DfE user research community principle 2
We are objective and use evidence
This principle is about helping our teams to do what's right for users, avoiding assumptions, and mitigating biases.
It means that we use evidence to explain the problems we're trying to solve. We understand where bias and assumptions might impact our insights, always testing and mitigating against this. We help our teams do what's right for our users, not what's popular.
How you know you're meeting this principle
As a user researcher at DfE, you’ll know you’re successfully doing this because:
- You always conduct desk research as part of your research, using existing insight and evidence to inform your own research plan
- You are aware of and challenge your own assumptions and biases, and those in your team and stakeholders
- You can demonstrate how user needs are reflected in your team’s design decisions
- People from across team and stakeholders observe research and get involved in your activities like planning and analysis
- You are able to challenge decisions where users' needs are not being prioritised
- People in your team can describe your users accurately and without using assumptions
How we support you
Right now, we help you to meet this principle with:
- Links to departmental data and evidence, social research reports, and academic and other third-party research sources
- For people researching with schools users, a collection of basline insights (mindsets) and a research library
- A list of all current DfE user researchers, and the user groups they research with
In the future (see our profession roadmap), we want to have:
- A single taxonomy of users across the department
- Baseline insights about all major user groups across the department
- Insight management tools in each portfolio
Discuss our principles
Give feedback or suggest changes to this principle by using the 'give us feedback' link at the top of this page.