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Remote User Research: Dos and Don'ts from the Virtual Field
Summary
Faced with the coronavirus crisis, the world switched from office to remote work almost overnight. Likewise, many design teams suddenly found themselves having to conduct user research remotely. For some, this wasn't entirely new. For others, it was the first time going all-out remote, which took some getting used to!
Key Insights
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Remote research suits digital product validation, early concept testing, and asynchronous methods best.
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Contextual inquiry and ethnography lose critical richness when conducted remotely and are often not worth the effort.
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Recruitment for remote studies risks biasing samples toward participants with tech access and literacy.
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Detailed participant screening and pre-interview phone calls help assess vulnerability and stressors during crises like COVID-19.
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Over recruiting by about 50% compensates well for remote no-shows and tech dropouts.
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Remote sessions require significantly more preparation time and energy than in-person research.
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Having formal backup tools and contingency plans is critical to handle inevitable tech failures in remote sessions.
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Clear rules about stakeholder observers reduce interruptions and emotional impact on participants.
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Video inclusion in remote interviews builds trust and helps interpret participants’ non-verbal cues.
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Remote research is not always the best option; sometimes waiting for in-person research is the right call given context and participant conditions.
Notable Quotes
"Remote research is not a silver bullet."
"The best way to understand something is to become part of it."
"If the research question requires deep context, remote probably won’t do."
"It really pays off to prepare way more for remote than for in-person research."
"We recruited 50% more than we needed because no-shows are incredible in remote sessions."
"Video conveys trust and lets you see those purposeful pauses."
"Observers interrupting sessions was a weird behavior we had to manage with clear rules."
"Having a recruitment team that does pre-session phone screenings was a luxury that helped a lot."
"Don’t do remote contextual inquiry just because you can; you lose so much context."
"Remote is a design constraint, but what else can we do with it to improve practice?"
Or choose a question:
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