User research
Our website is made for our residents. It's vital that we listen to the views of people who use our site when deciding how to design and build it.
We carry out user research at regular intervals. Sometimes this focuses on a specific page or feature, while other times it looks at several sections of the site, or general design patterns affecting the whole site.
How we find people to take part in user research
We occasionally send out requests for participants, but you can contact us at any time if you're interested in taking part in future user research sessions - email contentdesign@southwark.gov.uk for more information on how to take part.
Sessions are usually 30 minutes long and we give each person who takes part a £5 voucher.
It's very important that we work with from a diverse group of people to inform our website changes. We ensure our user research is with people from different backgrounds and that we have included as many perspectives as possible. We do research sessions both online and in person, so that people who aren't comfortable using video calls can speak to us, while people who prefer video calls can use them.
Our user research consent statement
We use the following statement when running user research sessions.
Your Rights
Your participation in this study is voluntary. You can take a break or discontinue participation at any time without giving a reason. If you have any questions or concerns about this study, please do let us know by contacting [the person managing the research sessions].
Data We Will Collect
We will only process your data with your explicit consent.
With your consent, we will record the session and we will take notes to record your responses. This is so that we can analyse, organise, and compare responses to identify key themes and insights.
We will not request, and you should not provide, any special category personal information in this testing. Special category personal information under UK GDPR relates to personal data such as religious beliefs, political opinions, race or ethnicity etc.
How We Use Your Data
Any data, recording or other personal information collected about you will be treated confidentially. We will keep the data for the duration of the project, once the project is completed all personal data and recordings will be deleted within 1 month of the end of the project.
Once the project is complete we will keep a summary of the key suggestions gathered in the research. This will not include any personal data.
If you have given your contact details and consented to take part in future projects, we will keep your contact details on file until the end of the current year + 2 years.
Withdrawing Your Consent
You can withdraw your consent to the use of your data described above at any time. If you would like to withdraw your consent please contact the person managing the research session. We will act on withdrawals of consent within 12 business days.
Please read our Data Privacy Statement for more information on how Southwark Council handles data.
Page last updated: 25 January 2024
