The best research doesn’t just answer questions. It also transfers knowledge so others can apply it.
But too often, qualitative findings stay locked in reports. They help one team while the rest of the organization struggles with the same problems.
Transferability in qualitative research can prevent that, making your insights useful beyond a single study. It allows teams to work smarter instead of starting from scratch.
Before we dive into how transferability works, here’s a quick tip:
To make your research transferable, you need, among other things, a strong UX research repository. Marvin, our AI-powered qualitative research platform, can help you quickly sort through research and make it more accessible.
Create a free Marvin account today to keep your findings organized and ready to influence future decisions.
What is Transferability in Qualitative Research?
Transferability is an attribute of qualitative research that measures how well research findings apply to similar contexts. Researchers, designers, and product teams assess transferability to see if insights fit their own work.
Because it relies on detailed descriptions, transferability helps others compare contexts and decide if findings are relevant.
For example, you study how designers organize Figma files. Your insights may help others at your company or external teams at other companies:
- A design lead at your company could use your findings to refine internal design processes.
- A UX writer might adapt your insights to improve interface copy for better usability.
- A startup’s design team might compare your findings to their own workflow and adopt better practices.
- A UX researcher at a large company might use your insights to improve file organization guidelines.
- A product manager might share your findings with developers to streamline the design-to-development handoff.
Why Transferability Matters in Qualitative Research
Not all research happens in a vacuum. Good insights should be useful beyond a single project.
Transferability helps your findings reach the right people and influence better design decisions. Here’s why it matters:
- Improves product consistency: When research is transferable, design, development, and marketing teams stay on the same page. Teams across an organization can align on best practices and user expectations.
- Strengthens research impact: Well-documented studies shape product strategy, not just isolated features. A single study can inform multiple decisions, making research more valuable in the long run.
- Saves time and effort: Others don’t need to repeat research if your findings apply to their situation. A transferable study prevents redundant work and speeds up decision-making.
- Supports better decision-making: Stakeholders can use real user insights to guide product improvements. With relevant findings, they can confidently choose solutions that match user needs.
- Informs similar projects: Teams working on related products can adapt your insights to their own challenges. Well-documented research helps them make informed adjustments without starting from scratch.
Transferability vs. Generalizability
Some research findings apply in many places, while others only fit specific situations. However, both have value and help build knowledge. The key is knowing when and how each applies.
Here’s how transferability and generalizability compare:
| Aspect | Transferability | Generalizability |
| Definition | Findings apply to similar settings with shared conditions | Findings apply broadly across different groups and situations |
| Common in | Qualitative research | Quantitative research |
| How it works | Researchers provide detailed context so others can judge relevance | Researchers use statistical sampling to ensure broad applicability |
| Data type | Rich, detailed descriptions | Large, numerical datasets |
| Example | A study on remote usability testing helps teams designing similar workflows | A survey on user preferences predicts trends for all users |
Factors That Influence Transferability in Research
Instead of sitting in a UX research report, your insights should shape decisions. Here’s what influences how well others can apply your findings to their own work:
- Research context: Missing details about the environment, tools, or constraints can limit how useful your insights are. In contrast, a well-defined context helps others determine if the conditions of your study match their own.
- Participant details: Transferability depends on knowing who participated in the study. If demographic or behavioral details are missing, others may struggle to judge whether the findings apply to their audience.
- Thick description: A lack of depth in reporting can make findings feel disconnected from real-world applications. Transferability improves when insights include the nuances of user behavior, decision-making, and context.
- Data collection methods: Transparent methods allow others to assess how data was gathered and whether they can trust and apply the results. Poor documentation or missing methodological details can weaken credibility and reduce impact.
- Researcher bias: Every study is shaped by the researcher’s perspective, whether acknowledged or not. Failing to recognize bias can make findings seem skewed or less applicable in different contexts. Openly addressing bias helps others understand its role in shaping conclusions, making it easier to judge relevance.
- Study scope: If a study’s focus is too broad, findings may lack depth. If too narrow, they may feel irrelevant outside a specific case. Clearly defining the scope ensures that others know what the research covers and where its insights might be useful. Teams risk misapplying findings or overlooking valuable insights when the scope is unclear.
- Information access: Even the best research loses value if teams can’t find or use it later. A well-structured research repository will help you keep the data accessible whenever you need to prove its reliability.
Want to see how repositories improve research impact? Grab a copy of our latest report on the state of research repositories and:
- Discover how repositories keep insights accessible
- Understand their relevance to specific job roles or tasks
- Learn how Marvin helps teams apply past findings to new projects
How to Ensure Transferability in Qualitative Research
Once your study concludes, you need to take some extra steps to make it transferable. Below, we detail those steps that increase the usefulness of your qualitative insights for other teams or companies.
Step 1: Provide Rich Contextual Details
Start by describing your research environment in great detail:
- The type of product tested (mobile app, desktop software, or physical prototype)
- Participant demographics (user characteristics, roles, experience levels, behaviors, etc.)
- Techniques (interviews, usability tests, or field observations)
- Overall testing setup (in-person, remote, moderated, or not)
This transparency lets readers accurately evaluate if your context matches theirs.
Step 2: Highlight Important Patterns
Identify and clearly summarize the most prominent patterns or themes you observed. Be precise, focusing on consistent behaviors, attitudes, or challenges your participants shared.
If users misunderstood an interface element, explain how and why this confusion occurred. Relating these findings helps others quickly gauge relevance.
Keep summaries concise yet detailed enough for readers to recognize similarities with their own projects.
Step 3: Share Real-World Examples
Want to bring findings to life? Support your insights with:
- Concrete examples from your participants
- Direct quotes or detailed observations
While this improves trustworthiness in qualitative research, you also need examples that reflect typical scenarios, not isolated incidents.
Pro tip:
With Marvin’s playlists, you can do a lot more than just share notes or quotes. You can combine key moments from multiple interviews into a single video.
If users repeatedly struggle with navigation, you can stitch together clips showing their challenges. This lets teams see real reactions instead of reading summaries.
Playlists also remove guesswork from research findings. Developers, designers, and product managers can watch user frustrations firsthand.
With admin permissions, anyone can view Playlists without a Marvin license. This makes insights more accessible and actionable across teams. Create your free Marvin account today and make research insights easier to share.
Step 4: Suggest How Insights Could Be Applied
Offer clear, practical recommendations on how to apply your findings in similar projects. Translate insights into actionable feedback.
If your research uncovers navigation issues in a product, suggest ways to streamline navigation clearly. For instance, recommend simpler menu structures or improved visual cues based on user feedback.
Provide at least one actionable recommendation per key finding. By doing so, other teams can immediately understand how to benefit from your research.
Step 5: Invite Open Comparisons
Encourage readers to actively assess how your findings align with their contexts. Ask reflective questions or prompts to help them compare:
“Do your users face similar navigation challenges?”
How closely do our participant profiles match your user base?”
This step leads to deeper engagement with your research. It helps readers confidently decide whether your insights transfer effectively to their own situation.
Methods to Enhance Qualitative Research Transferability
Transferability involves intentional methods to make your findings useful elsewhere. Here are some proven techniques to help others apply your research:
Use Triangulation to Validate Findings
Triangulation in qualitative research combines multiple methods (such as interviews, observations, and analytics) to confirm insights. This strengthens your results and boosts confidence that findings transfer well to similar projects.
For example, usability testing shows that users struggle with navigation. Analytics data confirm it by showing high bounce rates on certain pages. If only one method were used, teams might question whether the issue was widespread or an anomaly.
Triangulation ensures that insights are grounded in multiple perspectives. It increases their relevance for teams working on related problems, making those insights more transferable.
Diversify Your Participant Selection
Variety helps others judge if your findings apply to their users. That’s why you want to avoid overly narrow samples.
Instead, include a range of participants who represent different parts of your target audience.
Document Your Research Decisions
Transparency about your reasoning helps other designers and developers evaluate your approach.
Record your key choices and assumptions clearly, explaining why you chose certain methods, tools, or interview styles.
Provide Context-Rich Examples
Offer detailed user stories that illustrate key points. Include real quotes and examples from participants.
This makes it easy for other teams to recognize similar behaviors in their users.
Acknowledge Limitations Openly
Honesty helps others realistically judge the value of your findings for their own situations.
Be upfront about factors that could limit your study’s transferability. And clearly state aspects such as a small sample size or unique user traits.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Let’s wrap up this guide with some transferability FAQs:
What Role Does Trustworthiness Play in Qualitative Research?
Trustworthiness and qualitative research go hand in hand to ensure credible and reliable findings. Without trust, insights may seem biased or weak. With trust, research becomes more valuable for decision-making.
Researchers build qualitative research trustworthiness through transparency, consistency, and thorough documentation. Peer reviews, triangulation, and member checks enhance credibility.
How Does Thick Description Enhance Transferability?
Thick description supports transferability in qualitative research by providing deep context and detail. It helps readers judge if findings apply to their setting. Clear documentation of participants, environment, and processes can make insights more likely to be transferable.
Can Transferability Be Measured in Qualitative Studies?
Research transferability isn’t measured with numbers like in quantitative studies. Instead, researchers provide rich, detailed context. This allows readers to determine if the findings apply to their situation. Thick description and contextual clarity make findings more applicable across different settings.
How Does Transferability Contribute to Evidence-Based Decision-Making?
Strong transferable research helps decision-makers apply qualitative insights to real-world contexts. It ensures that findings remain useful beyond a single study. Without transferability, research stays isolated and lacks broader impact. Rich descriptions allow organizations to make informed, evidence-based choices.
Conclusion
Transferability in qualitative research ensures that your findings go beyond a single project and benefit others. Make your insights more applicable to different teams and situations by always aiming to:
- Provide rich context
- Document key decisions
- Use thick descriptions
- Build a research repository
A well-organized research repository helps teams store, retrieve, and compare insights across projects. That’s the essence of transferability.
To make the most of your qualitative research, use our end-to-end UX research repository. Marvin is powered by AI workflows, making it easy to organize data, spot patterns, and extract transferable insights.
Create your free Marvin account today and build a research repository that drives real impact!
