How strong is your research network? Fancy meeting new researchers? Maybe even building a few bridges over lunch?

🚀 Research Lunch Club is matching researchers across 30+ cities worldwide this May - connecting members in trios from fields like AI ethics, cognitive science, ethnography, and UX research. Whether you’re in New York or Sao Paulo or Sydney, there’s a seat at the table.

Be part of our second round of matches this month - it’s like networking, but tailored, fun and over lunch!

🍽️ Follow us on Instagram @researchlunchclub to catch real-life lunch stories and researcher meetups from around the world.

This week’s interview is from Research Lunch Club - where researchers meet in person for monthly lunches in their city.

🔬 Our Meet Our Members series shares the journeys of researchers across disciplines - so you can get to know who you might be sitting down with over lunch!

Research Lunch Club x Apoorva 🇺🇸

Driven by a joyful vision for accessible, equitable, and fun learning, Apoorva designs and studies learning environments at Sirius Education Solutions and winded.vertigo. With a PhD in Psychology and an MS in Statistics/Data Science from Northwestern, she brings deep curiosity to her work and life – whether exploring Chicago's vibrant food scene (fav spots: Lula Cafe, Southport Grocery!), diving into Python, or creating linocut art. 👉 Click to learn more!

🔗 Beyond Numbers: How to Properly Evaluate Qualitative UX Research | In Beyond Numbers, Dr. Maria Panagiotidi explains why qualitative UX research should not be judged by the same standards as quantitative studies. Citing Crabtree’s 2025 framework, she emphasizes the interpretivist nature of qualitative work, which seeks depth and meaning rather than statistical generalization. The article proposes five evaluation criteria: methodological transparency, evidence-based insights, conceptual understanding, design applicability, and business relevance.

🔗 Finding Harmony Between Design, Research, and the Bottom Line | Devin Harold and Stevie Vanderwiel discuss the evolving collaboration between design and research. Harold shares insights from his leadership at Capital One, outlining how design and research teams can co-own product discovery and decision-making using a Lead, Consult, Enable model.

🔗 How AI Is Changing User Research Jobs | Thomas Stokes analyzes 2,983 job descriptions to assess how AI is shaping UX research roles. Only 11.2% of listings mention AI, but that number is rising (from 9.5% in 2024 to 16.4% in 2025). Mentions typically fall into three categories: working on AI products (39.8%), requiring AI experience or skills (40.1%), and AI use in hiring processes (24.3%).

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We’re People of Research & Research Lunch Club - a global hybrid community uniting researchers across the industries, from UX Research to Behavioural Science. We connect, collab and grow. People of Research was created by @faysel.