Design Research is research that informs the design of a product/products that may or may not involve talking to users.
User Research is research that involves talking to users. It most often is used to inform the design of a product but might also be used to define an opportunity area before a product has specifically been envisioned. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rob Tannen Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 1:14 PM To: IxDA Discuss Subject: [IxDA Discuss] Semantics: "Design Research" and "User Research" I often see (and use) the terms Design Research and User Research interchangeably, although I believe they are overlapping, but different. -Design Research: This is the broader term. It can refer to the study of design itself (meta-research, if you will). It can also refer to research done in the context of design, but that can include research on materials, processes, users, etc. For example, comparing different types of display technologies, from the perspectives of cost, power consumption or legibility are all cases of design research. -User Research: The study of the users of a product or system (or potential users for a new one), that can include ethnography, usability testing, etc to inform the appropriate design of that product. So according to my definitions, User Research is really a type of Design Research, and not all Design Research is User Research. Is there any consensus on this (loaded question)? Best Regards, Rob Tannen, PhD Director of Research direct 215-209-3042 main 215-561-5100 www.bresslergroup.com ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
