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Stage 11 · Lesson 4 of 18

Demonstrating research and reasoning

Showing how evidence shaped decisions.

  • Intermediate
  • 25 min
  • 3 check questions
  • Exercise: 30 min

By the end of this lesson you can

  • Present research in a case study without overwhelming readers.
  • Show insights and how they changed the design.
  • Use artefacts such as quotes, maps and personas well.

The idea

Research sections often fail by showing too much: blurry sticky note photos, long method lists and generic personas. Instead, focus on what you learned and what you did with it.

A simple pattern

  1. Question: what you needed to find out.
  2. Method: briefly, what you did and with whom ("8 interviews with home carers").
  3. Insight: what you learned, in one sentence.
  4. Evidence: a quote, number or image.
  5. Impact: how it changed the design.

Artefacts

Show artefacts only when they help explain. A clear, readable journey map with a highlighted pain point is useful; an unreadable wall of notes is not. Recreate artefacts cleanly for the portfolio if needed.

Be honest about scale

Say how many people you spoke to and any limits. Small-scale research is fine if you are honest about it.

Why it matters in real projects

Research shows that your design decisions were grounded in evidence. Hiring managers want to see that you can turn research into insight and insight into design, not just that you ran a method. Clear, honest research sections build trust in everything that follows.

A realistic example

Instead of a page of sticky note photos, a case study shows: "Question: why do carers miss medication reminders? Method: 8 interviews and 2 days of shadowing. Insight: carers check the app only at the start of each visit, not between visits. Evidence: 'I look at it in the car before I go in.' Impact: we moved from push reminders to a visit summary screen."

Step by step

  1. List questions

    Write what you needed to learn.

  2. Summarise methods

    One line per method with numbers.

  3. Pick top insights

    Choose two or three that shaped the design.

  4. Add evidence

    Add a quote, number or clear image for each.

  5. Link to design

    Explain how each insight changed the design.

  6. Clean up artefacts

    Recreate any artefacts so they are readable.

Common mistakes

  • Mistake Unreadable sticky note photos.

    Instead Show clean, focused artefacts.

  • Mistake Generic personas with no impact.

    Instead Only include artefacts that shaped decisions.

  • Mistake Overstating scale.

    Instead Be honest about numbers and limits.

Check your understanding

Choose an answer, then check it. There is an explanation either way.

Question 1 of 3What is most important in a research section?
Show answer

Insights and how they changed the design. Impact shows judgement.

Question 2 of 3When should you include an artefact?
Show answer

When it helps explain an insight. Artefacts should serve the story.

Question 3 of 3How should you describe small-scale research?
Show answer

Be honest about numbers and limits. Honesty builds trust.

Practice exercise

Exercise · about 30 min

Research story

Rewrite the research section of a case study.

Steps

  1. Use the question, method, insight, evidence, impact pattern.
  2. Choose two or three insights.
  3. Create one clean artefact.
  4. Cut anything that does not change the design.

Deliverable

A rewritten research section.

Self-assessment

Tick each item when it is true of your exercise. Be honest; this is for you.

4 items

Summary

  • Show what you learned, not every method.
  • Use question, method, insight, evidence, impact.
  • Include only helpful, readable artefacts.
  • Be honest about scale.

Further reading

Third-party sources, chosen for reliability. They open in a new tab.

Your notes

Marking complete updates your course and roadmap progress.

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