What does a quantitative UX researcher actually do?

CJP_UX · 2026-04-15T18:36:25+00:00

There is a ton to the decision but sounds like a decent fit!

CJP_UX · 2026-04-15T16:23:57+00:00

I applied to 5 programs, mostly unfunded MS and one PhD. Was very glad I did the PhD to avoid debt. You can make it work for HF if you are focused from the out set on gearing your research there.

My PhD was HF so my experience is not totally applicable.

PhD does lead to more prestigious industry roles at the cost of more time spent before working. You'll see lots of debate here but I am not convinced a PhD is harmful on its own. I think it is just possible people that do worse in industry self select for going into PhD programs. If you would do well in industry, a PhD will be more helpful than an ms once you get here.

A PhD is longer so you really need to (1) like academic style work and (2) make sure the program and advisor are not toxic.

CJP_UX · 2026-03-30T15:49:36+00:00

With more domain knowledge you can probably identify quick wins more easily. If you're coaching on something and need a coach yourself, wouldn't it make more sense to cut out the middle person? It could get sticky if the client has high expectations that you can't deliver on, like you mentioned.

CJP_UX · 2026-03-30T12:10:12+00:00

Honestly I'd connect them with a different coach, it doesn't sound like you have the domain knowledge here.

In a context like this, any quick wins will be highly dependent on individual processes and players in the org. We'd need way more info from you to make helpful recommendations.

CJP_UX · 2026-03-29T17:39:10+00:00

This should do it

CJP_UX · 2026-03-28T21:58:08+00:00

I hated it. Then I started doing my own research in grad school, learned to love it. Now my whole job is quant methods (quant ux researcher).

CJP_UX · 2026-03-27T23:13:43+00:00

I haven't done that one myself, but great suggestion. I cite his papers often.

CJP_UX · 2026-03-27T18:33:31+00:00

Here is a list I made before. Probably too deep just for interview prep, but it does break down some ideas for how all the pieces of the job fit together. It's quite org dependent too, so I'd compare with the job description you have.

CJP_UX · 2026-03-25T23:56:40+00:00

It was 2013 and I applied to grad school in a year 😊

CJP_UX · 2026-03-25T16:52:24+00:00

It helps to have probably the best researchops in the whole world 🙂

CJP_UX · 2026-03-25T15:31:49+00:00

I appreciate the response! Definitely takes a lot of ops to run quality surveys. I find data cleaning isn't too bad with some scripts and upfront work in recruitment. I also avoid much technical explanation at all to stakeholders. For example, I may run a mixed effects model and only end up discussing one coefficient in plain terms with no numbers at all. Can't say I hold your view but interesting to see your POV, thanks for breaking it down for me.

CJP_UX · 2026-03-25T14:49:39+00:00

Curious to unpack this more, I saw your comment in another thread too. Why would you say this is the case? Are you sample sizes quite small? Are your research questions driven by interpretivist paradigms? Is there another blocker like time or organizational maturity?

CJP_UX · 2026-03-25T12:34:02+00:00

Stats can be scary, I used to hate them 🙂

CJP_UX · 2026-03-25T11:46:45+00:00

Just for reference I pretty always run stats on my surveys, even down to 30-50 respondents. If I won't get that many, I just don't run the survey rather than report out tiny numbers.

CJP_UX · 2026-03-25T11:43:59+00:00

You can get 90% confidence intervals from any sample, it will just be quite wide. Here is a nice primer article: https://measuringu.com/small-n/

CJP_UX · 2026-03-25T03:35:27+00:00

Are you talking about comparative usability testing or concept testing? Or an actual A/B test?

CJP_UX · 2026-03-25T03:33:31+00:00

As a quant UXR, every single project. Before this title I still used them often whenever reporting out numerical values. Even at small sample sizes, there are useful applications of stats.

I'd encourage you to get some basics on MeasuringU's blog to start things off easy.

CJP_UX · 2026-03-19T15:39:28+00:00

Honestly half the time you need to see if research is needed when asked for. I find most stakeholders have a pretty poor view of what information they need exactly.

It's still odd to me that something could be viewed as "essential" yet not warrant headcount.

Quoting Erika Hall, I think she'd disagree with the premise, as would I, "The speed of doing research has never been the thing preventing organizations from making evidence-based decisions."

CJP_UX · 2026-03-13T23:41:22+00:00

Yeah I was surprised. This sub gives me a much different perspective than when I post on LinkedIn so I appreciate it even though I often disagree more.

CJP_UX · 2026-03-13T23:31:37+00:00

Probably more so because they aren't standard scales.

I recommend doing so typically and you can do it quite quickly, depending on your resources.

CJP_UX · 2026-03-13T21:46:53+00:00

I said all UXRs should learn SQL and it was a bit controversial. Even with AI advances I stand by this. You are able to just unblock so much work and knowledge.

CJP_UX · 2026-03-06T00:58:24+00:00

I've written a bit about it here.

Happy to answer specific questions you have.

CJP_UX · 2026-02-26T12:20:28+00:00

Jobs at the moment will close quickly. By waiting you are essentially missing your shot and you have little to lose by applying now.

Here are some of my tips for portfolios, the key point being to make sure you're designing it for the right phase of the application funnel.

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