The terms \u201cuser research\u201d and \u201cUX research\u201d tend to be used interchangeably\u2014but are they really the same thing? Does it even matter?<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re a user or UX researcher, you may be curious about any differences between the two terms, and what that might mean in relation to your role. Perhaps you\u2019re considering a career in user\/UX research and want to get clarification before you start any kind of training.<\/p>\n
Either way, the topic of user research vs. UX research is increasingly garnering attention in the field. But is it just semantics or are there meaningful distinctions to be made? Let\u2019s find out.<\/p>\n\n [GET CERTIFIED IN USER RESEARCH]<\/p>\n Take our Professional Certificate in User Research<\/span>\n <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n Before we try to answer this question, let\u2019s go right back to basics with a definition of each term.<\/p>\n User research is the process of studying your target users. Target users are the people whose needs and preferences you want to understand and ultimately meet. The purpose of user research is to deeply understand your target users\u2019 behaviours, emotions, needs, motivations, goals, and frustrations within a given context\u2014for example, within the context of trying to eat healthily or maintain a sustainable fitness regime.<\/p>\n UX research, or user experience research, can also be defined as the study of target users. And, just like user research, UX research seeks to establish a deep understanding of the target users\u2019 goals, behaviours, feelings, needs, and pain-points. We can expand on this definition slightly, though, to add that UX research focuses particularly on the users\u2019 experience with a specific product or service\u2014be it an existing product or service, or one that\u2019s about to be designed.<\/p>\n Based on those definitions, we can draw the initial conclusion that UX research is simply a more specific subset of user research.<\/p>\n But does that hold true in practice?<\/b> Let\u2019s dive a little deeper.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019ve established that both UX research and user research are concerned with the study of target users. And, given that the terms are mostly used interchangeably, it\u2019s no surprise that there\u2019s plenty of overlap between the two.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s what UX research and user research have in common:<\/span><\/p>\n Based on that list, it\u2019s hard to imagine how any distinction can possibly be drawn between the two. But some people do indeed consider them slightly different disciplines based on some subtle nuances. Let\u2019s explore those now.<\/p>\n If you zoom in very closely on what user research and UX research entail\u2014and consider the finer details of when, how, and why they\u2019re carried out\u2014you can find some subtle differences between the two.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s how you might distinguish between user research and UX research:<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s important to note that these potential differences are not always evident or even relevant in practice. There are plenty of user researchers who work in UX; the terms, and job titles, are used interchangeably 99% of the time.<\/p>\n On that note, it\u2019s worth exploring what happens when you look for \u201cuser researcher\u201d and \u201cUX researcher\u201d jobs. This gives us great insight into how employers define and use the two job titles, and whether or not there\u2019s a difference in terms of tasks and responsibilities. So let\u2019s do that!<\/p>\n We\u2019ve outlined some theoretical differences between user research and UX research. But do these subtle nuances have any real-world implications?<\/strong><\/p>\n To see whether or not there\u2019s a tangible, practical difference between the two, we ran a little experiment. We searched for both \u201cuser researcher\u201d and \u201cUX researcher\u201d jobs online and compared the results. Here\u2019s what happened.<\/p>\n It would seem that it makes no difference if you search for user researcher or UX researcher roles: you\u2019ll ultimately get the same mixture of job titles in the results. <\/span><\/p>\n So how about salary? <\/b>Interestingly, the Indeed salary portal makes no distinction between \u201cUX researcher\u201d and \u201cuser researcher\u201d. Search for both \u201cuser researcher\u201d and \u201cUX researcher\u201d salaries and you won\u2019t get a single salary figure. Instead, you\u2019ll be shown salary data for a variety of job titles such as user experience researcher and user experience designer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The closest match, in this case, is \u201cuser experience researcher\u201d (which is just the UX researcher job title written out in full). If you\u2019re interested, the average salary for this role is $124,000 in the United States (based on <\/span>data collected by Indeed<\/span><\/a>).<\/span> And what if we compare UX researcher job descriptions to user researcher roles? <\/b>This should give us some insight into whether or not employers actually distinguish between the two in terms of function, tasks, and responsibilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Here are the job descriptions we compared:<\/span><\/p>\n [GET CERTIFIED IN UX]<\/p>\n Take our Professional Diploma in UX Design course<\/span>\n <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n And here\u2019s what we found.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n There are many common threads between the roles in terms of tasks and responsibilities:<\/span><\/p>\n As well as one notable difference: the user researcher roles have a strong strategic focus, emphasising the importance of aligning research outcomes with business goals. While all job descriptions involve conducting user research, the UX researcher roles are notably more hands-on with research execution.<\/p>\n Does this mean that employers view user researchers and UX researchers as two different roles? <\/b><\/p>\n Possibly, and not necessarily. The difference between the UX researcher and user researcher roles we\u2019ve studied (and bear in mind, it\u2019s a very small sample!) may be down to differences in how each company and team is set up, as well as their general focus, rather than any major fundamental differences between the user researcher and UX researcher job titles.<\/p>\n Ultimately, it\u2019s important to evaluate each job ad in relation to the context: the company posting it, the seniority level of the role, and the size and structure of the wider team.<\/p>\n Generally speaking, though, user researchers and UX researchers are viewed as one and the same. Whether advertising for a UX researcher, a user researcher, or some other variation on the job title: employers appear to require the same skills, methodologies, and mindset.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve outlined all the ways in which user research and UX research are identical, and pointed out some differences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So what\u2019s the verdict? Is it necessary to distinguish between the two, or can we accept that the terms are interchangeable despite some subtle nuances?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n In the end, it really boils down to context. In essence, user researchers and UX researchers do the same thing. They conduct research to build a deep understanding of their target users.<\/span><\/p>\n In a UX and design context, these insights are used to make smart design decisions that will improve the user\u2019s experience of a given product. Outside of UX, user research can play a critical role in informing business strategies and improving marketing efforts. These differences may or may not come into play depending on the company and the team into which the researcher is hired.<\/span><\/p>\n For all intents and purposes, we expect that the terms will continue to be used interchangeably. Distinctions can be drawn upon closer inspection, but ultimately, these differences have little to no impact in terms of the skills you\u2019ll need to learn, the qualifications you\u2019ll need to obtain, and the roles you can apply for.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Whether you want to focus on user research for UX and product design, or build a research career in another domain\u2014you\u2019ll need to master the art and science of conducting user research. This includes:<\/p>\n If you\u2019re new to user research (or want to consolidate and verify your existing research skills), consider a formal user research qualification. This will ensure that you cover all essential ground, teach you how to apply your research skills in a real-world context, and equip you with both a credible certification and a professional research portfolio\u2014allowing you to demonstrate what you\u2019re capable of and confidently apply for user research (and UX research) roles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Want to learn more about UX and user research in the meantime? Check out these posts:<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" User research and UX research: interchangeable terms or two different disciplines? Explore how the two differ and where they overlap in this guide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":10619,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[279],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ux-explained"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9121"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9352,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9121\/revisions\/9352"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>Are user research and UX research the same thing?<\/h2>\n
<\/a>UX research vs. user research: similarities and overlap<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>User research vs. UX research: some subtle differences between the two<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>User researcher vs. UX researcher job titles: do employers distinguish between the two roles?<\/h2>\n
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\n<\/span>\u201c<\/span>In this role, you will play an integral part in providing hands-on experience and proficiency in managing tracking surveys and quantitative research. You will conduct in-depth data analyses, develop and implement quantitative research methods, and track user sentiments to inform our business decisions.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
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\n<\/span>\u201c<\/span>As the Lead User Researcher, you will be responsible for conducting research and utilising mixed methodologies to gather insights on user needs, behaviours, and motivations. You will use this information to inform and improve the product design and user experience of our service, as well as contribute to the experience strategy.\u201d<\/span><\/i>
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\n<\/span>\u201cAs a User Experience Researcher (UXR), you\u2019ll help your team of UXers, product managers, and engineers understand user needs. You\u2019ll work with stakeholders across functions and levels and have impact at all stages of product development. You\u2019ll play a critical role in creating useful, usable, and delightful products.”<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
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\n<\/span>\u201cOur UX Research team is designing for the global diversity of human needs, which requires us to deeply understand the behaviours of the people behind them. Our researchers tackle some of the most complex challenges to gain deeper insights into how people interact with each other and the world around them, and work collaboratively to contribute new ideas to products that impact the experiences of billions of people on a global scale.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
<\/a>UX research vs. user research: the final verdict<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Planning a career in user or UX research? Here\u2019s how to get started<\/h2>\n
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