ROLE OF ETHNOGRAPHY IN DESIGN Spring 2009 User Interface Design and Development School of information, UC Berkeley Deepti Chittamuru

ETHNOGRAPHY: DEFINITION Description of a culture or phenomenon, usually based on the method of participant observation. – Oregon State University The study and systematic recording of human cultures ; also : a descriptive work produced from such research – Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary 4/9/20092Deepti Chittamuru

ETHNOGRAPHY Vs CI ETHNOGRAPHYCONTEXTUAL INTERVIEW Study a culture or a social phenomenon over a period of time Study a behavior or a user at a moment in time No apriori knowledge of the questions you are trying to answer Know apriori the exact question that you desire to answer Try to pay equal attention to everything happening in the field Focus only on things that are relevant to your question Try to experience the world as the subject does Consciously dissociate herself from the user experience Try to get an “insider’s” or participant’s point of view and take an “outsider’s” or observer’s point of view Look for emergent patterns in the data after recording it Record only that data which answers the question 4/9/20093Deepti Chittamuru

ROLE IN THE DESIGN PROCESS There is no data or only minimal data about the To study the adaptation of a developed and deployed solution by the users When you do not know the right questions to ask 4/9/20094Deepti Chittamuru

GETTING IN Unknown Researcher – Public Places – Closed/Private Places Known Researcher – Participant Researcher Role – Unassociated Researcher Role Power of Courtesy Ethics and Confidentiality 4/9/20095Deepti Chittamuru

GETTING IN: CHALLENGES Finding Connections Self Presentation Presenting Your Research Obtaining Introductions Gaining Trust Informed Consent 4/9/20096Deepti Chittamuru

GETTING ALONG WITH SELF Deception- Consequent Fear Sympathy- Desire to help Marginality- Desire to belong 4/9/20097Deepti Chittamuru

GETTING ALONG WITH OTHERS To suspect or to trust? To be Non-Threatening Need not be all knowing 4/9/20098Deepti Chittamuru

GETTING ALONG: CHALLENGES Factions Trade-Offs Closed Doors Insider Understandings 4/9/20099Deepti Chittamuru

LOGGING DATA Audio recording – Non-intrusive & rich source of data – Lost in transcription – Won’t catch spatial relationships Video Recording – Captures Spatial relationships also – Makes people self-concious – Might change subject’s behaviour 4/9/200910Deepti Chittamuru

LOGGING DATA Jottings – Inconspicuous jotting – Fuller jottings e.g. quotes Mental Notes Full Field Notes Social Network Graphs Annotated Maps of Physical Locations 4/9/200911Deepti Chittamuru

LOGGING DATA: CHALLENGES Opportunity to write Bias Error Disinclination to write Not knowing where to start Trying to get it right the first time 4/9/200912Deepti Chittamuru

GETTING OUT Apprise them before the disengagement process Give them a chance to mentally prepare themselves Inform them if you shall keep in touch… or not Be honest but kind Show gratitude for their giving of themselves and their lives 4/9/200913Deepti Chittamuru

GETTING OUT: CHALLENGES Attachments developed during the study Bidding farewell Keeping the door open Sustaining existing relationships Guilt of using the subject’s trust 4/9/200914Deepti Chittamuru

ANALYZING DATA Emergent Iterative Coding Types of Topics Sequencing Data Topic Cycles Topic’s Causes Topic’s Consequences Topic’s Frequencies Topic’s Magnitudes 4/9/200915Deepti Chittamuru

MILLEE: BACKGROUND Teach English Through Games on Mobile Phones Intended Users are Children in Rural India Designs are created with cultural references familiar to the children Ran a series of studies to show the effectiveness of the games 4/9/200916Deepti Chittamuru

MILLEE: CURRENT STUDY Ethnographic Study The influence of social and cultural forces on learning environment and experience 18 children- 9 boys and 9 girls 4 month study Given phones to keep as their own for the duration 4/9/200917Deepti Chittamuru

SOME INITIAL FINDINGS Role of Parents in Learning Emergence of Power Users Choice of Playmates Sharing Across Genders Changes in the Social Network Need for Regular Meetings in a Protected Space 4/9/200918Deepti Chittamuru

Credits and Acknowledgements [1] Analyzing Social Settings: A Guide to Qualitative Observation and Analysis, Lofland and Lofland [2] Thanks to Prof. Jenna Burrell (For teaching me formal qualitative research methods) [3] Thanks to Prof. Tapan Parikh (For guiding me in the creation of this lecture) 4/9/2009Deepti Chittamuru19