Skip to content

Quantitative research

Quantitative UX Research

I’m fascinated by Quantitative Research, AI and how it can meld with UX. Quantitative UX Research is still finding its place in the tech industry so it’s hard to find precise roadmaps and direct resources. 

Heads up!

  • BEING A QUALITATIVE UX RESEARCHER IS FINE. No pressure! If that’s what you love, embrace it! Here’s an interesting article by Zoe Glas that backs this up. Qualitative Research is just as important — sometimes even more important — as Quantitative Research.
  • When you are learning Quantitative UX Research, combine the theory with practice. 

Articles

Courses

  • Crash Course Statistics (thecrashcourse.com): This is probably one of the best statistics resources I will recommend. Adriene Hill, the course instructor, makes each lesson humorous and understandable. I struggle with statistics because most resources out there are too complex. That’s why Adriene Hill is good at what she does. She breaks down the concepts well without oversimplifying them. 
  • DataCamp: If you are after the tools, DataCamp is great. Theoretically, it’s zero to none. This might seem like a good thing today but I’m a firm believer in combining a good amount of theory with practice. That’s the best way to learn. DataCamp will teach you how to code in Python or R or perform various statistical operations with these tools. It won’t teach you why you need those operations, how they work, or when they should be applied.
  • Data analysis specialization on Coursera: This specialisation will help you get started but my complaints about DataCamp apply. Great for building a stronghold in understanding what Data analysis is all about, but not great for learning statistics theory. You need both!
  • EdX UX data analysis: You’ll hardly ever come across courses that focus on Quantitative UX Research. This course is as rare as a hen’s teeth. It touches on some basic statistical concepts and how you can use hypothesis testing to test prototypes. It is practical. I recommend taking Crash Course Statistics before diving into this course. Else, you’ll get lost.
  • StatQuest: A great resource for learning statistics theory. It also has a YouTube channel. I love it! The fun thing about this channel is how Josh explains various statistical concepts without dumbing them down. I was struggling to understand what p-values were until I stumbled on one of his videos about it. It was so helpful!
  • MeasuringU – UX Research and Software: All things quant and mixed-methods. MeasuringU is a great place for quantitative UX Research resources. It has a blog and calculators for different metrics. They also have courses and publications. 
  • Quant UXR Con: I’m not sure when the next conference will hold, but when I attended the Quant UXR Con in mid-2022 there was so much quality to absorb. Every session was free! I learnt about Quantitative UX Research, its origin and how it applies to UX projects.

Quantitative Research in Action

Sometimes, it’s not very clear how Quantitative UX Research works or how it can be used to generate insights. I for one struggled to understand how it could be applied to the real world. Here are articles that’ll show you how impactful Quant UXR can be, especially when combined with qualitative research.