Learn the Basics

• What is card sorting?
• When should I conduct a card sort?
• How many cards should I include in my card sort?
• How many participants do I need for a card sorting study?
• How many types of card sorts are there and what are they?

Terms to know

• Cards = A card is an individual line item that a participant is sorting into a specific category. For example, a card could include pictures, phrases, or names like "Lotion," "Apple," "Headphones," etc.
• Categories = A category is the group that a participant organizes cards within. For example, a category could be defined as "Produce," "Self Care and Health," "Electronics," etc.
• Open Card Sort = With an open card sort, participants sort a list of items into categories that make sense to them. Participants are free to assign whatever names they want to the categories they’ve created.
• Closed Card Sort = With a closed card sort, participants sort a list of items into predefined categories. They cannot update category names or add additional categories.
• Hybrid Card Sort = A hybrid card sort is where you provide your participants predefined categories, similar to close card sort, but you also allow them to create their own categories if they don’t find a good fit from those provided.
• Merged Matrix = A merged matrix is an analytical view of how frequently participants sorted cards into certain categories. The matrix is set up like a grid, with the cards listed on the left going down and the categories listed going across. In each box will be a number, which you can choose between frequency (count of participants who chose that category for that card) or percentage. The darker the box the more people put the card into that category.
• Similarity Matrix = A similarity matrix is an analytical view of the correlations between cards. If participants frequently grouped 2 cards together in the same category, this matrix will show a higher correlation between the two (indicated by their place on the table and the darker color). The top-most card and the bottom card are the least alike cards according to the participants.
• Dendrograms = A dendrogram is an analytical view of the similarities between cards. Much like the similarity matrix, this graph shows cards that were frequently grouped together using lines and trees. The closer the line is to the y-axis, the closer the cards are to being grouped together. This graph is color-coordinated to show similar items, and can incorporate more than 2 cards together (for example, if you had a category of "Clothing" and 3 cards that were sorted into it by every participant: "Jacket," "Earrings," and "Shirt," these would all be color-coated the same and organized in the dendrogram with a line between them)

For more information on Merged Matrix, Similarity Matrix, and Dendrograms, or to see some examples of what they look like, click here!

Card Sort getting started checklist

• [ ] Define your target audience (who you are looking to get feedback from)