DESB22 Introduction to user research

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Synchronous online teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Josef Kocurek (lecturer)
Mgr. Tereza Kosnarová Venerová (lecturer)
Mgr. Simona Kramosilová (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Tereza Kosnarová Venerová
Department of Information and Library Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Alice Lukavská
Supplier department: Department of Information and Library Studies – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to provide students with the necessary theoretical foundation to begin to pursue the topic of user research in more depth.
- The designer will learn what user research is for, when it is appropriate to include it in the design process, and how to communicate with the researcher.
- The researcher will learn about the methods they can use in their work. Over the course of the semester, the student will learn how to work in detail with in-depth interviews, user testing, and survey research. They will also learn how to involve their whole team in the research, especially through the Customer Experience Mapping method and other design thinking workshops.
- The manager will learn how to increase the UX(SD) maturity of their team through research and how to find/select the right researcher for their team.
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, the student will: - understand the importance of user research and its position within the design process,
- understand what the work of a researcher involves in different types of projects (freelance, agency research, corporate, etc.) and the skills and abilities that every researcher should develop,
- understand the research management and planning process,
- understand the principles of responsible, ethical and inclusive research,
- work within certain project constraints (budget, time, technology limitations, unavailability of respondents),
- recommend appropriate research methods given the design maturity of the organization and the situation to be addressed,
- understand the overlap of user research into the development of the organisation and society (Research impact).
Syllabus
  • - What is user research
  • - User research and design process
  • - The role of the researcher
  • - User research methods and tools
  • - Research deliverables
  • - Psychology for researchers
  • - Research impact
Literature
  • Portigal, S. (2013). Interviewing users: how to uncover compelling insights. Rosenfeld Media.
  • Travis, D., & Hodgson, P. (2019). Think like a UX researcher: How to Observe Users, Influence Design, and Shape Business Strategy. Taylor & Francis, a CRC title, part of the Taylor & Francis imprint, a member of the Taylor & Francis Group, the academ
Teaching methods
Lectures, workshops, group discussions
Assessment methods
Test
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: in blocks.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/DESB22