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Examining the Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on UX Research Practice Through UX Blogs

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Book cover Design, User Experience, and Usability: UX Research and Design (HCII 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 12779))

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Abstract

This study investigates the emerging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the user experience research (UXR) practices by a systematic review of the grey literature focusing on remote UXR experiences. We reviewed 49 selected blog posts which share content about post-pandemic UXR experiences, and subjected them to content analysis. The findings show that the majority of the online discussions of the UXR community evolve around the types and methods of research with an apparent focus on moderated user research and user interviews. Equally common, step-by-step research methodology has been under scrutiny by the UXR professionals, such as concerns and practical tips regarding how research is planned, conducted, how findings are analysed and insights are generated based on the specific conditions of the pandemic. Other findings include debates and discussions about remote collaboration, trustworthiness of the research, wellbeing and empathy for others, and opportunities of remote UXR during the pandemic. In the light of the findings and the literature, we discuss the future long term effects of the ‘new normal’ on work life and UXR, and identify the potential paths to support diverse, effective, ethical and rigorous research practices.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Appendices are accessible as separate sheets at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AlVmp0lgYdrSBlx6tl3WFpb3_iGZFYefZM35eOQm3SQ/.

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Acknowledgements

This work is funded by TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) Grant number: 120K215.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial Design, TED University, 06420, Ankara, Turkey

    Sedef Süner-Pla-Cerdà

  2. METU/BILTIR-UTEST Product Usability Unit, Department of Industrial Design, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

    Gülşen Töre Yargın, Hilal Şahin & Semih Danış

Authors
  1. Sedef Süner-Pla-Cerdà
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  2. Gülşen Töre Yargın
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  3. Hilal Şahin
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  4. Semih Danış
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sedef Süner-Pla-Cerdà .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hunan University, School of Design, Changsha, China

    Marcelo M. Soares

  2. World Usability Day and Rabb School of Continuing Studies, Division of Graduate Professional Studies, Brandeis University, Newton Center, MA, USA

    Elizabeth Rosenzweig

  3. Aaron Marcus and Associates, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Aaron Marcus

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Süner-Pla-Cerdà, S., Töre Yargın, G., Şahin, H., Danış, S. (2021). Examining the Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on UX Research Practice Through UX Blogs. In: Soares, M.M., Rosenzweig, E., Marcus, A. (eds) Design, User Experience, and Usability: UX Research and Design. HCII 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12779. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78221-4_40

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78221-4_40

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-78220-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-78221-4

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