attached to what is being observed, is important to keep the insights unbiased.

Contextual - paying attention to the context in which the interview or testing is done is important. Is it hot, loud, cold or is the screen of their laptop covered in post-its that make it difficult to see? Or do they struggle with navigating using the laptop tracker? All of this noted, in a factual manner, without personal inferring or added opinion based observations can give a window into why the participant struggled or was frustrated at any point.

These research methods can be done as purely observational research (you don’t interview or converse with your participant) and noting how they interact (more interested in the process than the outcome of their product interaction). Or, these qualitative research methods can be coupled with an

Interview - a series of questions asked around a particular task or product. Careful note taking around what the participant says as well as noting any observations. This method should allow a conversation to flow. Whilst the interviewer should be prepared with a list of questions around their topic, remain flexible enough to dig deeper where there might be details or insights of interest. An interviewer that is comfortable in getting to know their participants unpicks reservations and allows a flow of conversation, and generates amazing insights.

With an interview it can be of use to have a second person in the room to act as the note taker. This can free up the interviewer to engage with the participant and unpick the insights.

Using a great note taking side kick, like our Reframer, can take the pain out of recording all these juicy and deep insights. Time-stamping, audio or video recordings and notes all stored in one place. Easily accessed by the team, reviewed, reports generated and stored for later.

Let’s consider 🤔

You’re creating a new app to support your gym and it’s website. You’re looking to generate personal training bookings, allow members to book classes or have updates and personalise communication for your members. But before investing in final development it needs to be tested. How do your users interact with it? Why would they want to? Does it behave in a way that improves the user experience? Or does it simply not deliver? But why?

First off, using quantitative research like Chalkmark would show how the interface is working. Where are users clicking, where do they go after that. Is it simple to use? You now have direct data that supports your questions, or possibly suggests a change of design to support quicker task completion, or further engagement.

While all of this is great data for the design, does it dig deep enough to really get an understanding of why your users are frustrated? Do they find what they need quickly? Or get completely lost? Finding out these insights and improving on them can make the most of your users’ experience.

When quantitative research is coupled with robust qualitative research that prioritizes an in-depth understanding of what your users need, ultimately the app can make the most of your users’ experience.

Using moderated usability testing for your gym app, observations can be made about how the participant interacts with the interface. Where do they struggle, get lost, or where do they complete a task quickly and simply. This type of research enhances the quantitative data and gives insight into where and why the app is or isn't performing.

Then interviewing participants about why they make decisions on the app, how they use it and why they would use it. These focussed questions, with some free flow conversation will round out your research. Giving valuable insights that can be reviewed, analyzed and reported to the product team and key stakeholders. Focussing the outcome, and designing a product that delivers on not just what users need, but in-depth understand of why. 

Wrap Up 🥙

Quantitative and qualitative user research do work hand in hand, each offering a side to the same coin. Hard number driven data with quantitative user research will deliver the what needs to be addressed. With focussed quantitative research it is possible to really get a handle on why your users interact with your product in a certain way, and how. 

The Optimal Workshop platform has all the tools, research methods and even the note taking tools you need to get started with your user research, now, not next week! See you soon.

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Product Managers: How Optimal Streamlines Your User Research

As product managers, we all know the struggle of truly understanding our users. It's the cornerstone of everything we do, yet the path to those valuable insights can often feel like navigating a maze. The endless back-and-forth emails, the constant asking for favors from other teams, and the sheer time spent trying to find the right people to talk to, sound familiar? For years, this was our reality. But there’s a better way, Optimal's participant recruitment is a game-changer, transforming your approach to user research and freeing you to focus on what truly matters: understanding our users.

The Challenge We All Faced

User research processes often hit a significant bottleneck: finding participants. Like many, you may rely heavily on sales and support teams to connect you with users. While they were always incredibly helpful, this approach has its limitations. It creates internal dependencies, slows down timelines, and often means you are limited to a specific segment of our user base. You frequently find ourselves asking, "Does anyone know someone who fits this profile?" which inevitably leads to delays and sometimes, missed crucial feedback opportunities.

A Game-Changing Solution: Optimal's Participant Recruitment

Enter Optimal's participant recruitment. This service fundamentally shifts how you approach user research, offering a hugely increased level of efficiency and insight. Here’s how it can level up your research process:

  • Diverse Participant Pool: Gone are the days of repeatedly reaching out to the same familiar faces. Optimal Workshop provides access to a global pool of participants who genuinely represent our target audience. The fresh perspectives and varied experiences gained can be truly eye-opening, uncovering insights you might have otherwise missed.
  • Time-Saving Independence: The constant "Does anyone know someone who...?" emails are a thing of the past. You now have the autonomy to independently recruit participants for a wide range of research activities, from quick prototype tests to more in-depth user interviews and usability studies. This newfound independence dramatically accelerates your research timeline, allowing you to gather feedback much faster.
  • Faster Learning Cycles: When a critical question arises, or you need to quickly validate a new concept, you can now launch research and recruit participants almost immediately. This quick turnaround means you’re making informed decisions based on real user feedback at a much faster pace than ever before. This agility is invaluable in today's fast-paced product development environment.
  • Reduced Bias: By accessing external participants who have no prior relationship with your company, you're receiving more honest and unfiltered feedback. This unbiased perspective is crucial for making confident, user-driven decisions and avoiding the pitfalls of internal assumptions.

Beyond Just Recruitment: A Seamless Research Ecosystem

The participant recruitment service integrates with the Optimal platform. Whether you're conducting tree testing to evaluate information architecture, running card sorting exercises to understand user mental models, or performing first-click tests to assess navigation, everything is available within one intuitive platform. It really can become your one-stop shop for all things user research.

Building a Research-First Culture

Perhaps the most unexpected and significant benefit of streamlined participant recruitment comes from the positive shift in your team's culture. With research becoming so accessible and efficient, you're naturally more inclined to validate our assumptions and explore user needs before making key product decisions. Every product decision is now more deeply grounded in real user insights, fostering a truly user-centric approach throughout your development process.

The Bottom Line

If you're still wrestling with the time-consuming and often frustrating process of participant recruitment for your user research, why not give Optimal Workshop a try. It can transform what is a significant bottleneck in your workflow into a streamlined and efficient process that empowers you to build truly user-centric products. It's not just about saving time; it's about gaining deeper, more diverse insights that ultimately lead to better products and happier users. Give it a shot, you might be surprised at the difference it makes.

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What does Optimal Recruitment offer?

With Optimal Recruitment, our in-house team makes it easy to connect with participants. We take care of all the details—from feasibility checks, recruitment, reminders, confirmations, and admin.

Thanks to our four award-winning panel providers, we can tailor recruitment to every recruitment need, giving you access to a vast pool of high-quality participants from across 150+ countries.

  • User Interviews: Rated the #1 top-rated panel software on G2, fully dedicated to quality user research
  • PureSpectrum: Recognized as the Market Research Supplier of the Year
  • Respondent: Ensures a consistent 95% participants show-up rate
  • Cint: Winner of the Data Quality Award, 2024

And this is just the beginning—our network will continue to grow, offering even greater targeting capabilities and expanded reach in the future.

How does it work?

All you need to do is provide your participant criteria and our team will handle the rest! We’ll select the best panel for your needs and ensure everything in your study is set up perfectly so you can sit back and watch the results flow in. 

Ready to dive in?

To get started, head over to the Recruit tab under an Optimal study.

Need more info? Find out more about getting started or reach out to Support or your account team for more details.

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