Card sort study

How do people group these?

Card sorting shows how customers group a messy list of concepts and needs. Run a study, watch the themes emerge, and read the result even on a large deck.

Start your free study See how it works
How it works

From a pile of cards to a clear set of themes.

1

Add your cards

Type your concepts, needs, features or benefits. Run an open sort, a closed sort against your own categories, or a hybrid of the two.

2

Participants sort

Each person groups the cards in a way that makes sense to them, and names their groups. On a phone they get a sort built for the small screen.

3

Read the analysis

See the themes on a similarity matrix, a dendrogram and a 3D cluster view. Pick the number of groups and Graham names them.

What your participants see

Built for the phone in their hand.

Most of your participants are on a phone, so the sort is designed for the phone from the first tap. They flip through the cards, file each into a group with a tap, and name the groups as they go. It is quick, needs no account, and that is why more people finish.

  • A mobile sort made for the phone screen, one card at a time
  • Open, closed and hybrid sorts, on phone or desktop
  • An optional screener to reach the right people
The mobile card sort screen on a phone
Sorting cards into folders, built for the phone.
What you see

Analysis that stays clear on big decks.

Where other tools stop at a tangle, SortedResearch keeps a 60 card study legible. A similarity matrix shows which cards were grouped together, a dendrogram shows the structure, and a 3D view lets you explore it. Pick the number of groups and the cards reorganize.

  • Similarity matrix, dendrogram and 3D clusters
  • Suggested groups at the number you choose, named by Graham
  • Quality checks and segments, so you can trust and slice the data
A similarity matrix of 64 sportswear-need cards, with darker clusters along the diagonal showing which cards were grouped together
A similarity matrix: cards grouped together sit in the dark blocks.
Graham

Graham names the groups

Pick the number of groups and Graham reads what participants created, then names and describes each one, so a long deck becomes a clean set of themes you can act on.

  • A clear name and a one-line description for every group
  • A client-ready report, with the story and clear next steps
  • Import a screener from a Word or PDF document in seconds
Better together

Sorted your themes? Now prioritize them.

Once a card sort has turned a long list into a handful of clear themes, turn those themes into a pairwise study in one click, and rank them by importance and satisfaction on an opportunity matrix. Graham carries the group names and descriptions across.

Run your first sort, free

Set up a card sort today. Graham will help you get going.

Start your free study