# Qualitative Study for LLM-assisted Design Study Process: Strategies, Challenges, and Roles

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.10024 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.10024/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 14 Jul 2025.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Key Considerations for Domain Expert Involvement in LLM Design and Evaluation: An Ethnographic Study](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.14357/) (2026)
- [Benchmark It Yourself (BIY): Preparing a Dataset and Benchmarking AI Models for Scatterplot-Related Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.06071/) (2025)
- [Agentic Authoring of Interactive Multiview Visualizations in Genomics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.00370/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Design studies aim to create visualization solutions for real-world problems of different application domains. Recently, the emergence of large language models (LLMs) has introduced new opportunities to enhance the design study process, providing capabilities such as creative problem-solving, data handling, and insightful analysis. However, despite their growing popularity, there remains a lack of systematic understanding of how LLMs can effectively assist researchers in visualization-specific design studies. In this paper, we conducted a multi-stage qualitative study to fill this gap, involving 30 design study researchers from diverse backgrounds and expertise levels. Through in-depth interviews and carefully-designed questionnaires, we investigated strategies for utilizing LLMs, the challenges encountered, and the practices used to overcome them. We further compiled and summarized the roles that LLMs can play across different stages of the design study process. Our findings highlight practical implications to inform visualization practitioners, and provide a framework for leveraging LLMs to enhance the design study process in visualization research.