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Discovery research glossary

47 terms from R04, Discovery research: interviews, observation and context — 23 defined in the guide itself and 24 more from the field around it. Every term the guide teaches links to the slide that teaches it.

The whole craft glossary

R04 · What to build

Discovery research: interviews, observation and context

What do people actually do, and why?

Every term below is defined in the words of discovery research, guide R04 of craft guides for educational technologists, and opens the guide at the slide where it is taught. 24 of the 47 are the field’s vocabulary rather than the guide’s own: words a reader will meet around this subject, defined here because the guide assumes them. 3 terms are also defined by another guide in the series; where the two differ, both wordings are given. The whole craft glossary holds all of them together.

TermDefinitionReferred to inRead further
A
Artefact

An object that people make or use in their work, such as a mark book, planner or annotated worksheet, collected or photographed as evidence of how the work is really done.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Beyer, H., & Holtzblatt, K. (1998). Contextual design: Defining customer-centered systems. Morgan Kaufmann. archive.org
Assent

A child's own agreement to take part in research, sought alongside a guardian's consent (British Educational Research Association, 2024).

R05 A child's own agreement to take part, sought alongside consent from a responsible adult (British Educational Research Association, 2024).

R13 Agreement to take part given by children too young to consent; principles of consent apply to children and young people as well as to adults (British Educational Research Association, 2024).

  • British Educational Research Association. (2024). Ethical guidelines for educational research (5th ed.). bera.ac.uk
  • Lundy, L. (2007). ‘Voice’ is not enough: Conceptualising Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. British Educational Research Journal, 33(6), 927–942. doi
  • United Nations. (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child (General Assembly resolution 44/25). ohchr.org
Attitudinal research

Research that collects what people say: their beliefs, opinions and reports (Rohrer, 2022).

  • Rohrer, C. (2022). When to use which user-experience research methods. Nielsen Norman Group. nngroup.com
  • LaPiere, R. T. (1934). Attitudes vs. actions. Social Forces, 13(2), 230–237. doi
B
Behavioural research

Research that collects what people do, by watching or measuring it (Rohrer, 2022).

  • Rohrer, C. (2022). When to use which user-experience research methods. Nielsen Norman Group. nngroup.com
  • Nielsen, J. (2001). First rule of usability? Don't listen to users. Nielsen Norman Group. nngroup.com
C
Confirmation bias

Seeking or reading evidence in ways that favour a belief already held (Nickerson, 1998).

  • Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 2(2), 175–220. doi
  • Wason, P. C. (1960). On the failure to eliminate hypotheses in a conceptual task. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 12(3), 129–140. doi
Contextual inquiry

Observation and interviewing of people doing their work, where they usually do it (Beyer & Holtzblatt, 1998).

  • Beyer, H., & Holtzblatt, K. (1998). Contextual design: Defining customer-centered systems. Morgan Kaufmann. archive.org
  • Holtzblatt, K., & Beyer, H. R. (2013). Contextual design. In M. Soegaard & R. F. Dam (Eds.), The encyclopedia of human-computer interaction (2nd ed.). Interaction Design Foundation. ixdf.org
  • Flaherty, K. (2020). Contextual inquiry: Inspire design by observing and interviewing users in their context. Nielsen Norman Group. nngroup.com
Critical incident

A specific, observable occasion that a participant can describe in detail (Flanagan, 1954).

  • Flanagan, J. C. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51(4), 327–358. doi
  • Butterfield, L. D., Borgen, W. A., Amundson, N. E., & Maglio, A.-S. T. (2005). Fifty years of the critical incident technique: 1954–2004 and beyond. Qualitative Research, 5(4), 475–497. doi
D
Debrief

A short meeting of the research team straight after a session to record what each person noticed, before memory fades and sessions blur together.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Portigal, S. (2023). Interviewing users: How to uncover compelling insights (2nd ed.). Rosenfeld Media. rosenfeldmedia.com
Desk research

Research that draws on material which already exists, such as published studies, policy papers, usage data and support records, before any new data is collected.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
Diary study

A study in which participants record their own activities, thoughts or problems over days or weeks, capturing events a researcher could not be present for.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Rohrer, C. (2022). When to use which user-experience research methods. Nielsen Norman Group. nngroup.com
  • Bolger, N., Davis, A., & Rafaeli, E. (2003). Diary methods: Capturing life as it is lived. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 579–616. doi
Discovery research

Research done before designing, to learn what people do now and why.

  • Hall, E. (2019). Just enough research (2nd ed.). A Book Apart. abookapart.com
  • Portigal, S. (2023). Interviewing users: How to uncover compelling insights (2nd ed.). Rosenfeld Media. rosenfeldmedia.com
  • Rohrer, C. (2022). When to use which user-experience research methods. Nielsen Norman Group. nngroup.com
Discussion guide

The interviewer's plan for a session: the topics, the main questions and rough timings. It is a prompt to work from, not a script to read out.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Portigal, S. (2023). Interviewing users: How to uncover compelling insights (2nd ed.). Rosenfeld Media. rosenfeldmedia.com
  • Hall, E. (2019). Just enough research (2nd ed.). A Book Apart. abookapart.com
E
Ethnography

The study of a group in its own setting over an extended period, through observation and taking part, to understand practices as the group itself understands them.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Hammersley, M., & Atkinson, P. (2019). Ethnography: Principles in practice (4th ed.). Routledge. doi
F
Field notes

The researcher's written record of what was seen and heard during fieldwork, made at the time or soon after, keeping description apart from the researcher's own reading of it.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (2011). Writing ethnographic fieldnotes (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press. doi
Focus group

A moderated discussion among a small group of participants on a set topic. It shows how people talk about a subject together, not how each of them behaves.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Krueger, R. A., & Casey, M. A. (2015). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research (5th ed.). SAGE.
G
Gatekeeper

A person who controls access to participants, such as a school leader.

  • British Educational Research Association. (2024). Ethical guidelines for educational research (5th ed.). bera.ac.uk
H
Hawthorne effect

A change in people's behaviour caused by knowing they are being observed or studied. It is also called the observer effect.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • McCambridge, J., Witton, J., & Elbourne, D. R. (2014). Systematic review of the Hawthorne effect: New concepts are needed to study research participation effects. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 67(3), 267–277. doi
I
Incentive

A payment, voucher or other thanks given to participants for their time. Its size and form can change who volunteers, and in schools it may be restricted.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Government Digital Service. (2020). Find user research participants. GOV.UK Service Manual. gov.uk
  • Portigal, S. (2023). Interviewing users: How to uncover compelling insights (2nd ed.). Rosenfeld Media. rosenfeldmedia.com
Interpretation

A reading of what an observation means. It should be recorded separately and tested.

  • Ross, R. (1994). The ladder of inference. In P. M. Senge, A. Kleiner, C. Roberts, R. B. Ross, & B. J. Smith, The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization. Currency Doubleday. archive.org
  • Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 2(2), 175–220. doi
J
Job to be done

The progress a person is trying to make in a particular circumstance (Christensen et al., 2016).

  • Christensen, C. M., Hall, T., Dillon, K., & Duncan, D. S. (2016). Competing against luck: The story of innovation and customer choice. HarperBusiness. archive.org
  • Christensen, C. M., Hall, T., Dillon, K., & Duncan, D. S. (2016). Know your customers' "jobs to be done". Harvard Business Review, 94(9), 54–62. hbr.org
  • Christensen, C. M., & Raynor, M. E. (2003). The innovator's solution: Creating and sustaining successful growth. Harvard Business School Press.
L
Ladder of inference

The steps from observable data to beliefs and actions, each adding the observer's meaning (Ross, 1994).

  • Ross, R. (1994). The ladder of inference. In P. M. Senge, A. Kleiner, C. Roberts, R. B. Ross, & B. J. Smith, The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization. Currency Doubleday. archive.org
  • Argyris, C. (1990). Overcoming organizational defenses: Facilitating organizational learning. Allyn and Bacon.
Laddering

An interview technique that repeatedly asks why something matters, moving from a feature a person mentions to the consequence and then the value behind it.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Reynolds, T. J., & Gutman, J. (1988). Laddering theory, method, analysis, and interpretation. Journal of Advertising Research, 28(1), 11–31. doi
Lundy model of participation

Four conditions for children's participation to mean something: space to form and express a view, support to express it, an audience with the power to act, and influence (Lundy, 2007).

  • Lundy, L. (2007). ‘Voice’ is not enough: Conceptualising Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. British Educational Research Journal, 33(6), 927–942. doi
  • United Nations. (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child (General Assembly resolution 44/25). ohchr.org
M
Master–apprentice model

The relationship a researcher adopts in contextual inquiry, learning the work as an apprentice would, while it is under way (Holtzblatt & Beyer, 2013).

  • Holtzblatt, K., & Beyer, H. R. (2013). Contextual design. In M. Soegaard & R. F. Dam (Eds.), The encyclopedia of human-computer interaction (2nd ed.). Interaction Design Foundation. ixdf.org
  • Beyer, H., & Holtzblatt, K. (1998). Contextual design: Defining customer-centered systems. Morgan Kaufmann. archive.org
N
Need

The progress a person is trying to make, inferred from what they say and do.

  • Christensen, C. M., Hall, T., Dillon, K., & Duncan, D. S. (2016). Competing against luck: The story of innovation and customer choice. HarperBusiness. archive.org
O
Observation

A record of what happened, of the kind a camera would capture.

R06 Something that happened in a research session and that others could check from the record.

  • Ross, R. (1994). The ladder of inference. In P. M. Senge, A. Kleiner, C. Roberts, R. B. Ross, & B. J. Smith, The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization. Currency Doubleday. archive.org
  • Pidcock, D. (2018). What is atomic UX research? Prototypr. blog.prototypr.io
  • Beyer, H., & Holtzblatt, K. (1998). Contextual design: Defining customer-centered systems. Morgan Kaufmann. archive.org
Open question

A question that cannot be answered with yes, no or a single word, so the participant has to describe or explain in their own words.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Rosala, M. (2022). 6 mistakes when crafting interview questions. Nielsen Norman Group. nngroup.com
  • Portigal, S. (2023). Interviewing users: How to uncover compelling insights (2nd ed.). Rosenfeld Media. rosenfeldmedia.com
P
Participant observation

Fieldwork in which the researcher joins in the activity being studied, to some degree, while observing it.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Spradley, J. P. (1980). Participant observation. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. doi
Probe

A follow-up question that asks a participant to say more about something they have just said, such as "what happened next?"

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Portigal, S. (2023). Interviewing users: How to uncover compelling insights (2nd ed.). Rosenfeld Media. rosenfeldmedia.com
  • Spradley, J. P. (1979). The ethnographic interview. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Purposive sampling

Choosing participants deliberately because they can say most about the question, not at random. It is the usual approach in qualitative studies.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). SAGE.
Q
Qualitative and quantitative research

Qualitative methods collect data directly and suit questions about why and how; quantitative methods collect it indirectly and suit questions about how many and how much (Rohrer, 2022).

  • Rohrer, C. (2022). When to use which user-experience research methods. Nielsen Norman Group. nngroup.com
R
Rapport

The working trust between interviewer and participant that makes a participant willing to speak frankly.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Portigal, S. (2023). Interviewing users: How to uncover compelling insights (2nd ed.). Rosenfeld Media. rosenfeldmedia.com
  • Spradley, J. P. (1979). The ethnographic interview. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Recall bias

Error that arises because people remember past events incompletely or inaccurately, and remember recent or striking events best.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Nisbett, R. E., & Wilson, T. D. (1977). Telling more than we can know: Verbal reports on mental processes. Psychological Review, 84(3), 231–259. doi
  • Coughlin, S. S. (1990). Recall bias in epidemiologic studies. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 43(1), 87–91. doi
Reflexive loop

The way beliefs influence what data we select next time, so that an early reading of a few sessions decides what the researcher notices in the rest (Ross, 1994).

  • Ross, R. (1994). The ladder of inference. In P. M. Senge, A. Kleiner, C. Roberts, R. B. Ross, & B. J. Smith, The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization. Currency Doubleday. archive.org
Right to be heard

A child's right to express views freely in all matters affecting them, with those views given due weight in accordance with the child's age and maturity (United Nations, 1989).

  • United Nations. (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child (General Assembly resolution 44/25). ohchr.org
  • Lundy, L. (2007). ‘Voice’ is not enough: Conceptualising Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. British Educational Research Journal, 33(6), 927–942. doi
  • British Educational Research Association. (2024). Ethical guidelines for educational research (5th ed.). bera.ac.uk
S
Say–do gap

The difference between what people report about their behaviour and what they actually do.

  • LaPiere, R. T. (1934). Attitudes vs. actions. Social Forces, 13(2), 230–237. doi
  • Nisbett, R. E., & Wilson, T. D. (1977). Telling more than we can know: Verbal reports on mental processes. Psychological Review, 84(3), 231–259. doi
  • Nielsen, J. (2001). First rule of usability? Don't listen to users. Nielsen Norman Group. nngroup.com
Screener

A short set of questions put to possible participants before a study, used to select those who fit the recruitment criteria and leave out those who do not.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Government Digital Service. (2020). Find user research participants. GOV.UK Service Manual. gov.uk
  • Portigal, S. (2023). Interviewing users: How to uncover compelling insights (2nd ed.). Rosenfeld Media. rosenfeldmedia.com
Semi-structured interview

An interview that follows a prepared list of topics but lets the interviewer change the order and follow up on whatever the participant raises.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Portigal, S. (2023). Interviewing users: How to uncover compelling insights (2nd ed.). Rosenfeld Media. rosenfeldmedia.com
  • Brinkmann, S., & Kvale, S. (2015). InterViews: Learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing (3rd ed.). SAGE.
Shadowing

Following one person through their working day and recording what they do, where, with whom and with what tools.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • McDonald, S. (2005). Studying actions in context: A qualitative shadowing method for organizational research. Qualitative Research, 5(4), 455–473. doi
Snowball sampling

Recruiting by asking each participant to suggest others. It reaches groups that are hard to find, but tends to return people who resemble those already recruited.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Goodman, L. A. (1961). Snowball sampling. The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 32(1), 148–170. doi
Social desirability

The pull towards answers that sound right or please the person asking.

  • Nielsen, J. (2001). First rule of usability? Don't listen to users. Nielsen Norman Group. nngroup.com
  • Crowne, D. P., & Marlowe, D. (1960). A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 24(4), 349–354. doi
Stakeholder interview

An interview with someone inside the organisation or its partners, held to learn the project's goals, constraints and politics before research with users begins.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
T
Tacit knowledge

Knowledge of their own work practice that people are not consciously aware of, and become aware of only in the doing (Holtzblatt & Beyer, 2013).

  • Holtzblatt, K., & Beyer, H. R. (2013). Contextual design. In M. Soegaard & R. F. Dam (Eds.), The encyclopedia of human-computer interaction (2nd ed.). Interaction Design Foundation. ixdf.org
  • Polanyi, M. (1966). The tacit dimension. Doubleday.
Triangulation

Checking a finding against more than one method, data source or researcher, so that a weakness in any one of them is less likely to mislead.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Denzin, N. K. (1978). The research act: A theoretical introduction to sociological methods (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
  • Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). SAGE.
V
Verbatim

A participant's exact words, quoted without paraphrase. It is kept as evidence so that readers can judge the researcher's interpretation for themselves.

  • R04Discovery researchFrom the field · not in the guide
  • Portigal, S. (2023). Interviewing users: How to uncover compelling insights (2nd ed.). Rosenfeld Media. rosenfeldmedia.com
Volunteer bias

The difference between people who choose to take part in research and those who do not (Rosenthal & Rosnow, 1975).

  • Rosenthal, R., & Rosnow, R. L. (1975). The volunteer subject. Wiley. books.google.com
  • Price, P. C., Jhangiani, R. S., & Chiang, I. A. (2015). Research methods in psychology (2nd Canadian ed.). BCcampus. opentextbc.ca
  • Government Digital Service. (2020). Find user research participants. GOV.UK Service Manual. gov.uk

Nearby

The guide itself, and the ones either side

Read discovery research (opens in a new tab)Design thinking Evaluative research All 21 guides
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