What’s so scary about user research? A lot, if you’re a semi-neurotic researcher. Since it’s the Halloween season, in my latest UXmatters article, I delve into some of the scariest aspects of user research, including:

• What if I fail?
• Can I learn something new?
• What if we recruit really bad participants?
• What if the research plan doesn’t work?
• What if there’s not enough time to get through everything?
• What if something goes wrong?
• What if we don’t discover anything important?
• How am I going to analyze all this data?
• How can I present all of this?

But never fear! I also provide advice about how to overcome these fears. Check it out: Fears About User Research.