Conducting remote user research in India

COVID-19 has been a part of our lives for the better part of this year now. We all probably thought our lives would be getting back to normal by now, but that doesn’t seem to be the case! Many events, conferences, schools, workplaces still continue to operate remotely. 

At Hureo, it’s no different. Design research studies, both ethnographic studies as well as usability studies, are still being conducted remotely across India with participants of varied technological savviness. We get many queries about conducting remote research in India and the challenges that it involves, so we thought we’d jot down a few of the most common issues we’ve observed.

1. 1. Trust: One of the hardest parts of conducting sessions remotely is that participants find it difficult to trust researchers. This is especially true for the Next Billion User cohort that prefers in-person interactions for research. Researchers also find it difficult to trust participants as they are unable to see the context of use and the participants’ environment which adds a layer of complexity to the research sessions. 
   2. Internet connectivity: Internet connectivity varies widely within cities and even in rural areas. Sessions run longer or often have to be postponed until the participant can reach a spot with a good internet connection. 
   3. Privacy: In some scenarios, participants tend to be more comfortable in their environment as opposed to bringing them into a lab. However, participants may find sharing pictures of their space invasive or may not show the entire context.
      

      Photo of a user in a remote study. Copyright Hureo archives.

       

   4. Getting consent: Getting consent from participants involves explaining consent, asking them to sign a consent form, and ensuring that they’re comfortable with the session and what they have signed. Translating this process to a remote medium, especially for a non-tech savvy audience can be difficult. Signing any document is not something they’re comfortable with, so how can we ensure that we can get consent from a non-tech savvy participant? And how do we ensure it’s legality?
   5. Incentives: While conducting research with the Next Billion Users, we have often given them gifts, nicely wrapped in gift packs. They are old fashioned that way, they like such gestures, still a little away from gift vouchers. How do we translate this to a remote context?
      

      Incentives for the participants during design research in rural India. Copyright Hureo archives.

       

   6. Lack of tools for the Indian market: Most tools are not made for the Indian market and those that are don’t fit the needs of a researcher. One major issue was the mistrust around apps as many participants believed some apps to be unsafe or the lack of ease of use with other apps.

Write to us at ask@hureo.com if you’re facing similar challenges and are interested in conducting research in India. Consider subscribing to our blog if you would like to get notified about what’s new in design research, opinion pieces, and more! Please fill the form to subscribe here.