Love and Breakup Letter Methodology - A New Research Technique for Medical Education

Sep 15, 2026

Love and Breakup Letter Methodology (LBM) is presented as a research approach for medical education, originally developed in user experience (UX) and adapted for medical learning contexts. Participants write a love or breakup letter before or at the start of a focus group, then read it aloud so the expressed points become prompts for subsequent discussion. The paper outlines theoretical considerations, links LBM to UX’s focus on emotional and internal user states beyond usability, and discusses practical use within medical education research.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages42

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

LBM in UX

LBM in Medical Education

The University of Manchester Research Love and Breakup Letter Methodology: A New Research Technique for Medical Education DOI: 10.1111/medu.14463 Document Version Accepted author manuscript Link to publication record in Manchester Research Explorer Citation for published version (APA): Laughey, W. F. , Brown, M. EL. , Liu, A. , Dueñas, A. N. , & Finn, G. M. (2021) . Love and Breakup Letter Methodology: A New Research Technique for Medical Education. Medical education. [https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14463](https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14463) Published in: Medical education Citing this paper Please note that where the full-text provided on Manchester Research Explorer is the Author Accepted Manuscript or Proof version this may differ from the final Published version. If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the Research Explorer are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Takedown policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please refer to the University of Manchester’s Takedown Procedures [[http://man.ac.uk/04Y6Bo](http://man.ac.uk/04Y6Bo)] or [contact openresearch@manchester.ac.uk](contact openresearch@manchester.ac.uk) providing relevant details, so we can investigate your claim. Download date:15 . Sep. 2026 Medical Education Love and Breakup Letter Methodology: A New Research Technique for Medical Education | Journal: | Medical Education | | --- | --- | | Manuscript ID | MED-2020-2805.R2 | | Manuscript Type: | Research Approaches | | Keywords: | Instructional Materials/Methods, Interdisciplinary Medical Education | | Research Method: | Knowledge synthesis (i.e., review article) | | | | Page 1 of 40 Medical Education 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 Page 1 of 19 Love and Breakup Letter Methodology: A New Research Technique for Medical Education Authors: William F Laughey*a, Megan EL Browna, Ariel Liub, Angelique N Dueñasa and Gabrielle MFinna,c a Health Professions Education Unit, Hull York Medical School, York, UK b Google Inc, Mountain View, California, USA c Division of Medical Education, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. *Corresponding author [contact details:](contact details: William.Laughey@hyms.ac.uk)[ William.Laughey@hyms.ac.uk](contact details: William.Laughey@hyms.ac.uk) Health Professions Education Unit, Hull York Medical School, York, YO10 5DD, UK Biographical notes: William F Laughey is a General Practitioner and clinical tutor. Megan EL Brown is a PhD student in medical education. Ariel Liu is a Staff User Experience Researcher at Google. Angelique N Dueñas is a PhD student in medical education. Gabrielle M Finn is a professor of medical education and vice-dean for teaching, learning and students. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 Medical Education Page 2 of 40 Page 2 of 19 (Words 3420, excluding boxes.) Introduction We have recently utilised Love and Breakup Letter Methodology (LBM) 1, 2 in medical education research3,– the first time this has been reported in the literature. LBM was developed within the discipline of User Experience (UX) 4, where it is typically used as a tool to

FAQs

What is the Love and Breakup Letter Methodology (LBM) and how is it used in a study?

Participants write a love or breakup letter before or at the beginning of a focus group, read it aloud, and use the letter’s points as prompts for the discussion that follows.

Where did LBM originate?

LBM was developed within the discipline of user experience (UX), where it is used to capture what focus group participants like or dislike about technological features or sites.

How does LBM connect to the goals of UX research?

The approach aligns with UX’s evolution from usability studies to understanding users’ emotional and internal states in relation to the designed system and interaction context.

Sep 15, 2026

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