Card Sorting

1. Prepare the cards

Create your list of content topics. Topics can be phrases or words, very specific or more general. As a suggestion, limit yourself to 50-60 topics or less.

2. Set-up the session

Schedule the live conversation inviting the participants either from Checkealos Participants or from your audience, also invite another research member to take notes as the participant works and thinks aloud.

3. Lead the session

The participant will be shown the set of cards, so they will be able to talk out loud while sorting the cards

4. Analyze Your Data

Obtain a powerful and sophisticated variety of data content organization and conceptualization analysis tools:

– Multidimensional Scaling
– Disimilarity
– Respondant Centric Analysis (RCA)

Open Card sorting

Participants are asked to organize topics from content within your website into groups that make sense to them and then name each group they created in a way that they feel accurately describes the content. Use an open card sort to learn how users group content and the terms or labels they give each category.

Closed Card sorting

Participants are asked to sort topics from content within your website into pre-defined categories. A closed card sort works best when you are working with a pre-defined set of categories, and you want to learn how users sort content items into each category.

Combine Closed and Open Card Sorting

You could conduct an open card sort first to identify content categories and then use a closed card sort to see how well the category labels work.

Helps to label categories and navigation

Helps early in the design process before wireframes or prototypes have been created.

One on Ones

One on Ones are moderated sessions, you can use the Checkealos Live Conversation Method with a moderator. Checkealos Participants or your audience participants think aloud while sorting, giving a clearer picture of their reactions and thought processes.

Group and Concurrent Sessions

Group and Concurrent Sessions have participants sort a set of cards as a group. The facilitator may brief the participants at the beginning and debrief the participants at the end, but the participant together for most of the session.

Working collaboratively, or as a team, may quickly bring about grouping and labeling of main content areas.

Group and Independent Concurrent Sessions

Group and independent concurrent sessions have participants sort a set of cards independently. The moderator may brief the participants at the beginning and debrief the participants at the end, but the participant works alone for most of the session.