Distinguish primary from secondary research, select appropriate methods such as interviews, observation, surveys and product study, and turn findings into design requirements

What this dot point is asking

SEAB wants you to tell primary research (data you gather first-hand) from secondary research (data others have already published), to choose appropriate methods such as interviews, observation, surveys and product study, and to turn what you find into design requirements. Research is only useful if it changes the design, so the marks reward findings that feed into a specification, not facts collected for their own sake.

The answer

What research is for

Research gathers the evidence a good design needs. Without it, a specification is guesswork and ideas have nothing solid to build on. The aim is always to answer a question that will shape the design: how big should it be, what do users struggle with, what already exists, which material suits the job? Every piece of research should lead to a requirement.

Primary research

Primary research is first-hand information that the designer collects directly. Common primary methods include:

• Interviews. Talking to users to understand their problems, preferences and habits in depth.
• Observation. Watching users in the real situation to see what they actually do, which often differs from what they say.
• Surveys and questionnaires. Asking many people the same questions to gather data that can be counted and compared.
• Product testing. Trying existing products yourself to feel their strengths and faults.
• Measuring. Taking real measurements of users or spaces (anthropometric data).

Primary research is highly relevant because it is about your exact users and problem, but it takes time and effort to collect.

Secondary research

Secondary research is information already gathered and published by others. Common secondary sources include existing products and their reviews, books and articles, websites, manufacturers' catalogues and material data, and standards or safety regulations. Secondary research is quick and cheap and gives a broad picture, but it is general rather than specific to your users, and it can be out of date.

Choosing the right method

The method must fit the question. To learn how users behave, observe them. To learn what they prefer, interview or survey them. To learn what already exists and what it costs, study products and catalogues. A strong investigation usually combines several methods so findings can be cross-checked: what users say in an interview can be confirmed by observing them.

Turning findings into requirements

The crucial step is to convert findings into design requirements. "Most students said the straps dug into their shoulders" becomes the requirement "must have padded straps at least 50 mm wide". A list of facts is not research output; requirements are. Each finding should drive a specification point.

Examples in context

Example 1. Designing a grip for arthritic hands. Primary research through interviews and grip-strength measurement reveals how much force users can comfortably apply and which shapes hurt. Secondary research into medical guidance and existing assistive products fills in safe shapes and materials. Combined, they produce requirements such as "must be operable with a grip force under 20 N" that no single method would give alone.

Example 2. A foldable stool for small flats. Secondary research into existing folding stools gives typical folded sizes, prices and common weaknesses (wobbly legs). Primary observation of how people store furniture in small flats shows where a stool would live, leading to a requirement that it fold flat to under 60 mm and hang on a hook. The two layers of research together set realistic, specific targets.

Try this

• Cue. Classify each as primary or secondary research: interviewing five users; reading a product review; measuring the height of a desk; checking a manufacturer's material datasheet. Answer: primary; secondary; primary; secondary.

• Cue. Give one advantage and one disadvantage of survey research. Answer: advantage: gathers data from many people that can be counted and compared; disadvantage: results can be misleading if questions are biased or the sample is small.

• Cue. Turn this finding into a requirement: "Users said the current kettle is too heavy to lift when full." Answer: e.g. "must weigh under 1.2 kg empty and be liftable with one hand when full", which is testable.