UX Research Methods: How to Choose the Right One

Recently, I was reviewing some online UX forums with our community manager Chrisa and came across many posts asking questions like, “Which UX research method should I use?” There were plenty of helpful replies, but also a lot of responses like, “It depends.“

They’re not wrong. It really does depend on factors like your product stage, the kind of feedback you need, your timeline, and how much support you’ve got etc. etc. That question stuck with me, though so I wanted to create a short guide for our Useberry blog to help researchers navigate the most common UX research methods and how to run them using Useberry blocks.

A Quick Note Before We Start

There’s no perfect method that answers every question. Some are better for spotting usability issues, others for validating structure, and others for capturing broad sentiment.

What matters is choosing a method that matches your goal. And if you’re working with limited time or team support, having the right tools can make a big difference. Before you start your study, I recommend checking out this article: How to Interpret UX Research Results: From Planning to Action.

Just to be clear, each of the methods we’re covering here could easily fill an article of its own. What you’ll find below is a brief overview of each method, just enough to understand when and how to use it. For those who want to go deeper, I will include some links to dedicated articles where we explore some of these methods more thoroughly.

Now, we can look at some of the most useful UX research methods, why they matter, and how you can bring them to life using Useberry. As well as some recommendations on the right Useberry Blocks or UX Research Templates use to get started quickly.

1. Usability Testing

Usability testing in one of the most common and valuable types of UX research. A Qualitative Usability testing mainly focuses on observing and hearing participants to gather behaviours or attitudes. A Quantitative Usability testing (i.e. benchmark) mainly focuses on capturing metrics (i.e. time on task, success rates) and uses statistics during analysis.

Use the Single Task Block to give participants clear tasks or scenarios (e.g., “Find a subscription that suits your needs and budget”) and capture key metrics.

Suggestion: Enable recordings to capture what participants say, what they do, and their facial expressions during the test.

Recommended Useberry Templates:

• Task Based Usability Testing
• Usability Testing a Product Feature

Explore the Single Task Block

2. Preference Testing

Preference testing helps you make design decisions faster, especially when comparing two or more layout options, headlines, styles, or even audio and video comparisons. It’s a lightweight method to figure out what resonates visually or conceptually.

Use the Preference Test Block to show up to 9 different variations side by side and ask participants to pick the one they prefer. Follow up with a simple “Why?” to uncover the reasoning behind their choice.

Useberry Templates:

• Preference Test – Image
• Preference Test – Text

Explore the Preference Test Block

3. Card Sorting

If you’re building out navigation, categories, or menus, and not sure about how your audience would group these content, card sorting helps you understand how users naturally group information. It’s best used early in the design process or when rethinking your content structure.

Use the Card Sorting Block to run either open or closed sorting sessions. Then analyze how participants grouped your content and what labels made sense to them.

Useberry Templates:

• Closed Card Sorting
• Open Card Sorting

Check out the Card Sorting Block

Want to know ins and outs of card sorting? Check out our guide on how to master online card sorting.

4. Tree Testing

Once you’ve mapped out your site structure, tree testing is a great way to validate it. It’s best for testing whether users can find key content or complete basic navigation tasks — before you design screens or write code.

Use the Tree Testing Block to input your site hierarchy, then ask participants to complete tasks like “Where would you go to change your password?” Analyze your sites success (navigating to the correct item) and failure (navigating to the wrong item, not being able to find and skipping or dropping off) rates to improve clarity and make corrections to your information architecture.

Useberry Templates:

• Our Information Architecture Template is a great place to start for a tree testing study.

Check out the Tree Testing Block

For a full breakdown, take a look at our article on how to master online tree testing.

5. Surveys

Surveys are great when you want to collect general feedback or explore expectations and attitudes. They work well on their own or as part of a larger test, before or after a task.

Use the Survey Block to ask open or closed questions. It’s quick to launch and works well for capturing opinions, self-reported behavior, or context around another block.

Useberry Templates:

• Check out our Design and Website Feedback survey templates.

Which Useberry Block Should I Use?

Here’s a quick reference to help you match your research goal with the right Useberry block:

If your research goal is…	Use this block
Test if users can complete a task	Single Task Block
Observe behavior on a prototype	Single Task Block
Capture users subjective preferences and opinions on a set of assets	Preference Test Block
Understand how users group information	Card Sorting Block
Validate a navigation structure	Tree Testing Block
Capture opinions or expectations at scale	Questionnaire Block
Make comparisons: within subject studies, between subject studies (aka A-B testing) with prototypes, tree testing, first click tests	Group & Randomize

You can always combine blocks to create more advanced studies!

Randomization can be incorporated into any UX study to make them better! You can read our “Introducing Randomization: How to Reduce Bias in UX Research” article to learn all about how to use our Group & Randomize block and reduce biases in your results.

Final Thoughts

UX research methods don’t need to feel overwhelming. Once you understand what each one helps you learn, it becomes much easier to plan your study and run it with confidence. Useberry was built to make that process easier. Whether you’re testing usability, structure, or overall sentiment, there’s a block that helps you collect meaningful insights without slowing your team down.

Start with one method. Run one small test. Build from there. Happy testing!