How do I interpret the Results Matrix in Card Sorting?
In this help, we'll discuss how to use the Results Matrix in closed card sort analysis to:
- Explore placements of cards in categories
- Get a PDF Export of the Results Matrix
The Results Matrix is a table that summarizes how many times each card was sorted into each category. The number inside the each cell where a card and a category intersect represents the number of respondents who sorted that card into that category. A darker the shade of blue means that the number represents a higher percentage of respondents.
As a researcher, you can look at the Results Matrix from different viewpoints. Your viewpoint will depend on what it is you want to learn as well as on the contents of the data. For example, you might want to quickly look up what categories were popular by looking at the color. Dark blue always tells you that one category was distinctly more popular than others, while thinly spready lighter shades mean that there was no clear favorite.
The Results Matrix is an analysis tool for closed card sort. In open and hybrid card sort, the respondents can define their own categories, which calls for different more appropriate portrayals of the results - Standardization Grid and Similarity Matrix. The Standardization Grid is quite similar to the Results Matrix in how it portrays information, but in case of Standardization Grid, it displays how many cards belong into the standardized categories.
Explore placements of cards in categories
Closed card sort is good for determining where in the website's categories the respondents would place the various pieces of content and functionality. In the Results Matrix, you can find where the information (represented by cards) belongs to according to the respondents. To learn this information, simply look at the individual cards in the matrix. You will see one of the following results:
One category is clearly the most popular
If there is only one category that a card was sorted into by all respondents, this is clear evidence that on the website, the information should also be placed under the same category.
One category is the most popular, but it's not alone
When there is some competition between a few popular categories, correctly placing the information on the actual website might be a little more complicated. One solution might be to create a way to get to the information through more than one category. Doing so will support people with different ways of thinking to find the information in their own way. Another would be to reconsider you categories and the possibility of merging them, if they don't seem distinct enough. Ultimately, what you should do varies by case and depends on your own thresholds for how popular is important enough to be taken into consideration.
There are no popular favorites between the categories
It can also happen that an entire row is filled with white and light blue colors, because the respondents placed the card seemingly everywhere. This means that the respondents didn't agree well on the location of the card. This might be the fault of the card (e.g. if its name sounds nondescript or very general or if people didn't understand its meaning). If this problem repeats on multiple cards, it might also be a sign of a deeper problem with the categories. (e.g. that they have bad names or that they're not good representatives of how the respondents think of the content).
Get a PDF Export of the Results Matrix
You can create a PDF report of all the information listed above, exactly like you can see it in the web interface. To create an export, click PDF Export in the upper right corner of the tab contents.
If you wish to create a report using more than one section of your study's results, go to the Export tab