Don't focus on tools or platforms in the beginning of your UXR journey. First learn how to conduct User Research without them. Master how to ask solid non-leading questions & interview. Then practice!!! Here are 7 reasons why this is critical:
ACCESS: You won’t always have access to the same tools. Access varies depending on subscriptions & change regularly
APPROPRIATENESS: There isn’t always time, $$, or a need for a tool. Sometimes intercepts, guerrilla testing, interviews & or data analytics are a better choice
SUITABILITY: Tools have separate functions. Don’t compare them, or prioritize learning them, until you have a specific question set, or use case, to evaluate it against
FAMILIARITY: When you master a few tools before building a solid UX Research foundation you'll wind up trying to shove every study into the tools you know (because you won’t know any better)
EVOLUTION: Tech evolves. A strong methodological foundation will help you determine which approaches are best for the question at hand
PREFERENCE: People tend to prefer the method learned first — in everything (e.g. Mac users struggle with PCs)
LEARNABILITY: You can always acquire new tools. The key is to master the underlying methodology in order to leverage the right tools effectively
