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Download Report (159 pages, PDF format)
It's a 16 MB file, so it'll take some time from you click the link until the report has downloaded. This report is free as our gift to our loyal readers, as our thanks for your support over the years. |
This report presents our advice on the best way to run eyetracking studies (mainly of websites and intranets) so that you generate valid usability insights. It warns against many common pitfalls that lead to bogus results.
This is purely a report on methods: how you should conduct your own research. (Including a chapter with advice on whether you should employ eyetracking at all, or whether simpler usability studies will give your company a higher ROI.)
This report does not contain any findings in the form of guidelines for Web design or results documenting user behaviors. This material is found in our many other articles and reports, and in our book Eyetracking Web Usability.
Table of Contents
159-page report, with many color illustrations- Executive Summary
- Should You Use Eyetracking in Your Usability Studies?
- Eyetracking Method Tips
- Recruiting Users for Eyetracking Studies
- Communicate to the Participant During the Screening Interview
- How to Say It
- What to Ask the User
- Telephone is Easier than E-mail When Recruiting for Eyetracking Studies
- How Many Users to Include in a Study
- The Number of Test Participants Needed is Dictated by Desired Output
- Variablity in Heatmaps Depending on the Number of Users
- The Slowly-Diminishing Returns Curve
- R2 Explained
- A Better Deliverable Than Heatmaps
- Eyetracking Studies in a Lab
- Eyetracking Lab Set-up Notes
- Think Aloud Method
- Benefits to Think Aloud in a Non-Eyetracking Study
- Drawbacks to Using the Think Aloud Method in a Non-Eyetracking Study
- Drawbacks to Using the Think Aloud Method in an Eyetracking Study
- Surveying is Common During Think Aloud
- Beginning the Session and Calibrating the User's Eyes
- What to Say to the User When Beginning the Sessions
- Impossible Eyetracker Calibration
- Cannot be amended: These culprits really cannot be changed to make calibration possible
- Can be amended: These culprits usually can be changed to make calibration possible
- Facilitating Test Sessions
- Steps for making eyetracking test facilitation run smoothly
- Example of Facilitator's Protocol Sheet
- Saving Files
- Retrospective
- Using the Right Eyetracking Analysis Tools
- Gaze Replays
- Gazeplots
- Heatmaps
- The Areas of Interest or LookZone Feature
- Analyzing Video and Animation
- Using the Eyetracking Analysis Tools in the Best Way
- Tasks Discussion
- The Scenic View: Show One Page and Interview Method
- Task-Based Testing
- Variety in Tasks
- Should You Run Your Own Eyetracking Research Study?
- Why Nielsen Norman Group Invests In Eyetracking
- Technology-Related Notes
Who Should Read This Report?
- Anybody who conducts eyetracking studies: improve your skills, and your results will be better
- Anybody who contemplates buying an eyetracker: see what you're in for
Even though the download is free, this report is still copyrighted information. Please do not distribute the PDF file on the Internet (or otherwise), but instead link to this page where people can download their own copy. (And please do link here — to this HTML page — and not directly to the PDF file, following the guideline to use a gateway page to avoid "PDF shock.")
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Download Report (159 pages, PDF format: 16 MB free download) |
Pre-order our upcoming book with the eyetracking findings:
- from Amazon.com
or for U.K./Europe:
- from Amazon.co.uk
Related Reports
Besides eyetracking, simpler usability methods often give just as valuable results. For more info on testing, see:
- 230 Tips for Usability Studies
- Paper Prototyping 32 minute video
- Full-day course on user testing
- 3-day in-house training: Learning-by-Doing where we test your own design as the case study