Quantitative Research

What is this method about?

Any research that gives results in objective terms—e.g., numbers or values—and is conducted with a large sample size. Some examples of quantitative research are intercept surveys, email surveys, A/B testing, online assessments, click tracking.

Why use it

To evaluate responses from a wider user base and capture large amount of data for analysis and synthesize.

When should I use it?

When a large quantity of numerical and statistical data is required to support qualitative research findings or to quantify specified areas being researched—e.g., number of site visitors, email signups, likelihood to purchase/refer, number of views a page gets, number of user errors.

What you get

You will generate large amounts of numerical and/or statistical data from which you are able to generalize the findings across large groups of users.

At a glance

• Time: Short, Long, Extended
• Effort: Medium
• Cost: Medium

Materials

• Varies with the research method used.
• Online survey: Specialized online survey links/sites e.g. Survey Monkey.
• Offline survey: Multiple printed questionnaires, pens
• A/B testing: Software and live websites

Who is involved

• UX Researcher
• Research Partner (possible)
• Test participants
• Product Manager