Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

Methodological toolkit for unique research impact

Gold
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 • Advancing Research 2026
Share the love for this talk
Methodological toolkit for unique research impact
Speakers: Kwabena Opoku , Leonie Annor-Owiredu and Sam Ladner
Link:

Summary

An intimate conversation between Sam Ladner and Leonie Annor-Owiredu examining the methodological toolkit researchers need to stand out in a landscape where traditional methods are widely accessible, AI is ubiquitous, and everyone is a researcher. Hosted by an early-career practitioner, this intergenerational discussion draws on the experience of two veterans to uncover what gives researchers unique value, what adds impact, and how methodological choices can deliver clarity, relevance, and measurable influence in a democratized research world.

Key Insights

  • Storytelling in research fosters participatory inquiry by inviting authentic narratives rather than extracting data.

  • Respecting the dignity of stories means acknowledging researchers as stewards rather than extractors of insights.

  • Cultural storytelling traditions, like Ghanaian folklore or North American Indigenous Turtle Island narratives, offer deep context for richer insights.

  • Multiple perspectives exist in every story, making it critical to avoid single-story or monoculture thinking in research.

  • Storytelling helps insights to cut through noise as people process stories more naturally than statistics or data.

  • Metacognition — deliberate reflection on decisions and processes — sustains rigor and deeper understanding in research.

  • Researchers experience 'aha moments' often during reflective, off-task activities like walking or doing chores, connecting disparate insights.

  • Editing research stories requires balancing completeness with clarity, often ruthlessly focusing on the core truths and themes.

  • Storytelling enables researchers to challenge organizational narratives and bring authentic participant voices directly to stakeholders.

  • Despite advances in AI and democratized research tools, human researchers remain essential for empathizing with multiple perspectives and integrating them into meaningful stories.

Notable Quotes

"Stories don’t work by extraction, people tell them and you listen."

"We are guardians and stewards of that story, giving people the agency to share their experience."

"Every story has multiple perspectives; there’s a story before me and a story after me."

"Monoculture in stories is like having just one narrative that doesn’t capture the full reality."

"Stories require no learning to understand, but you really have to work to make sense of statistics."

"Metacognition is rigor — being able to explain why you made every decision in your research."

"The moments when things 'click' often come during shower thoughts or while doing dishes — those reflective pauses matter."

"I use storytelling as armor to present findings clients may not want to hear, preserving the authentic voice."

"When editing, I focus on the sharpest image and core truths, what really matters to tell moving forward."

"Researchers have a responsibility to tell stories that remain intact long after we’ve left the organization."

Ask the Rosenbot
Alla Weinberg
Workers Are Sick of Change: The Cure is Psychological Safety
2023 • Enterprise UX 2023
Gold
Louis Rosenfeld
Welcome / Housekeeping
2023 • Enterprise UX 2023
Gold
Josh Clark
Sentient Scenes and Radically Adaptive Experiences
2025 • Designing with AI 2025
Gold
Ryan Matthew
Bridging Design and Code: AI-Powered Design System Integration
2025 • DesignOps Summit 2025
Gold
Mike Oren
Improving Democratized Research with CustomGPTs and Gems
2026 • Rosenfeld Community
Ilana Lipsett
Anticipating Risk, Regulating Tech: A Playbook for Ethical Technology Governance
2021 • Civic Design 2021
Gold
Louis Rosenfeld
Opening Remarks
2022 • Civic Design 2022
Gold
Angelos Arnis
Navigating the Rapid Shifts in Tech's Turbulent Terrain
2023 • DesignOps Summit 2023
Gold
Sam Proulx
SUS: A System Unusable for Twenty Percent of the Population
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Susan Weinschenk
Evaluating the Maturity of UX in Your Organization
2020 • Enterprise Community
Sean Baker
Weaving Knowledge Management into the Fabric of Our Design Practice
2025 • DesignOps Summit 2025
Gold
Lada Gorlenko
Theme 2 Intro
2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Gold
Frances Yllana
DesignOps–Leading the Path to Parity
2023 • DesignOps Community
Kavana Ramesh
Meaningful inclusion: Practicing accessibility research with confidence
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2024
Gold
Jen Cardello
Standardizing Product Merits for Leaders, Designers, and Everyone
2018 • Enterprise Experience 2018
Gold
Kristen Honey
"Let’s Talk About Data and Crisis”: Public Digital Service Delivery = Open Data + Human Centered Design
2021 • Civic Design Community

More Videos

Sheri Byrne-Haber

"Either you need accessibility now or you will need accessibility in the future."

Sheri Byrne-Haber

Accessibility at Scale

June 9, 2021

Prayag Narula

"The best products come from marrying analytics with human stories."

Prayag Narula Hannah Hudson

Empowering Designers to do Good Research

March 11, 2022

Janelle Estes

"Don't just flip the switch and say go talk to customers; you have to set guardrails and train people."

Janelle Estes

UX Research Trends

January 28, 2021

Craig Brookes

"Finding a leadership champion and building on small wins creates momentum for integrating research and content."

Craig Brookes Andreas Huebner Morgan Quinn

"Just Make it Look Good" and Other Ways We're Misunderstood

June 11, 2021

Marc Fonteijn

"A regular heartbeat and familiar structure are really important principles to keep a community alive."

Marc Fonteijn Ru Butler

Increase your confidence, influence, and impact (through a Professional Community)

December 3, 2024

Kate Towsey

"Engagement and impact roles bring creativity and help maintain team morale in otherwise dry operations work."

Kate Towsey

The State of ResearchOps: More Than Just Theory

June 20, 2019

Alla Weinberg

"Sometimes the entire leadership team quitting at once is a big sign cultural safety is failing."

Alla Weinberg

Design Teams Need Psychological Safety: Here’s How to Create It

September 9, 2022

Shawna Hein

"Reliable access to veterans and other users is fundamental to running quality, inclusive research across many teams and products."

Shawna Hein Kevin Hoffman

Create a Cohesive Civic Design Practice Across Agency, Vendors, and Contracts

November 17, 2022

Tricia Wang

"Every culture has things to celebrate and improve upon; we should learn from others instead of imposing our own standards."

Tricia Wang

SCALE: Discussion

June 15, 2018