User-centred research methods practice questions.

A design team reads a published national anthropometric data set and also films shoppers using a self-checkout. Which classification of the two activities is correct?

• The published data set is secondary research and the filming is primary research
• The published data set is primary research and the filming is secondary research
• Both are secondary research, because neither activity involves questioning users directly
• Both are primary research, because the team itself decided to use both sources

Answer: The published data set is secondary research and the filming is primary research

The classification depends on who generated the data for this project: primary data are collected first-hand by the team, secondary data already exist and were published by someone else, whatever method produced them.

A team posts 400 questionnaires about a garden tool to a random sample of households. 46 are returned, nearly all from members of one gardening club. Which limitation does this result show?

• Observer effect, because respondents knew they were being studied
• A leading question, because the wording pushed answers one way
• A pilot error, because the questionnaire was not trialled first
• Non-response bias, because those who replied are not typical

Answer: Non-response bias, because those who replied are not typical

A random sample stays random only if most of those selected reply; here the returns come from an unusually interested subgroup, so the answers describe club members rather than the population that was sampled. Raising the response rate, or comparing responders with non-responders, is what makes the result usable.

A questionnaire asks: 'How much did you enjoy the improved grip on the new handle?' Which methodological fault does this question show?

• It is a closed question that limits the range of responses
• It is a leading question that presumes a positive judgement
• It is an open question that produces data that is hard to code
• It is a filter question that routes users into the wrong section

Answer: It is a leading question that presumes a positive judgement

The wording builds in the conclusion that the grip is improved and enjoyable, pushing responses towards agreement. A neutral version would ask the respondent to rate the grip without evaluating it first.

A team compares interview answers about a kettle-descaling routine with video recordings made in users' homes. The recordings show steps that no interviewee mentioned. Which methodological principle does this illustrate?

• Qualitative data are less reliable than quantitative data in every case
• A larger sample would have removed the difference between the two data sets
• Self-reported data record what users believe they do, not what they do
• Video recording counts as secondary research, so it carries more authority

Answer: Self-reported data record what users believe they do, not what they do

Users edit, rationalise and forget parts of a familiar routine, so interviews and questionnaires capture memory and intention. Recording in the real context is what exposes omitted or improvised steps.

A team writes a one-page profile of 'Ana, 34, a nurse who carries the device through twelve-hour shifts' and pins it above the workbench. What is this profile?

• A persona, a composite reference user built from research findings
• A user trial report, which records how a prototype performed in use
• A market segment, which groups buyers by spending power and brand loyalty
• A design specification, which lists measurable requirements for the product

Answer: A persona, a composite reference user built from research findings

A persona compresses observed user data into one credible individual so that later decisions can be tested against a specific user. It is a research output, not a segment of buyers and not a set of requirements.

Designers wear glasses that simulate clouded vision and gloves that restrict finger movement before they redesign a medicine bottle. Which research method is this?

• Empathic modelling, in which the designer simulates a user constraint
• A user trial, in which target users test a working prototype
• An ethnographic study, in which the designer lives among the user group for a period
• A task analysis, in which each step of an activity is broken down

Answer: Empathic modelling, in which the designer simulates a user constraint

Empathic modelling gives the designer first-hand experience of a constraint, but it remains a simulation: it does not replace testing with the users themselves, who have developed coping strategies a designer has not.