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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 became essential overnight due to the COVID-19 lockdown but is not universally suitable for all research questions.
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Deep contextual inquiries and ethnographic studies are significantly impaired by remote setups and often not cost-effective.
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Certain research goals, such as digital product usability testing, prototype validation, and mental model exploration, are highly adaptable to remote methods.
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Asynchronous remote research enables participants to log activities in real time, reducing recall bias.
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Preparation for remote research requires much more time and effort than in-person research, given limitations in improvisation during sessions.
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Recruitment bias towards digitally literate users is a major challenge for remote research, threatening inclusivity.
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Over-recruiting by 50% is recommended to compensate for technology issues and participant drop-offs in remote sessions.
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Screening for participant stressors related to COVID-19, such as job loss or health concerns, is crucial to ensure ethical and effective research.
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Having backup communication tools and clear technical support protocols during sessions dramatically reduces disruptions.
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Large numbers of observers during remote sessions can negatively affect interview quality; clear rules and boundaries are necessary.
Notable Quotes
"Remote research is not a silver bullet; some things can be done remotely really easily, others require creativity, and some just won’t work remotely."
"The best way to understand something is to become part of it, which is very hard to do remotely."
"In remote interviews, you have to prepare way more and it takes way longer because you can’t just improvise as easily as in person."
"Recruitment in remote research often biases towards people with access to computers with webcams, which is dangerous for inclusivity."
"Over recruiting by 50% helps because there are so many tech glitches and people dropping out or not showing up."
"Pre-interview phone calls to screen participants and assess their current situation were vital during the pandemic."
"Having formal backup tools like Google Meet or phone calls ready is essential because technical failures will happen."
"Stakeholders new to observing research remotely may interrupt sessions, so clear rules and expectations are critical."
"I’m a body speaker and I really suffer with remote because I communicate a lot through gestures that get lost."
"Sometimes we had to drop parts of the research questions if the context had changed so drastically, like in job search platforms during mass layoffs."
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