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| Criterion |  UX Research Card Sorting |  UX Research Empathy Mapping |  UX Research User Interviews |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When content only makes sense internally and users can't find the structure again, card sorting exposes their mental order. Terms, groups, and naming are then aligned with the target group's expectations. | When a lot is assumed about a target group but little is seen jointly, empathy mapping makes knowledge and gaps directly comparable. The picture also shows which assumptions hold up and where evidence is missing. | When teams derive needs only from assumptions and real motives are missing, user interviews give direct access to behavior and meaning. Conversations from the target group's everyday life make patterns, tensions, and open questions solidly visible. |
Complexitysame | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 30–60 min | 30–60 min per interview |
Participantsdifferent | Based on research question | 4-8 | 1 participant per interview |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Empathy Map, Assumptions List, Research Gaps | Interview Notes, Themes, Insight Summary |
Tagsno overlap | Information architectureNavigationStructure | SynthesisQualitativeWorkshop | QualitativeResearchCustomerDiscovery |
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