Explore an unfamiliar problem
Use open, contextual methods to understand people, language, needs, environments and the forces shaping behaviour.
Research Methods Library
A practical guide to choosing research methods that fit your question, audience, context and decision.
A research method is a tool, not the starting point. The right approach depends on what your team needs to learn, who can provide the evidence, where the experience happens and what decision will follow.
This library helps teams understand the role of different methods. In a live project, UX Pacific shapes the method mix around the question, risk, audience, market, access and available evidence rather than forcing every challenge into the same format.
Start with the decision, not the method
Evaluate an experience
Observe people using a product, service, space or prototype to locate friction and understand why it occurs.
Measure a pattern or change
Use structured measures with an appropriate sample to estimate prevalence, compare groups or track experience over time.
Align teams around action
Combine evidence, journey thinking and collaborative methods to frame priorities and make decisions together.
Research method families
Discovery and qualitative research
Interviews, contextual inquiry, observation, diary studies and ethnographic approaches reveal needs, motivations, language and lived context.
Evaluative research
Usability testing, concept testing and prototype evaluation show how an experience performs and why people encounter difficulty.
Quantitative research
Surveys, structured measures and benchmarking quantify patterns when the question, sample and measure support valid interpretation.
Journey and service research
Journey mapping, service blueprinting and touchpoint research connect frontstage experience with the processes and teams behind it.
Participatory methods
Co-design, stakeholder workshops and collaborative synthesis bring relevant perspectives into framing and solution development.
Global and cross-market research
Localized research, multi-country studies and cross-market comparison examine what remains consistent and what changes by context.
How we select the right method mix
- 01Decision: what must the team choose, change, approve or prioritise?
- 02Evidence need: do we need depth, context, evaluation, measurement, comparison or a combination?
- 03Audience and access: who must take part, how specific are they and where can research happen responsibly?
- 04Stage and risk: is the team exploring, designing, validating, launching or improving a live experience?
- 05Context: which markets, languages, devices, environments, accessibility needs and operational constraints matter?
How methods work together
One method rarely answers every question. A programme might begin with interviews to discover needs, use a survey to understand how widely patterns occur, test concepts with users and establish measures for later tracking. Each phase should answer a distinct question and inform the next decision.
DISCOVER
Understand the context
Find the needs, behaviours and conditions that matter.
TEST
Evaluate possible directions
Learn how concepts and experiences work before decisions harden.
MEASURE
Track patterns and change
Use defined measures to understand scale, difference or movement.
Evidence quality is part of the method
Method choice alone does not make research credible. Quality also depends on clear eligibility criteria, appropriate recruitment, informed consent, accessible participation, trained moderation, fieldwork monitoring, secure data handling, structured analysis and traceability from evidence to conclusion.
What your team can receive
Depending on scope, outputs may include a research plan, participant criteria, discussion or task guides, evidence repository, findings, clips or quotes with agreed permissions, journey views, prioritised implications, workshop materials and a decision-ready report.
Methodological boundaries matter
Qualitative research explains patterns and meaning but does not estimate population prevalence by itself. Survey results depend on sampling, question design and response quality. Benchmarks require comparable measures and conditions. Research findings reflect the participants, context and timeframe studied, so limitations and unanswered questions should remain visible in every recommendation.
Let us help shape the next step
Have an experience question of your own?
Tell us what you want to understand and the decision you need to make. We will help define a practical research approach.