Learning how people use websites, apps and other systems helps researchers understand users' needs.
field
User research and human-computer interaction
What you may learn
How to study people using products and systems, and understand their needs.
What to check
Check whether you will practise planning studies, gathering evidence and interpreting results.
Require methods context; not all design degrees teach research deeply.
Save areas you want to explore in your free account. These choices do not change your current education.
Connected careers
Learning to research users helps accessibility specialists understand barriers disabled people face when using digital products.
Does your course include working with disabled participants and assistive tools?
Learning to test products with users helps designers find confusing or risky moments in automated conversations.
Does your course include user research methods and practice testing conversations with artificial intelligence?
Learning to evaluate how people use products helps interaction designers find barriers to completing tasks.
Learning to study users helps product designers test ideas and understand problems before building solutions.
Learning user research helps service designers find problems people face across a service. They use findings to test better service steps.
Does your course include research across online, phone and in-person services?
Learning to test products with users helps designers find confusing parts and improve their designs.
Does your course include planning and running tests with real users?
User research teaches you to investigate learner needs before designing a course or learning tool.
Does the course include interviews, usability tests and research with learners?
Learning to study people using systems helps engineers test whether controls and screens are easy to use.
Check for interface research and realistic user-testing projects.
User research learning can help you investigate people's problems before deciding whether an artificial intelligence feature would help.
Check whether the course includes interviews, observing users, and testing ideas with people.
Learning to study people's needs helps product managers understand which problems a product should solve.
Does your course include interviews or tests with people using a product?
Sources and limitations
O*NET: Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists · · 2026-10-11
US human-factors/ergonomics occupation; physical workplaces and digital interfaces differ.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Training and Development Specialists · · 2026-10-11
US workplace-training profile; partial comparator for course designers.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Instructional Coordinators · · 2026-10-11
US curriculum coordination; partial comparator for learning designers and technology leads.
W3C: Introduction to Web Accessibility · · 2026-10-11
Accessibility Specialist: web access for disabled users, design and coding barriers. Not legal advice or credential certification.
BLS: Web Developers and Digital Designers · · 2026-10-11
UX, UI, digital Product and Interaction Designers compare web/interface tasks only. Design Engineer compares interface coding; Design Systems Lead compares shared interface work only. Not exact definitions of all six jobs.
National Careers Service: user researcher · · 2026-10-11
National Careers Service, England: role/learning comparison only; local entry rules are not worldwide requirements.
Product manager · UK Government Digital and Data Profession · 2026-10-11
Government digital context; no validation of broad degree fields or AI-specialist preparation.
AI risk management playbook: Measure · US National Institute of Standards and Technology · 2026-10-11
Technical risk method; not an AI product-manager or strategy-consultant occupation, curriculum, legal rule or certification. Framework is under revision.
Service designer · UK Government Digital and Data Profession · 2026-10-11
Government policy context; digital interface study alone is not the whole service design discipline.
People + AI Guidebook: Errors + Graceful Failure · Google People + AI Research · 2026-10-11
Task-level design method; does not define a complete occupation or imply every designer builds machine-learning models.
People + AI Guidebook: Data Collection + Evaluation · Google People + AI Research · 2026-10-11
Model-development/design collaboration method; not an occupational qualification standard for AI product designers.