Finding participants for user research

Learn who you should talk to, how to identify target groups and how many people you should interview.

Key target groups

Many people use government services. It can be hard to narrow down a target group of users to focus on for your user research study.

There are some key groups that you always need to consider in user research which are:

  • Tāngata whenua (Māori)
  • disabled users or people that use assistive technologies such as screen readers
  • users who have limited digital skills.

How disabled people use the web — Web Accessibility Guide

Engaging with Tāngata whenua

Including tāngata whenua in user research helps ensure Māori perspectives are meaningfully reflected in design and decision-making. General population research does not always capture these perspectives, so it’s important to plan Māori engagement intentionally.

Engagement with Māori is based on Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles of partnership and participation. This means working with Māori as Treaty partners, rather than treating them as just another user group. Naming tāngata whenua supports good planning and helps strengthen Crown–Māori relationships.

How to Identify target groups

Identify clear target groups that you would like to test with. Look at previous research such as statistics and survey results.

Connect these groups to the user research you’re doing. If you’re doing research with people about a government service, it’s important to talk to people who use that service.

Segments can help you find the right target groups to talk to. Segments are groupings within the population. These can include demographics and behaviours.

If many different New Zealanders use your service or tool, make sure your participants represent that diversity.

Examples of segments for user research
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Ethnicity
  • Education level
  • Frequency of use (how often they use the tool or service)
  • Experience of using a tool or service

Number of participants

The number of participants you’ll need depends on what you’re researching and the research method you’re using.

For qualitative research, for example, interviews, the general guidance is to have 5-8 participants. You may need to talk to more people if you have many different target groups.

For quantitative research, for example online surveys, you’ll have more participants because it focuses on the quantity of information, not the depth.

Further guidance to support you:

Utility links and page information

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