I'm assuming you signed up to be a beta tester and essentially that is what it means. "User Research" is where a company (i.e. Bungie) has people use their product and get feedback from the users. Being a beta tester falls under the umbrella of everything that is User Research. So basically, you are on their list as a potential tester, among other things, and when things like a closed beta test for Destiny come up, you have the opportunity to be selected to test and provide feedback for the game. The little symbol is essentially an easy way to visually show you that you are on their "list".