Research at VA
Last Updated: January 15, 2025
Learn how we do Veteran-facing research on VA.gov. Use our templates and guidelines to help you plan, facilitate, and synthesize research.
Quick Resources
TEMPLATE: research plan
TEMPLATE: conversation guide
TEMPLATE: research findings
Community-based resources
Join the accessibility champions (a11y champs) community
Orientation
Are you new to conducting research at VA? This collection of videos will show you the tools, services, support, and documentation available.
Watch the latest research and design orientation sessions
Gathering existing research and data
How can I find the latest insights from research conducted with Veterans?
Filter the research repo by keyword or labels to find studies.
Sign up for the OCTO Research Insights Newsletter to get the latest research findings.
Make sure to come to the Monday Design Community of Practice meeting, where fellow researchers share their latest findings.
How can I find a researcher or designer if I need to contact them?
The Product team list contains researchers and designers and the products they work on.
How do I find data to help me understand how Veterans use VA.gov today?
Here is a list of analytics dashboards you can access.
Submit a qualitative data request to receive the text data that Veterans enter on Medallia User Surveys (among other things).
Start gathering feedback on your product by requesting a custom survey to add a custom Medallia Survey to your product page(s).
How to get help finding past insights or data
Ask questions in the #research-ops, #platform-analytics or #vsp-contact-center-support channels. You can also RSVP for research or analytics office hours to talk to a friendly person.
Conducting research
Are you in the middle of research?
Use these quick links to dive deep into the research checklist steps.
What do I need to do to get research started?
You’ll need:
A Platform reviewed prototype or mockup
Do I need to have my prototype reviewed before a usability test?
Yes. If part of your plan includes showing participants a prototype, you’ll need to have the thing you're testing ready and reviewed by the Collaboration Cycle a week (minimum) before starting your research sessions. This will typically be a Midpoint Review. This will ensure that what you’re showing Veterans meets the VA.gov quality standards.
Can I use a transcription software?
You may opt to use Zoom’s transcription plug-in offered by Perigean. You can use this option to support your notes for missed words or context, but it shouldn’t be your only method of note-taking. We recommend using verbatim notes supplemented with transcription.
Learn more about how to create a transcript
What do I do with my recordings?
As a lead researcher, you are responsible for downloading any recordings you need for synthesis and destroying the files when you are done.
You’ll have up to seven days to download an individual recording from the day it was recorded while the study is ongoing and up to 24 hours after the close of the study.
Perigean will confirm that you are finished downloading your recordings before deleting them to make room for the next study.
Do NOT post your session recordings to GitHub or Slack.
If you want to keep a clip for communication purposes, it is YOUR responsibility as the lead researcher to strip the video clip of PII or PHI.
Learn more about recording user research sessions
Need a Veteran for a pilot research session?
You can use this list of Veterans who work for the VA or companies contracting with the VA and have volunteered to occasionally be contacted to be a pilot participant for a usability study or to help teams test functionality on production. (Note: You’ll need to have access to the va.gov-team-sensitive repo. If you don’t have access, reach out to an OCTO Research specialist in the #research-ops Slack channel.)
How to get help while conducting research
Ask questions in the #research-ops channel or RSVP for research office hours.
Recruiting Veterans
Do you know a Veteran who would like to participate in research for VA?
If you meet a Veteran, caregiver, service member, or dependent who is interested in participating in research, refer them to The Veteran Usability Project.
Help and feedback
Get help from the Platform Support Team in Slack.
Submit a feature idea to the Platform.