Your goal could be 1-2 books per month to familiarize you with UX research methods and best practices. Based on our experience, the best books and courses which helps you to dive into the research are:
Good Books to Help You Start in User Research:
- The Mom Test
- Observing the User Experience
- Second Edition; Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights;
- Measuring the User Experience: Collecting, Analyzing, and Presenting Usability Metrics;
- UX for Lean Startups: Faster, Smarter User Experience Research and Design
- Just Enough Research
- The User Experience Team of One: A Research and Design Survival Guide
- User Experience Revolution
- UX for Beginners: A Crash Course in 100 Short Lessons.
Good User Research Courses to Keep Learning UXR:
- Conduct UX Research and Test Early Concepts by Google
- UX Research at Scale: Surveys, Analytics, Online Testing by University of Michigan
- UX Research by HECMontrealX
- Master Digital Product Design: UX Research & UI Design by Rob Sutcliffe
- User Experience (UX): The Ultimate Guide to Usability and UX by David Travis.
Good Books to Help You Start in User Research
First of all, let's start with books. You can read printed UXR books or e-books (like Kindle, etc.) while working on the bus or metro. You can also listen to audio UX books while driving, cooking, or walking with the dog. If you want to learn, you will find where to squeeze your self-development 👌
The Mom Test
A quick and easy handbook about getting more learning and more sales out of your customer conversations, even when everyone is lying to you.
Where to find it: http://momtestbook.com/
Observing the User Experience, Second Edition
The book is like a reference guide — it has tons of practical information on real-world product development. The book contains 13 UX research techniques and clear instructions on using each method.
Where to find it: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0123848695
Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights
The author uses examples from his practical experience to show how user's interviewing can be incorporated into the design life. This book will be a valuable source of information for anyone who conducts interviews, moderates usability testing, etc.
Where to find it: https://www.amazon.com/Interviewing-Users-Uncover-Compelling-Insights/
Measuring the User Experience: Collecting, Analyzing, and Presenting Usability Metrics
The book explores all metrics and provides the best practices for analyzing and presenting the data. This information will enable product managers to efficiently measure the usability of any product.
Where to find it: https://www.amazon.com/Measuring-User-Experience-Second-Technologies/
UX for Lean Startups: Faster, Smarter User Experience Research and Design
UX for Lean Startups provides proven tips and tools for researching, identifying, and designing an easy-to-use product. The book will give you many ideas on testing your new designs to see if they are genuinely better for your users and result in more engagement.
Where to find it: https://www.amazon.com/UX-Lean-Startups-Experience-Research/
Just Enough Research
The information in this book will be beneficial for organizations where research is not yet a substantial part of the design process. An excellent introduction to different methods of user research, from the basics to strategy, competitive research, evaluative research, etc. The author also added a chapter on surveys in the second edition.
Where to find it: https://abookapart.com/products/just-enough-research
The User Experience Team of One: A Research and Design Survival Guide
The User Experience Team of One prescribes a range of approaches that significantly impact and take less time and fewer resources than the standard lineup of UX deliverables. Whether you want to cross over into user experience or you're a seasoned practitioner trying to drag your organization forward, this book gives you tools and insight for doing more with less.
Where to find it: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/the-user-experience-team-of-one/
User Experience Revolution
This book will help you build a UX revolution and place users at the heart of your organization, from understanding it, selling the benefits, getting managerial support, establishing best practices, and more.
Where to find it: https://boagworld.com/books/user-experience-revolution/
UX for Beginners: A Crash Course in 100 Short Lessons
Follow the real-life UX process from start to finish, apply the skills you learn, or refresh your memory before the next meeting.
Where to find it: https://www.amazon.es/-/pt/dp/1491912685/ref=sr_1_1?crid=S5EGKBQUXMB8&keywords=ux+for+beginners&qid=1646328432&sprefix=ux+for+beg%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-1
Good User Research Courses to Keep Learning UXR
You can keep learning UXR through online courses. Online courses on user research help you gather complete information in one place. You can find a community and get a certificate of completion. In just a short time, you can retrain yourself.
We advise you to start with these courses 👇
Conduct UX Research and Test Early Concepts by Google
This course will help to mole the idea of User Research. Most importantly, all Google courses are equipped with assignments and homework that allow you to put the new knowledge you've learned into practice.
Where to find it: https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-ux-design
UX Research at Scale: Surveys, Analytics, Online Testing by University of Michigan
This UX course will provide methodology from the perspective of UX research. You will generate your ideas quickly and apply them in real situations. Plus, you will learn about the different types and uses of surveys.
Where to find it: https://www.coursera.org/learn/ux-research-at-scale
UX Research by HECMontrealX
Here you will learn how to connect with users at every step of a digital product's life and develop empathy and recognize insights that will nourish the design and evaluation processes.
Where to find it: https://www.edx.org/course/ux-research?index=product&queryID=81d9d3670bd15f2b1cf60cdfa9781478&position=1
Master Digital Product Design: UX Research & UI Design by Rob Sutcliffe
This course will teach you how to observe and not judge the book by its cover and when it comes to top designers trying to implement their views on others. Moreover, the main focus is on thinking, with many valuable examples.
Where to find it: https://www.udemy.com/course/master-digital-product-design-ux-research-ui-design/
User Experience (UX): The Ultimate Guide to Usability and UX by David Travis
Another course will guide you to become a UX/UI designer step by step and improve your knowledge as a researcher. It's well-conducted full of helpful content and examples. Plus, you can get personalized author feedback.
Where to find it: https://www.udemy.com/course/ultimate-guide-to-ux/
Our Final Thoughts on URX Books and Courses
There is nothing to stop you from choosing the best UXR source to study and applying research skills in life. After all, user research is one of the fundamentals of building a business! Don't ignore it.
