Research Probe

A purpose-built, partially functional artefact — often a software prototype, sensor, or interactive installation — deployed in a study not primarily to deliver a finished product but to provoke reflection, surface user needs, and generate design insight. Distinct from cultural probes (which elicit self-report data) and from usability prototypes (which measure task performance), a research probe is a vehicle for discovery: researchers observe how participants appropriate, resist, or remix it, and use those responses to refine design directions. In accessibility research, probes are useful for engaging users who find it hard to articulate needs in the abstract, because they anchor discussion in a concrete, tangible experience.