Field Studies (Ethnographic Studies) Alfred Kobsa University of California, Irvine

Characteristics At offices, homes, construction sites, airports,… Between a few hours and a couple of weeks Primarily an observational technology, but can be combined with interviews, questionnaires, think aloud, etc. Important: -Buy-in from stakeholders -good sampling plan (whom, where, when) -Good recording of observations (notes, pictures, videos, audio), and quick write-up of report -Develop “detached partnership” with subjects

Inquiry-based vs. observational studies Inquiry-based studies Reveal aspects of users’ rationale that cannot be inferred from mere observation Respondents have difficulties recalling and formulating what they do/think, and may be biased through social desirability, acquiescence, prestige,… Observational empirical studies Reveal actual user behavior (which may differ from users’ stated behavior) Subjects may act differently than normal (intentional, Hawthorne effect,…) ☛ Both methods complement each other (they yield overlapping sets of insights and may reduce misunderstandings).

Different forms (Baxter & Courage) Observation only Pure observation Deep hanging-out (structured observation, collection of artifacts, becoming a user oneself) Observation and Interaction Contextual inquiry Process analysis Condensed ethnographic interview Discount user observation (interviewer and note / picture taker) Special techniques Artifact walkthrough Incident diaries Observer-less recording