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Berkeley Global
Get an introduction to the fundamentals of UX research. You gain an understanding of the logistics and theory of conducting user research and how to impact user experience design and product development. You also learn best practices for determining when to use particular methodologies, either qualitative or quantitative research and how to develop appropriate research interviews.
You then apply user research to better understand user behaviors, needs and motivations through observation techniques, task analysis and other feedback methodologies. You also learn about eye tracking and where a person is looking when using a device.
User experience research (UXR) aims at improving the usability of products or services by incorporating experimental and observational research methods to guide the design, development and refinement of a product. Class assignments offer you opportunities to define research objectives, develop a research plan, conduct contextual interviews, execute a research study, analyze results and report findings effectively. You conclude the course with a portfolio project that demonstrates your research skills, when and how to apply different research methods for products or services.
See a sample of former student Megan Wilkinson who works for Google as a UX researcher.
Course Outline
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Course Objectives
UC Berkeley Extension designs the best possible online learning experience to give you the skills to produce a quality portfolio and become a confident research and design professional.
- Understand usability testing and user experience
- Study logistic and theoretical components of applied research
- Explore best practices for developing a research plan
- Learn how research contributes to a design effort
- Develop, conduct, analyze and report findings from a user research study
- Ensure that research is applicable to product development
- Explore quantitative and qualitative research methods
What You Learn
User research is used to identify user behaviors, needs, experience and motivations through various qualitative and quantitative methods to improve the process of solving user’s problems and refine a product or service.
- Research plans
- Moderator goals
- Recruiting/sourcing
- Legal considerations
- Contextual inquiry
- Accessibility and ethics
- Persona development
- Research presentation
- Heuristic evaluations
- Cognitive walkthroughs
- UX research in the organizational context
- Usability vs. user experience
- Quantitative vs. qualitative methods
- Mixed methods to understanding users
- Ethnography research
- Diary studies to understand user behaviors
- Synthesize, create and plan online surveys
- Survey findings with stakeholders to create buy-in
- Research questions and methods
- Interaction with participants and observers for quality data collection
- Iteration accompanied with user research to product development
- Introduction to eye tracking in UX research
- Engagement with internal stakeholders and external clients
How You Learn
We are online! All of the design classes are conducted online including: video classes, mentor-led learning and peer-to-peer support through our student online platform, Canvas.
- Lectures
- Reading assignments
- Quizzes (at instructor’s discretion)
- Small-group activities
- Homework assignments
- Capstone project
Is This Course Right for You?
If you are interested in conducting user research to create better products and websites, or want to pursue a career in the UX field, you should enroll. Our experienced instructors monitor your development along with peer-to-peer support on our student online platform.
After completing this course, you are ready for Information Architecture (IA) and Content Strategy.
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