AVI/Psych 358/IE 340: Human Factors Data Gathering October 6, 2008

2 Overview (1/2)  Interviews  Ethnography

3 Interviews (1/2) 1.Unstructured - are not directed by a script, are more conversational. Rich but not replicable. - Example: ‘tell me about yourself’ 2.Structured - are tightly scripted (formalized, limited set of questions). Replicable but may lack richness. - Example: questionnaires, surveys 3.Semi-structured - guided by a script but interesting issues can be explored in more depth. Allows new questions to be brought into interview as a result of what interviewee says. Can provide a good balance between richness and replicability.

4 Interviews (2/2) Must avoid: − Leading questions that make assumptions – these questions suggest a particular answer, imply that a certain kind of answer is more/less correct − Ex: ‘What do you enjoy about this product?’  leading vs. ‘How do you feel about this product’  not leading − Unconscious biases − Interviewer biases − Interviewee biases Structured interviews tend to avoid these issues, but still must be aware of them.

5 Interview questions (1/2) Two types: 1.Closed questions: direct and focused; have a predetermined answer format - yes/no answers - short and factual answers 2.Open questions: do not have a predetermined format - whatever the interviewee wants to say in response Can use both types of questions within the same interview Avoid: leading questions, unconscious biases

6 Closed questions Easier to analyze  Must avoid: − Long questions − Compound sentences - split them into two − Jargon and language that the interviewee may not understand − Unconscious biases – e.g., gender stereotypes

7 Running the interview (1/2) Introduction – introduce yourself, explain the goals of the interview, reassure about the ethical issues, ask to record, present any informed consent form. Warm-up – make first questions easy and non-threatening.

8 Running the interview (2/2) Main body – present questions in a logical order A cool-off period – include a few easy questions to defuse tension at the end Closure – thank interviewee, signal the end, e.g., switch recorder off.

9 Enriching the interview process Props - devices for prompting interviewee (e.g., a prototype, hypothetical scenario) Focus groups

10 Ethnography (1/4)  Ethnography is a philosophy with a set of techniques that include participant observation and interviews  Ethnographers immerse themselves in the culture that they study  Must fully immerse themselves – otherwise their presence will likely cause people to act differently than they normally do (negates the point of doing an ethnographic study)

11 Ethnography (2/4)  A researcher’s degree of participation can vary along a scale from ‘outside’ to ‘inside’  Analyzing video and data logs - can be time-consuming  Collections of comments, incidents, and artifacts are made

12 Ethnography (3/4) Co-operation of people being observed is required Informants are useful Data analysis is continuous

13 Ethnography (4/4) Questions get refined as understanding grows Reports usually contain examples and episodes

14 Choosing and combining techniques Technique chosen based upon: –The focus of the study –The participants involved –The nature of the technique –The resources available

15 Summary (1/2) Three main data gathering methods: –Interviews –Questionnaires –Observation Four key issues of data gathering –Goals –Triangulation –Participant relationship –Pilot

16 Summary (2/2) Breakdown of data gathering methods/techniques: Interviews may be: –Structured –Unstructured –Semi-structured Questionnaires may be on paper, online or telephone Observation may be: – direct OR indirect – in the field OR in controlled setting Techniques can be combined depending upon: –Study focus –Participants –Nature of technique –Available resources

17 Review Data recording approaches: Hand-written notes User diaries System logs Video Audio Photographs Data collection techniques: Think-aloud Online questionnaires Semi-structured interviews Structured interviews Focus groups Ethnography

18 Interview in-class activity (1/2)  Organize yourselves into dyads  Interviewer  Interviewee  Data collection technique: Hand-written notes based on semi- structured interview questions

19 Interview in-class activity (2/2) 1.How do you use Google? 2.How can search using Google be improved?