Exploratory research aims to gain a deeper understanding of users, their lives, and how products fit into their context. It helps define, reevaluate, and expand the problem space. Key methods include interviews, activities, observations, and homework assignments. Analyzing data inductively allows theories to emerge from research findings. Findings should be communicated through engaging stories that make insights sticky and shareable. The goal is to provide an interactive experience that leaves the audience excited to share what they learned.

1. Sarah Fathallah
Exploratory Research
in UX Design
UX Burlington

2. Show of Hands!

3. I What is
Exploratory Research?
II Why is
Exploratory Research valuable?
III How to conduct Exploratory
Research?

4. WHAT IS EXPLORATORY RESEARCH?

5. “
Exploratory research is conducted about a problem
when there are few or no earlier studies to refer to.
The focus is on gaining insights and familiarity for
later investigation or undertaken when problems are
in a preliminary stage of investigation.
— Research Methods in the Social Sciences, Lynn University

6. Exploratory
Research
Problem Space Solution Space
Evaluative
Research

7. Exploratory research aims...
(Also called generative research)
… to gain a deeper understanding of the users, their lives, how
a specific product or service fits in context of their personal
or work environment. It helps us understand some of the
foundational needs that are core to who they are, that
don’t change easily over time.

8. WHY IS EXPLORATORY RESEARCH VALUABLE?

9. The value of exploratory
research lies in:
Defining the problem space

10. The value of exploratory
research lies in:
Defining the problem space
Reevaluating the problem space

11. The value of exploratory
research lies in:
Defining the problem space
Expanding the problem space
Reevaluating the problem space

12. Defining the Problem Space
Project: Affordable housing application process

13. Defining the problem space
• When first engaging with local non-profit Bread for the City,
the problem hadn’t been addressed yet.
• Research focused on understanding the overall experience of
their housing program clients.
• This drove us to identify Section 8 applicants as the target
user group, and focus on how they deal with the current
paper-based application process, leading us to build a
web-based tool to improve that experience.

14. Reevaluating the Problem Space
Project: CNC machine and operator interaction

15. Reevaluating the problem space
• Research aimed to understand all the instances where humans
interact with CNC machines.
• This led us to shift the focus from the operators on the shop
floor to include process engineers and quality inspectors, and
build a completely new solution that helps reduce errors in
producing workpieces while saving time and resources.

16. Expanding the Problem Space
Project: First-time voter experience

17. Expanding the problem space
• When engaging with client Democracy Works, the initial focus
was to improve flagship tool TurboVote, particularly the
onboarding process.
• Research sought to understand how users experience the
voter registration and voting process as a whole.
• This led us to expand the focus from TurboVote as a tool to
get election-related notifications to a tool that helps you
navigate the electoral system from beginning to end.

18. HOW TO CONDUCT EXPLORATORY RESEARCH?

19. The different stages of
exploratory research
• Scoping research
• Recruiting participants
• Conducting research
• Analyzing learnings
• Communicating learnings

20. SCOPING
RESEARCH
1

21. 1. What are your research questions?
What questions need to be answered to move the project forward?
2. Which research activities will you use?
What telling vs. showing, independent vs. guided methods will you need to use?
3. What participants do you need?
What stakeholder groups do you need? How many do you need to talk to from each group?
4. How will you find and recruit participants?
How will you recruit people for each method? What will you offer as incentives (if anything)?
5. How will you account for bias?
How do you identify your bias and that of your stakeholders? How do you minimize that bias?
9 Questions

22. 6. How will you capture your data?
What equipment and cheat sheets will you need to help data collection go smoothly?
How will you store your data?
7. How will you analyze your data?
What analysis methods will you use?
What are the materials, spaces, and people that you will need to do them?
8. What deliverables will you create?
Who is the client/intended audience? What are their assumptions and expectations?
How will they use the information?
9. What resources do you have?
Man hours, timeline, budget, equipment, etc. – What’s available or can be obtained?
9 Questions

23. How many
participants
is enough?
It’s a tricky (and contentious!) question.

24. In evaluative research, consensus around N = 5
for usability studies (Nielsen Norman Group).
But how about exploratory research?
How many
participants
is enough?

25. The real answer is: “It depends.”
• The more homogenous a cohort is, the smaller the sample size needed (Susan C.
Weller, Cultural Consensus Theory).
• The more targeted or narrow the question, the smaller the sample (Baker & Rosalind).
• Aim to minimize bias through diversity (socio-economic differences, family situation,
education level, ethnicity, geography, etc.).
• Aim to reach "saturation" (= when you begin to get tired of hearing the same things).
How many
participants
is enough?

26. RECRUITING
PARTICIPANTS
2

27. Different
Recruiting Methods
Professional
Recruiter
Friends
and Family
Online
Ads
Snowball
Recruiting
Intercept
Participants

28. PROFESSIONAL
RECRUITING AGENCIES
Access! Access! Access!
Once you pay them and define the screener,
you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.
THROUGH THE CLIENT
OR PARTNER
Tap into existing relationships.
But, we may come pre-endorsed… For
employees, participants think we are there to
judge them.

29. INTERCEPT
RECRUITING
Be prepared for rejection.
Types of users can swing wildly from really
honest, wanting to help type of people to those
who are just in it for the gift card/incentive.
SNOWBALL
RECRUITING
Be opportunistic!
Particularly useful for rare or unique
participant profiles, or geographic areas that
may not be covered by recruiting agencies.

30. ONLINE
ADS
Still (relatively) cheap.
Depending on the platform used, some may
work better for the desired participant profile.
FRIENDS
AND FAMILY
If you are a believer in the 7 degrees of
separation, this is the perfect recruiting
method.
But, you may have a hard time establishing
yourself as a neutral researcher.

31. Recruiting Methods Pros+Cons
Recruitment Method Benefits Drawbacks
Professional recruiter • Easiest to manage • Expensive
• “Professional” respondents
Friends and family,
Social networks
• Convenient
• Least expensive
• Willing participants
• “Too close” respondents
Craigslist, Facebook Ads,
Online Ads
• Cheaper
• Relatively easy to manage
• Difficult to manage
• “Professional” respondents
• Potential for flakes
Snowball • Convenient
• “Novice” respondents
• Suited for “frontier” areas
• Potential lack of variety
• Unpredictable
Intercepts • Less expensive
• “Novice” respondents
• Often lack time/depth
• Low response rate

32. Main recruiting method
Through the
Client
Main recruiting method
Friends and
Family
Main recruiting method
Social media
Ads

33. CONDUCTING
RESEARCH
3

34. Exploratory Research Methods
Telling
Showing
GuidedIndependent
1
Discussions
2
Activities
3
Observations
4
Homework

35. INDIVIDUAL VS. GROUP
INTERVIEWS
1.
Discussions
• Individual interviews offer more depth.
• Group interviews or focus groups can be useful to
look at how a larger set of people operates,
reflects a community’s life and dynamics. They’re
also useful for courtesy interviews (it’s quicker!).

36. GAMES
AND ACTIVITIES
Probably the least “replicable” of all methods,
highly dependent on topic at hand.
Examples:
• Card sorting
• Photo elicitation
• Object elicitation
• ”Draw me a…”
• Journey mapping
• Word associations
• Forced ranking
• Role playing
2.
Activities

37. FOUR TECHNIQUES FOR
OBSERVATIONAL RESEARCH
3.
Observations
Counting Occurrences
• Counting with a tally sheet is one of the simplest
observational techniques, useful in building
assumptions.
Timing Durations
• The amount of time people spend doing specific
activities can tell us a great deal about the overall
consumer experience.
Diagramming Interactions
• Good tool for understanding the system of people
within which a user performs (e.g. helpers,
blockers, influencers, etc.)
Mapping Movement
• Go-to technique to focus on the movement of
people or things through space.

38. HOMEWORK
ASSIGNMENTS
Can take different forms:
• Diary study
• Photo diary
• Surveys/questionnaires
• Mystery shopping (i.e. a tool that involves
sending participants to places of business,
government agencies, or other service
providers to simulate a typical customer
inquiry)
4.
Homework

39. Main research method
Focus
Groups
Main research method
Individual
Interviews
Main research method
Games and
Activities

40. ANALYZING
LEARNINGS
4

41. Data Analysis Approaches
Grounded Theory
Approach
Deductive Reasoning
Approach
Generate theories on the basis of primary
research data and findings.
Through induction.
More suitable for exploratory research.
Generate theories on the basis of pre-
determined hypotheses, which are then tested.
Through deduction.
More suitable for evaluative research.

42. COMMUNICATING
LEARNINGS
5

43. Principles for
Communicating Findings
1
2
3
Tell a story
Tell a detailed story that ties a strong thread between the problem space, the research
scope, the learnings and surprises, the analysis, and the findings.
Make it sticky
Keep it short and visual.
Make it memorable.
Make it shareable
Ensure the story can stand on its own after you’re out of the picture.
Make it exciting enough that people want to share it around.

44. Format Options
Descriptive Prescriptive
Enables independent conclusions Suggests actions to be taken
Quotes and Stories Scenarios
Observations Functional Analogies
Photographs Recommendations
Experiential Presentational
Provides an interactive experience Broadcasts data and insights
Interactive Games Video or Audio Clips
Immersions Slide Decks
Narratives Written Reports
Abstracted Detailed
Simplified information Richly described information
Posters and Displays Photographs
User Scenarios Personas
Insight Summaries Database of raw data
Tangible Virtual
Can be touched/manipulated Non-physical artifacts
Prototypes Video/Audio Artifacts
Take-aways Written Artifacts/Websites

45. Main deliverable
Research
Insights Deck
Main deliverable
Immersive
Experience
Main deliverable
Main Insights
Video

46. Any questions?

47. Thank you!
You can find me at sarahfathallah.com
Or connect with me @Sfath
47