# Design Research Study

> Design a structured UX or product research study including method selection, protocol, stimuli, and success criteria. Use this skill when a team needs to go beyond ad-hoc interviews to a rigorous, repeatable research design.

- Skill: `alexe-ev/design-research-study` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 4 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add alexe-ev/design-research-study`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/alexe-ev/design-research-study/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Research & Search
- Author: alexe-ev (https://skillmd.com/u/alexe-ev)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/alexe-ev/design-research-study

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# Design Research Study

## Purpose
Help teams design a research study that is rigorous enough to produce reliable, comparable findings — whether for usability testing, concept evaluation, diary studies, or observational research.

## Skill type
Conceptual skill

## Use this skill when
- A research question requires more structure than an informal interview
- Research needs to be repeatable across participants or time periods
- A study design needs review before execution
- Multiple research methods need to be combined in a single study

## Do not use this skill when
- A simple user interview plan is sufficient (use run-user-interviews)
- The goal is synthesizing completed research (use synthesize-qualitative-research)

## Required inputs
- Research question or goal
- Participant profile

## Optional inputs
- Prototype or designs to evaluate (for usability studies)
- Prior research findings
- Constraints: time, budget, access to participants
- Required output format (report, deck, video clips)

## Upstream context
Works best when:
- Research scope has been defined
- UX research plan exists

## Downstream handoff
Output can feed:
- run-usability-testing (study design → test execution)
- analyze-usability-findings (study design defines analysis frame)
- synthesize-qualitative-research (study design informs synthesis approach)

## Instructions
1. Define the study goal and specific research questions.
2. Select the research method(s): usability test, concept test, diary study, contextual inquiry, survey.
3. Design the protocol: task order, stimuli, questions, time allocation.
4. Define the participant profile and screening criteria.
5. Define how data will be captured: notes, recordings, observations.
6. Define analysis approach and success criteria.
7. Pilot the protocol before running with real participants.

## Output
Provide:
- Study goal and research questions
- Method selection with rationale
- Study protocol (task list, questions, time plan)
- Participant profile and screening criteria
- Data capture plan
- Analysis approach and success criteria
- Pilot plan
- Known risks and mitigations

## Risks / caveats
- Unstructured studies produce inconsistent data that is hard to synthesize
- Pilot sessions are not optional — they catch protocol flaws before wasting participant time
- Moderator bias is real: train whoever is running the study