• The Nielsen Norman Group Life Online project included 7 separate studies involving more than 110 participants and took place in 2018 in 6 cities across the globe. These cities were:
  • Toronto, Canada
  • Kansas City, Missouri, USA
  • Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
  • Shanghai, China
  • Jinhua, China
  • Zhengzhou, China

While many NN/g studies tend to be focused on a particular user group, emerging topic, or type of interface, the Life Online project was broad and exploratory. The primary goals of the project were to investigate the following:

  • How do people use the web in their everyday lives?
  • Which activities do they consider most important?
  • How do their behaviors or opinions change as a result of their online experiences?

This description of what we did may be useful for two reasons: first if you want to conduct similar research to get broad insights into issues of interest to your business, and second to help you interpret our results and apply them to your own design problems. Our actual findings are reported in articles, including:

In This Article:

Overview of Each Study

  1. Field study in Toronto, Ontario Canada: We conducted a series of contextual-inquiry field visits with a mix of residents of Toronto, Canada in March 2018. The purpose of these field visits was to observe participants as they used the web and completed their everyday activities at home.
    • Participants and recruiting: 5 women and 4 men participated in the study, ranging in age from 27 to 63. Participants had a mix of occupations such as recruiting counselor, actor, caterer, and photographer. None of the participants previously or currently worked in marketing, technology, or related internet fields. Participants were recruited through both a recruiter a survey-based screener that was pushed out through existing social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook) and via friends and family.
    • Methodology: Participants were scheduled for 2-hour field-study sessions with 2 researchers. The sessions took place in their homes at times of the day when each participant was typically at home. Several days prior to the scheduled visit, participants were briefed by telephone regarding what to expect during the study session. The researchers used the first 5–10 minutes of each visit to reiterate how the visit would proceed, introduce the recording technology, answer questions, get signed consent, and direct participants to go about their daily activities as they normally would. An incentive of $200 CAD was also provided at the beginning of the session. Participants were observed and recorded using a small GoPro video recorder. Both researchers took notes and observed during the sessions. During the last 15 minutes of each session, the researchers interviewed participants, asking clarifying and exploratory questions regarding the observed activities.
  2. Diary study in United States: We conducted a large-scale diary study in February 2018. The purpose of this study was to gather a large volume of in-situ behavioral data from a wide variety of participants over a specified period of time. The study was designed to collect information about people’s important internet activities, routines, multitasking habits, and mindsets in relation to the internet. The study was made up of 2 phases. The first phase included all 50 participants, and the 2nd phase consisted of a select group of the 25 most responsive and detailed participants.
    • Participants and recruiting: 50 total participants (22 men and 28 women) were recruited for the study using an online recruiting tool. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 62 and lived in a mix of cities and regions within the United States.
    • Methodology: The study was conducted in 2 parts.
      • Phase 1: The first phase of the study, which included all 50 participants, asked participants to complete 8 short questionnaires over the course of 2 days. Questionnaires were designed to collect detailed information about any important online activities respondents had recently completed. Questionnaires were sent to participants at various times throughout each day and respondents were encouraged to complete each survey as soon after they received it as possible. Participants were paid $40 USD for their participation in phase one.
      • Phase 2: After analyzing the quality of data reported and the responsiveness of participants in phase 1, a subset of 20 of the most responsive and detailed participants were asked to continue with phase 2 of the study. This phase lasted 5 days, during which time participants were asked to complete 21 questionnaires delivered via email at various times throughout these days. Questionnaires were designed to collect information similar to phase 1, with the addition of targeted questionnaires regarding internet routines, mindsets about internet activities, as well as details regarding multitasking behaviors. Participants in this phase received an additional $60 USD.
  3. Lab-based studies in Kansas City and Raleigh: We conducted 2 separate but related lab-based studies aimed at observing how users complete typical web-based activities on various devices.
    • Participants and recruiting: 13 participants (10 women and 3 men) ranging in age from 29 to 59 were recruited to participate in the lab-based studies. Participants represented a mix of ethnicities, income levels, employment status, and educational backgrounds. None of them currently or previously worked in marketing, technology, or any other internet-related industry. Two recruiting companies, one for each location, were used to screen and schedule participants.
    • Methodology: Participants were scheduled for lab-based sessions lasting 75 to 90 minutes. Four researchers participated in facilitating these studies — two researchers in each location. Prior to the sessions, users were asked to think of medium-complexity internet activities that they needed to complete, and bring these activities in to complete on their own during the session as the researchers observed. Users brought their own mobile devices and used these devices and/or a provided laptop. Additional medium-complexity activities were provided by researches in the event that participants completed their personal activities before the scheduled end time of the session. During the last 15 minutes of each session, researchers asked participants additional clarifying or exploratory questions. For their participation, users were provided with an honorarium of $100 USD.
  4. Field studies in Kansas City and Raleigh: We conducted 3 contextual-inquiry field visits with participants in both Kansas City, Missouri USA and Raleigh, North Carolina USA in May and June 2018 respectively. The purpose of these field visits was to observe participants as they used the web and completed their everyday activities at home and at work.
    • Participants and recruiting:
      • ​One 55 year old female participant working from her home office in Kansas City, Missouri and recruited by local recruiting firm
      • Two female participants (27 and 28) working remotely in Raleigh, NC and recruited through an online screener
    • Methodology: Participants were scheduled for 2-hour field-study sessions with 2 researchers. The sessions took place in their homes at times of the day when each participant was typically at home. Several days prior to the scheduled visit, participants were briefed by telephone regarding what to expect during the study session. The researchers used the first 5-10 minutes of each visit to reiterate how the visit would proceed, introduce the recording technology, answer questions, get signed consent, and direct participants to go about their daily activities as they normally would. An incentive of $150 USD was also provided at the beginning of the session. Participants were observed and recorded using a small GoPro video recorder. Both researchers took notes and observed during the sessions. During the last 15 minutes of each session, the researchers interviewed participants, asking clarifying and exploratory questions regarding the observed activities.
  5. Field studies in Jinhua and Zhengzhou, China: We conducted four contextual inquiry field visits with participants in both Jinhua and Zhengzhou, China in July 2018. The purpose of these field visits was to observe participants as they used the web and completed their everyday activities at home and at work.

    • Participants and recruiting:

      • ​One 34-year-old female participant who owned an ecommerce shop and worked from her home office in Zhengzhou, Henan, recruited through web-based screening surveys
      • One 51-year-old female English teacher working at the school office in Zhengzhou, Henan, recruited through web-based screening surveys
      • One 47-year-old female primary-school teacher working at the school office in Jinhua, Zhejiang, recruited through web-based screening surveys
      • One 24-year-old male participant, a Fine Arts master student working at the school in Jinhua, Zhejiang, recruited through web-based screening surveys

    • Methodology: Participants were scheduled for 2-hour field-study sessions with 1 researcher. The sessions took place in their homes at times of the day when each participant was typically at home. Several days prior to the scheduled visit, participants were briefed by telephone regarding what to expect during the study session. The researchers used the first 5–10 minutes of each visit to reiterate how the visit would proceed, introduce the recording technology, answer questions, get signed consent, and direct participants to go about their daily activities as they normally would. An incentive of ￥500 Chinese Yuan was also provided at the beginning of the session. Participants were observed and recorded using a small GoPro video recorder. Both researchers took notes and observed during the sessions. During the last 15 minutes of each session, the researchers interviewed participants, asking clarifying and exploratory questions regarding the observed activities.

  6. Diary study in China: We conducted a second diary study in China that was modeled after the diary study conducted in the United States. This study was run in June and July of 2018. The purpose of this study was to gather a large volume of in-situ behavioral data from a wide variety of Chinese participants. The study was designed to collect information about people’s important internet activities, routines, multitasking habits, and mindsets in relation to the internet.
    • Participants and recruiting: A group of 20 participants from various regions in China was recruited by a Chinese recruiting agency. This group consisted of 10 men and 10 women ranging in age from 20 to 53.
    • Methodology: Though very similar to the US-based study, this study included only one phase that lasted 3 days. During this time participants were asked to complete a series of 9 questionnaires delivered via WeChat at various times. Questionnaires were designed to collect detailed information about any important online activities respondents had recently completed, insights regarding internet routines and multitasking, as well as mindsets about internet activities. For participation in this phase, respondents received ￥300 Yuan.
  7. Lab-based study in Shanghai, China: We conducted a lab-based study in Shanghai, China aimed at observing how Chinese users complete typical web-based activities on various devices.
    • Participants and recruiting: 9 participants (5 women and 4 men) ranging in age from 22 to 50 were recruited. Participants represented a mix of income levels, employment status, and educational backgrounds. None of them currently or previously worked in marketing, technology, or any other internet-related industry.
    • Methodology: Participants were scheduled for 75-minute lab-based sessions. Two Chinese-speaking researchers facilitated sessions, while 2 additional researchers observed sessions in a viewing area with an English-speaking translator. Prior to the sessions users were asked to think of medium-complexity internet activities that they needed to complete, and bring these activities in to complete on their own during the session as the researchers observed. Users brought their own mobile devices and used these devices and/or a provided laptop during the session. Additional medium-complexity activities were prepared in the event that participants completed their personal activities before the scheduled end time of the session. During the last 15 minutes of each session, researchers asked additional clarifying or exploratory questions. For their participation, users were provide an honorarium in the amount of ￥500 Yuan.