Applying User Research Methods
By Kaitlyn Stossel
As a part of the Methods and Tools for Product Innovation certificate for the MIIPS Online program, the User Experience Research for Digital and Physical Products course allows students to learn methods of user research, from interviewing to ethnographic techniques. Students work throughout the semester to research, collect data, analyze and synthesize data into a report that identifies opportunities to innovate with new offerings.
We asked our online student Molly Wiebe her perspective on the course through her project Self-care and Processing Grief.
iii: Please provide a brief synopsis of your project.
My project focused on the broad theme of self-care. Within this broad theme, I chose to explore the relationship between grief and self-care. My research question was: What does self-care look like and sound like when a person is in a state of grief? I used a mix-methods approach and conducted research across three phases to understand the relationship between self-care and processing grief. The three phases include the following:
- Phase I: Desk Research/Online Observations
- Phase II: Survey Research and In-depth Interviews
- Phase III: Usability Testing and In-depth Interviews
iii: What were your biggest takeaways from this project? What skills can you take with you?
I learned how to:
- recruit participants and conduct research on a highly sensitive topic
- create a survey to gather quantitative data
- leverage survey data to write my interview discussion guide to gather qualitative data
- create actionable insights based on my findings
- apply product strategy perspectives by focusing on user’s pain points, needs, user’s journeys, and the current/future state
iii: Did you face any challenges working on this project? How did you overcome them?
Grief is a very challenging and uncomfortable topic for both the participants and the researcher. The challenges I faced included:
- recruiting participants for the study
- figuring out how to be sensitive and professional while interacting with participants during the interview sessions about grief and the grieving process
- maintaining my role as a researcher and keeping my own emotions in check during the interview sessions
- deciding when and how to end the interview session when it was clear that the participant was having a challenging time discussing their grief experience
I found that there is a delicate balance; the participants wanted to share, but at that very moment they were unable to share their experience because of their grief.
iii: Have you used any of the skills learned in this course/project in your career?
Yes, I feel more confident as a User Experience Researcher. When I present my research report to the cross-functional teams, I am able to make meaningful contributions and offer actionable insights.
