Secondary Research
Overview
Secondary research is the highest-leverage, lowest-risk AI use case in UX. All data is public, there are no client data concerns, and AI dramatically compresses research time without introducing meaningful quality risk. The critical skill is source verification: Perplexity cites sources, ChatGPT fabricates them. Use the right tool for each job. A well-executed secondary research phase eliminates entire categories of interview questions by revealing what is already known.
AI workflow
6 steps
- 01
Competitive Landscape Scan
Perplexity
Start with Perplexity for cited competitive intelligence. Prompt: "Who are the top 6 competitors for [product type] in [market]? For each: pricing model, key differentiators, user-reported pain points from app store reviews and Reddit, and recent product changes." All claims come with sources - verify the top 5.
- 02
Academic Literature Review
Elicit
Elicit extracts key findings from academic papers. Search for relevant research on your user problem domain. Use it to build an evidence-based design rationale that elevates your work from opinion to research-backed decisions. Free tier: 5,000 papers.
- 03
Trend Signal Identification
Exploding Topics
Identify macro trends 6-18 months before they peak. Use for strategic framing: "This design decision aligns with an emerging behaviour pattern in [segment]." Free tier shows trending topics with limited historical depth.
- 04
Industry Report Synthesis
Claude
Upload or paste sections from industry reports (Gartner, Forrester, Statista PDFs). Prompt: "Extract the 10 most relevant findings for a UX designer working on [product domain]. Focus on user behaviour data, adoption rates, and friction points." Review all statistics before using in deliverables.
- 05
Reddit and Review Mining
Claude + manual
Manually collect 20-30 user reviews (App Store, G2, Reddit, Trustpilot) for competitors. Paste into Claude: "What are the top 5 recurring complaints, top 5 recurring praise points, and the 3 most emotionally charged user frustrations in these reviews?"
- 06
Structured Synthesis Brief
Claude + Notion AI
Combine all secondary research into a single structured brief. Claude: "Synthesize these research outputs into a secondary research brief with sections for: market context, user behaviour patterns, competitive gaps, and design opportunities." Use Notion AI to format for client presentation.
Tools
| Tool | Use | Free tier | Client-safe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perplexity | Cited web research, competitive landscape | Free tier available | Yes |
| Elicit | Academic paper synthesis, evidence-based rationale | Free tier (5,000 papers) | Yes |
| Exploding Topics | Trend signals 6-18 months early | Free basic access | Yes |
| Claude | Report synthesis, review analysis, structured briefing | Free tier available | Yes |
| Notion AI | Client-ready documentation and structuring | Free tier available | Yes |
Constraints
4 constraints
- Honest Assessment: ChatGPT and Claude will fabricate academic citations if you ask them directly. Always use Elicit or Perplexity for source-backed research, not conversational LLMs.
- All tools in this phase are client-safe - no user data is processed. Secondary research can begin immediately on any project without approval gates.
- Fixed Bid: Secondary research can be completed in 4-6 hours with this workflow (vs. 2+ days manually). Time saving is highest here of any UX phase.
- Perplexity Pro ($20/month) gives access to academic papers and deeper research modes. The free tier is viable but caps depth significantly.