Get in touchField research uncovers insights you can’t get remotely, like real-world behaviours and hidden constraints. This guide helps you decide when to invest in fieldwork and when to stick with remote or lab research, using practical examples to show the way.
At Muir Wood & Co, we help product teams power-up their research skills and processes. During the pandemic, most research moved online – and for good reason. But as we return to in-person interactions, it's worth considering when in-person research can reveal insights that remote methods miss.
Think of research methods like different types of travel. Remote research is like virtual tourism - convenient and structured, but you only see what the camera shows you. Lab research is like staying at a resort - you're physically there but in a controlled environment. Field research? That's like living with the locals - messy and unpredictable, but deeply authentic.
Just as you wouldn't book a two-week homestay for every trip, you don't need field research for every project. Let's explore when to pack your bags and when to stay home.
Last year I did a project with utility engineers on a frosty January morning. As they worked on the job they were meant to report steps and progress as it happened via a mobile app. But this meant taking their gloves off each time, so they would usually just do it all at the end of the job (or not at all). We'd never spot this issue in the office or lab!
Some insights can't be captured through conversation alone. In a recent toy research project, some of the kids just walked away from the product after three minutes because they were bored: brutal! Far more revealing than any verbal feedback they might give. Remote or lab observation would miss these physical cues and distractions.
Even adults aren't always reliable narrators of their own experiences. During a retail experience study (in a lab), participants gave positive verbal feedback while their body language told a different story. These disconnects between what people say and what they do are gold mines for researchers – but you have to be there to strike gold.
Entering someone's home or workplace is a privilege, not a right. If your research questions don't specifically require that context, consider less invasive methods.
On reflection, that project on car rental apps didn’t need us to enter people’s homes, their accommodation had zero influence on the study.
Some topics are easier to discuss with a bit of digital distance. We recently worked on a weight loss project that benefited from the psychological space that remote research provides. Participants could control how they appeared on screen and we were able to anonymise the recording.
If you're researching purely digital interactions with tech-savvy users, remote screen sharing often provides everything you need. And so much faster to capture and analyse.
Remote Research is your best bet when:
Lab Research works best when:
Field Research is worth the investment when:
Remember: Like scoping a neighbourhood on Google Streetview before booking your Airbnb – you can combine remote pilot sessions with a field study to get breadth first, then work out where to focus in-depth.
Field research isn't just about gathering information - it's about developing deep empathy and understanding that can transform product decisions. When we see users in their natural habitat, struggling with real constraints and creating ingenious workarounds, we gain insights that no amount of remote discussion could reveal.
But it's also a significant investment of time and resources. That's why in our next article, we'll explore how to make the case for field research to stakeholders and how to maximize its value once you're out there.
Need help deciding if field research is right for your project? Contact us below for a free clinic session to discuss your research needs and can help plan and execute field studies that deliver real value.