A qualitative method that can be both generative and evaluative. Some might call it “googling,” 🙂 But it actually goes beyond that.

Desktop research or independent research refers to the body of work you conduct in preparation to core research which occurs with a client, remotely or in-person. Desktop research enables you and the UX team to become better equipped with information needed in order to successfully complete work in a timely and professional manner.

Many times you or other team members may lack the domain knowledge needed in order to be effective at the highest level so it is important to ensure that you have sufficient domain knowledge of the topic at hand as well as have researched with the necessary tooling that may be used prior to the core body of work being conducted.

To avoid “just googling stuff”, here are a few resources you should check when doing desktop research:

• Management consultants’s articles and opinion pieces: cover Bain, McKinsey, BCG, KPMG, E&Y, Delloite and PwC
• Google "your industry" market research trends: try looking for both idustry as a whole and digital part of it (make sure to check Gartner)
• Ask GPT about your competitors: you can even ask it to browse and compare their websites or tell what people like or don't like about them
• Academia articles: SSRN, Google Scholar and Web of science are all great sources of academic research that might come in handy
• Search trends: visit Google trends, and check what have people been searching for that related to your product’s domain