"O ye'll take the high road, and I'll take the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye." - The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond
User research requires – you guessed it – users.
Whether you’re we’re running an online study or an in-person one, you we will need to get a certain number of representative users to volunteer their time to do your our tree test.
In some cases, recruiting is really easy. You We put a study invitation on your our high-traffic website, some fraction of visitors click it and do your the test, and you’re we're done.
In many cases, however, your our job is more difficult. Perhaps you are we're looking for a certain subset of users. Perhaps you we don’t have an existing website to draw traffic. Perhaps your our audience is small enough that it’s hard to get enough users to volunteer.
In this chapter, we discuss how to decide which (and how many) participants you we need, how to get their attention, and how to persuade them to do your our study.
How many participants?
overview text here~50 per user group, depending on the # of questions per participant
Different user groups
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Recruiting for separate tests vs. a single "everyone" test
Using web ads
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Choosing sites/pages/position, creating the ad, and explanation pages
Using email lists
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Inviting in batches, filtering lists, opting out, etc.
Using social media
overview text hereWho to target, what to say
Using commercial panels
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How panels work, quality of participants, and caveats
Using integrated recruitment tools
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Similar to commercial panels, but easier to use
Other ways to recruit
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Mechanical Turk, trade groups/forums, friends & family, etc.
Dealing with selection bias
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What it is, what causes it, and how to reduce it
Coordinating audiences and channels
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Recruiting different types of users using different media
Screening for specific participants
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Filtering databases, using targeted email lists, and asking explicit questions
Restricting access with a password
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Sending the invitation separately from the password
Writing a good invitation
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4 tips and a template
Offering incentives
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Usually necessary, and usually a prize draw
Recruiting for in-person sessions
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Getting the right participant in the right room at the right time