Qualitative HCI Research. Ann Blandford
was not our intention at the beginning of the study, as our study evolved we noticed that many of the interactive behaviours the lawyers displayed were highly similar to those identified by Ellis and colleagues in other disciplines (and when using electronic library catalogues rather than the Web). Later data gathering and analysis focused on Ellis’s model. However, rather than assume that all of Ellis and colleagues’ findings applied in this new context, we questioned their total fit. This resulted in the existing theory being enriched by both extending and refining previous findings. A different example of contributing to theory arose from our attempts to apply DCog to analyse a control room. DCog is a theoretical perspective that views cognition as being distributed in the world, rather than residing solely in the mind, recognising the role of artefacts and information flow in supporting cognition. We found the theory lacked a suitable method to apply it, so we developed a method called DiCoT (Distributed Cognition for Teamwork) to fill this gap (Furniss and Blandford, 2006). Sometimes contributions to theory and method can be greater than the insights for the context under study.
Figure 2.5: A view of a control room with shared information artefacts that shaped the development of DiCoT (Furniss and Blandford, 2006).
2.6 SUMMARY AND CHECKLIST: PLANNING A STUDY
Just as the director of a documentary film is driven by their vision and has to plan what and where to film within their constraints before starting, you have to think about your study’s purpose and plan before you start to gather data. You might review relevant literature and do a pilot study early on to check your study design or to shape your approach. You might consult with a specialist user group to check your plans are feasible. You might need to review the focus of your study or approach as a result. But without a plan, a study is unlikely to be robust or deliver useful outcomes. There comes a point when you simply have to head off and explore, because if you knew ahead of time what you were going to find in the study, there would be no point in doing it. But it is wise to know broadly what you want to study and how before you begin. It is also wise to write up the study method ahead of time, to capture what you propose to do; this “methods” section can be reviewed and revised later if you discover that what you had intended was not in practice feasible or appropriate.
Checklist A summarises issues that need to be considered early on. You should also be mindful of quality considerations (discussed in Chapter 8) from the outset, to make sure that you conduct and report the best possible study.
| Checklist A: Planning a SSQS | |
| Purpose | What is the purpose of the study? Why is it an important study to conduct? What gap in knowledge is it filling? |
| Resources and constraints | What resources do you have to work with? What constraints limit possibilities? What training and preparation does each researcher need? What expertise does the researcher bring to the project? Do you need advocate(s) within the study setting? How will you identify and work with them? See Chapter 3. What is the approach to sampling participants? How will participants be recruited? See Chapter 3. Where will the study take place? To what extent, and how, will theory play a role in data gathering, analysis and/or reporting? |
| Ethical considerations | Are there important ethical considerations that need to be addressed (e.g., vulnerable participants)? How will you ensure that participants benefit as far as possible from participation? What will participants be told about the study when giving informed consent? How will participants be debriefed about the study once it is completed? How will data be stored and anonymised? How will participants’ engagement be reported? If participants read the report, will they feel well represented or is there a risk that they might feel used or misled? See Chapter 7. Have you considered your own safety and health and made sure that this is addressed well (e.g., considering the risks of lone working)? |
| Techniques for data gathering | How will data be gathered (interviews, observation, etc.)? How will it be recorded? If multiple methods are to be used, how will they be sequenced and coordinated? How interleaved will participant recruitment, data gathering and analysis be? |
| Analysis of data | How will data be analysed? How will the analysis be validated or will quality be ensured/assessed? |
| Reporting | Who is the audience? How will findings be reported? |
CHAPTER 3
Sampling and Recruitment
WHO AND WHAT TO FILM?
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