"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 running an online study or an in-person one, you will need to get a certain number of representative users to volunteer their time to do your tree test.
In some cases, recruiting is really easy. You put a study invitation on your high-traffic website, some fraction of visitors click it and do your test, and you’re done.
In many cases, however, your job is more difficult. Perhaps you are looking for a certain subset of users. Perhaps you don’t have an existing website to draw traffic. Perhaps your 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 need, how to get their attention, and how to persuade them to do your study.
How many participants?
~50 per user group, depending on the # of questions per participant
Different user groups
Recruiting for separate tests vs. a single "everyone" test
Using web ads
Choosing sites/pages/position, creating the ad, and explanation pages
Using email lists
Inviting in batches, filtering lists, opting out, etc.
Using social media
Who to target, what to say
Using commercial panels
How panels work, quality of participants, and caveats
Using integrated recruitment tools
Similar to commercial panels, but easier to use
Other ways to recruit
Mechanical Turk, trade groups/forums, friends & family, etc.
Dealing with selection bias
What it is, what causes it, and how to reduce it
Coordinating audiences and channels
Recruiting multiple audiences using multiple channels
Screening for specific participants
Filtering databases, using targeted email lists, and asking explicit questions
Restricting access with a password
Sending the invitation separately from the password
Writing a good invitation
4 tips and a template
Offering incentives
Usually necessary, and usually a prize draw
Recruiting for in-person sessions
- overview text here