User Experience
Quantitative Research
Plain English
Using numbers to understand glossaryBehaviourBehaviour refers to how users interact with a system, including actions, patterns, and responses.Open glossary term.
Definition
Quantitative serviceUser ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service uses numerical glossaryDataData is raw, uninterpreted information collected and stored so it can be analysed, processed, or used to inform decisions. On its own it carries no meaning; context and interpretation are what make it useful.Open glossary term from analytics, guideSurveysCollecting structured feedback at scale to understand user attitudes, sentiment, and self-reported behaviour.Open guide, and experiments to measure behaviour and test whether a pattern holds at scale. It establishes how many and how much without explaining the reasons behind either.
In practice
Used through analytics, guideSurveysCollecting structured feedback at scale to understand user attitudes, sentiment, and self-reported behaviour.Open guide, and glossaryExperimentAn experiment is a structured test used to evaluate hypotheses and measure outcomes.Open glossary term to validate trends.
In context
It is precise about things it can count and silent about everything else. A survey can tell you sixty per cent were dissatisfied and never tell you what would have satisfied them.
The reality
It shows what is happening but not always why.
Compared with
Quantitative Research vs Analytics
Analytics is glossaryBehavioural DataBehavioural data records what users actually did within a product, captured through analytics, event tracking, and usage patterns. It is unaffected by memory or self-presentation, and it never explains motive.Open glossary term collected passively from real use. Quantitative serviceUser ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service is designed: a survey or structured test with defined questions. Analytics shows what happened; quantitative research can ask about things the product does not record.
FAQ
Common questions
A few practical answers to the questions that usually come up around this term.
What is quantitative research?
serviceUser ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service based on numerical glossaryDataData is raw, uninterpreted information collected and stored so it can be analysed, processed, or used to inform decisions. On its own it carries no meaning; context and interpretation are what make it useful.Open glossary term and statistics.
What is it used for?
Measuring trends and validating results.
What are its limitations?
It does not explain why glossaryBehaviourBehaviour refers to how users interact with a system, including actions, patterns, and responses.Open glossary term happen.
When should you use it?
When you need measurable glossaryDataData is raw, uninterpreted information collected and stored so it can be analysed, processed, or used to inform decisions. On its own it carries no meaning; context and interpretation are what make it useful.Open glossary term.
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