Does remote research even work?
To solve a problem well, you have to involve the people you’re solving it for. This is a core design principle: build with, not for. Companies with a strong culture of research regularly send their researchers all over the country and parts of the world to speak to users. We’re one of those. Our team has travelled to Nigeria, Jakarta, Varanasi, Bhatinda and countless cities for research.
But what do you do when you can’t go to your user, wherever he or she is? You conduct research remotely.
Of course, the pandemic led companies to adopt and accept remote research as the default. But in general, the world has opened up more — teams located in the US are building for Indian users or vice-versa and travel isn’t always possible.
But many people still wonder: “Does remote research even work?”
The short answer is Yes.
The long answer is that research is about creating an environment as close to reality as possible, and making observations in as pristine a way as you can.
In remote research, users are in their natural environment and therefore feeling a lot more comfortable. They are likely to give you honest answers because you are not sitting next to them.
Making useful observations remotely is possible, but requires more expertise. You need skilled researchers, who can hold the participants’ attention and can ask the right questions to make them feel comfortable. You also need a good tech set-up because you want to be able to see what a participant is doing and observe their facial expressions.
Remote research has its advantages too. Because you are not geographically constrained, you can do a lot more in less time and fewer resources. But it’s not that it’s better or worse than on-ground research; it’s just different. Much like the in-office versus work from home debate, there isn’t an easy answer here.
Here are some resources on how to do remote research well:
The NN group has a comprehensive study guide on remote research
Maze put together a step by step guide on remote usability testing
Tanushree Jindal, ex-Obvious, wrote about doing remote research over a phone call
Get researching, in-person or online!