Everything comes at a price. In research there are 4 major constraints we have to manage; dials we can twist. Tighten one constraint and another loosens up. Think about it as this diamond.
- Rigour: methodological soundness including robustness, validity, and reliability of the research.
> Higher rigour yields better credibility, validity, and reproducibility, which in turn allows higher confidence in the decisions it influences. - Scope: how much ground the research covers both in depth and breadth.
> It could mean the number of different concepts evaluated, the number of features included as part of the research, or variables accounted for. - Cost: all monetary resources including personnel, recruitment, and tools.
> Stakeholders may choose to throw money at a projects to improve speed by adding personnel, participants recruited, or specialised software to help with the data collection and analysis. - Speed: how quickly do we want the results turned around.
> Some decisions need to be quick, while others can be done slowly, and could last longer. Guerilla Testing is an example of UX research done with a quick turnaround time while longitudinal studies by definition take longer.
So how would you adjust your priorities?