Online vs. In-Person User Research

Before taking on the role leading a team of UX folks, I consulted on a wide variety of projects in a slew of different industries. Anyone who has worked with me knows the first thing I always recommend is doing some research. My motto has always been "some research is better than no research." Every single time I recommend user research, the first question I get asked is "well, but what kind?" This is where I explain the differences and nuances between online and in-person research, focus groups vs. 1:1 interviews, and moderated vs. unmoderated activity.

I have been lucky enough in my career to have gained extensive experience in all of the above forms of primary qualitative user research. I fully recognize that there are other methods and there are most definitely trends that come and go. I may be old-fashioned (for a UXer), but in my opinion, if time and budget allow, in-person user research is always the way to go.

Don't get me wrong - there are absolutely pros to remote studies, but I whole-heartedly believe that even the cons of in-person moderated studies almost always outweigh the pros of remote studies. I suppose the next question is "Well...what ARE the pros and cons of online vs. in-person research?"

While I could write a book on this topic alone, I believe the primary advantage to doing in-person testing is the enormous wealth of insights that can come from non-verbal communication skills...things like body language, facial expressions and generally reading the "poker face" of a participant in a research study. Sure, some of that can come across through video when doing a remote study, but in my experience even with the advancements in technology today, there is still a lag in video and things like facial expressions are hard to read when a researcher isn't in the same room as a user. A quick sideways glance of confusion can easily be overlooked when you are looking at your research participant through screens.

While I much prefer in-person studies, my teams leverage A LOT of remote research. Why? Mostly because of budget. When I live by the motto "some research is better than no research," it's more economical to "spread the wealth" and do some research on all our projects across the development lifecycle than to splurge all our research budget on one study...and I am literally putting my money where my mouth is, after all.

Additionally, remote testing allows us to turn around insights quicker since the complexities of travel aren't involved and the sessions can be scheduled back-to-back with little logistical effort and immediate analysis to follow.

What are your thoughts? How does your team execute research? What topic should I write about next?