Staying ahead of the competition is paramount in this dynamic and challenging world. Organizations must indulge in intelligent decision-making that can help them grow, improve profitability, and innovate. This is where evaluative research comes into the picture as a game changer.
It enables businesses to gain invaluable insights, make data-driven decisions, and reach new heights. Companies gather, analyze, and understand data about their customers and their behavior with this potent tool.
What is Evaluative Research?
Evaluative Research helps companies evaluate their concepts or products and collect data to improve their solutions. This kind of research has many advantages, such as checking if the product is working as expected and understanding and identifying the areas for improvement, if any.
The first stage of any design process usually involves the introduction of evaluative or evaluation research. It is conducted to test new or existing solutions that will continue to be deployed until the product or concept is finalized. After the launch, it kept going for a wonderful customer experience.
What is the Importance of Evaluative Research?
Here are some of the reasons why conducting this research can be beneficial for any organization:
- It enables the companies to test the solution and collect essential and valuable feedback that can help them refine and better the customer experience. This feedback is essential not only for existing products or services but also for the future.
- The findings from such research are the key to determining what is working, what will work, and which areas need more improvement.
- Users can evaluate the product early if evaluative research is incorporated into the design and development stages. It will further help businesses know whether they are designing the right product.
- The insights from evaluation research can be beneficial and can help demonstrate the effectiveness of the company’s project. It allows businesses to refine their offerings to meet customer needs and stay ahead in a competitive market.
- These insights can be used to showcase the product’s capabilities to the stakeholders, which can further help in future projects. If the research findings are promising, the company may get more projects.
Any Difference Between Evaluative and Generative Research?
Yes, the two research techniques are different from one another. The main reason for conducting generative research for any organization is to understand customer behavior, motivation, and pain points. The primary purpose is to define a problem and prepare a solution.
Whereas, in the case of an evaluative one, the companies conduct this research to determine the effectiveness of the existing solution or product. It is also done to check whether their product works as planned and meets the consumer’s needs and expectations.
Saying the above does not mean there are no similarities between the two. Both are good decision-making tools and can be deployed during the development stage of the product.
Moreover, the best way to determine which research will be better for your business is by creating a well-written research plan by studying the competition, target audience, and people’s requirements.
What are the Different Types Of Evaluative Studies?
There are two kinds of evaluative studies that a company can go for. Let’s look at them in detail:
Summative Research Or Evaluation
If your company wishes to understand how the product design is performing, you should opt for summative evaluation. It is often quantitative and thus can be a great addition to qualitative research. This evaluation is generally preferred to be done during the last phase of the design process to detect any overlooked issues and evaluate the project’s usability.
The summative evaluation can also be treated as a benchmark for your new solution relative to any prior ones or for your competitors to assess if your product needs more modifications.
Formative Research
On the other hand, formative research is done in the initial phase and during the project’s design process. This research is conducted to improve the solution before it reaches its final point. Through this research, companies can make changes to the project during the design phase itself based on the different levels of feedback received.
What are the Different Evaluative Research Methods?
Just as deciding on an evaluative study is essential, using the correct research method that fits your project is also imperative.
Some of the research methods are:
- Usability Testing – In this method, companies can test their product in the real world by making people complete tasks.
- A/B Testing – Companies decide which is better – version A or version B. A and B can be anything – flavors, style, font, colors, etc.
- Tree Testing – In tree testing also, you will ask your participants to complete a series of tasks with a text-only version of the product or site hierarchy.
- Closed Card Sorting – In this research method, companies provide participants with pre-selected categories and ask them to prioritize and sort cards based on their sense. It is usually done to determine a potential idea or solution out of the lot.
- Surveys – These can be used for data collection and gathering critical feedback from customers and users. It can also help companies test customers’ feelings on specific product features and decide whether to make any changes.
Examples of Evaluative Research Questions
Examples of evaluative research questions are as follows:
- How will you go about performing this task? – Usability Testing
- How often have you used this product? – Survey
- Was there any category you needed clarification on? – Closed Card Sorting
Conclusion
Evaluative research is a powerful tool for an organization’s success in today’s competitive world. With its game-changing approach, businesses can make intelligent data-driven decisions while gaining valuable insight regarding customers and thus staying ahead of the competition.
Using this method properly, companies can gather helpful information about their targeted audience, services, products, concepts, and market dynamics.
It can also help them improve their strategies and customer service experience. Moreover, it is a reliable method for navigating the complexities of the business world as it provides a systematic framework for evaluating effectiveness.
