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Design Research

Primary Research

Sometimes you can't get all the information you need from secondary research (i.e. researching what other people have written), and you need to create/gather your own information (primary research).  Some types of primary research include:

  • focus groups
  • interviews
  • surveys/questionnaires
  • observation
  • ethnographic research (the study of people in their own environments)
  • self-ethnography

Check out the sources below to learn methods of collecting new information:

Image of book cover: A designer's research manual
Image of book cover of The Pocket Universal Methods of Design
Image of book cover for Design integrations

Designers Discussing the Research Process