These are a few of my favorite resources

Whether you are looking for your next job in design research, looking to add to your knowledge base, or just looking for something to do on a cold, winter, quarantine day; the following resources may be of interest!

Books

In no particular order, some of my all-time favorites as well as some new favorites. Where possible, I've linked to non-Amazon sources. 

On my desk, waiting to be read: The Power of Not Thinking by Simon Roberts

A good book with essays by prominent researchers: Design Research by Brenda Laurel

What I consider the end to end UX+R bible: Design for the Digital Age by Kim Goodwin

A good book for examples to make a case to have Design Research in your company: Subject to Change by Adaptive Path

A very dense read, (I struggle with the amount of text in this book) but focused specifically on healthcare: Design for Care by Peter Jones

Special Interest Orgs focusing on UXR

Publishers 

• O'Reilly - they have a focus on tech and business including design
• Rosenfeld Media - books and conferences, all things design and research
• People Nerds - A great term coined by dscout. They also have some helpful blog posts. (Recently, someone called me a "research genie," gotta admit, I like that term, too!)

Education and Training

Neilsen Norman Group - Founded by Don Norman and Jakob Nielsen, pioneers in the field of design and usability. I met Don Norman at a conference once. He definitely had a love of "heated debate." That said, he's definitely a "guru" in design and research.  

IDEOU - learn from the best in the biz!

Conferences

There are SO many! Here are a few on my radar right now. What else have you attended? What else was a good use of time? 

UXR Anywhere - I just learned about this group and they seem to be making a name for themselves. Also one of the most affordable conferences I've ever seen!  

EPIC - A conference on Ethnographic Praxis. Yeah, a bit academic, but lots of good anthropological conversations. 

HXD - Put on by MadPow, I've found this to be the most accessible and focused health and design conferences. After attending and speaking multiple times, I can comfortably say it's a great use of your time and money. 

CSUN - For those interested in research, design and accessibility, the California State University of Northrup hosts an accessibility conference every year. It's one of the biggest with this specialized focus. 

CHI - Historically this has been a huge conference and you will no doubt run into many, many peers. It's a bit of a party, but also a great place to see what's coming next in the world of computer/human interaction. 

IXDA - Adding this as it's another one of the biggies focused on interaction design, but must admit I've never been. 

Podcasts

Admittedly, much of my podcasting is focused on catching up on NPR shows. But, here are a few plus a list to more. 

Dollars To Donuts hosted by Steve Portigal is highly focused on design research. 

99% Invisible is a great design focused podcast and one that just makes you think. If you are curious, you will love the variety of topics. 

The Hidden Brain by Shankar Vedantam dives into many things that help understand why we as humans make the choices and have the behaviors that we do. He "explores the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior and questions that lie at the heart of our complex and changing world."

Uncharted Journeys by Cathy McKnight -  Life is an adventure filled with great stories. This podcast captures and shares the adventures of amazing women, their careers, their success, and the secrets they learned along the way.

Brave UX by Brendan Jarvis - A podcast that explores the depths of UX Research and Product Management. 

Amy Santee, UXR career coach, has added to this list.


Mixed Methods

Awkward Silences

Metric UX

User Defenders

UX Podcast

What’s Wrong with UX

Design Better

UX Radio

The World of UX with Darren Hood

Meetups

For this category, I'm going to suggest you do some searching on your own. The beauty of COVID is that meetups are all online now, you can attend anywhere in the country, or the world! Find one that fits your needs. 

For design research, I'll give you a headstart! You can also find design, accessibility, UX, UX Research -- so many Meetups, so little time...

Slack Channels

Missing the water cooler? Check out these Slack channels where you can discuss research asynchronously. 

• Mixed Methods Slack
• Anthrohangout Slack
• ResearchOps Slack
• A11y (Accessibility) Slack
• PDXHCD Slack - Focused on Portland Human Centered Design events

That, my friends, is what I have for now. Please reach out or add your own favorite resources in the comments. I hope to see you at a conference or Meetup sometime soon!