Exploring EHE Trails Methodological Issues In Qualitative Data Sharing And Archiving (MIQDAS)

Trail Guide 0.1 Sept 2006 CONTENTS EHE Portal1 Methods Trail2 Physicality Trail3 The Wow Factor Trail4

Trail Guide 0.1 Sept 2006 EHE Portal The EHE contains data and analysis relating to an ethnographic research project that team members carried out at an interactive science discovery centre in Cardiff. From the EHE portal you can examine a) the hyperlinked multimedia dataset and b) the authored interpretation that draws on this dataset. The authored element of the EHE is an interactive ethnography presented through three "trails" that focus on specific themes. These comprise a Methods Trail and two substantive trails that explore the ways in which visitors interact with the Science Discovery Centre. An EHE is intended to be a dynamic, evolving product with room for expansion. The trails offer the main scope for expansion as they have been designed to be modular. Over time additional trails could be slotted into the structure of the EHE and integrated with the trails portal. Two exemplars have been mounted here. The main trail, Physics and Physicality, explores the relationship between 'doing' and 'seeing' at the research site. A smaller trail, The Wow Factor, focuses in the use of spectacle. The trails can be read either individually or in conjunction with each other. To explore the trails it is suggested that you first read the orientation material covered under the "Getting Started" links to the right. The Trails logo in the top right will bring you back to this portal. Once you are exploring a trail, the logo will change to the name of the trail and will take you back to the main portal for that trail. To get to this page from anywhere else in the EHE, use the Trails link at the very top of this page. 1

Trail Guide 0.1 Sept 2006 Methods Trail The "Methods Trail" allows users to understand and examine the methods we used in our project. It contains four main trails, each of which is further divided into sub-trails. "Defining the research" examines the process of creating the research, choosing the methodology and initial encounters with the field. "Relations of the field" looks at how we interacted with the participants. "Data in the field" focuses on how we recorded, interpreted and managed data. Finally "Analysis and Representation" gives some insights into how our findings were extracted from the methods. You can navigate by choosing on of the four main headings or 'jumping' into a sub-trail. In addition, it is always possible to find "next" and "previous" links that will let you read the trail in a roughly linear fashion. 2

Physicality Trail This trail and the next both present substantive aspects of our analysis. This trail explores the notion that Techniquest is "a place for doing. It is subdivided into five constituent parts on Exploratory texts, Descriptive tours, Methods page, Help and a Bibliography. 3Trail Guide 0.1 Sept 2006

This trail explores the dialectics surrounding the uses of spectacle in science communication, specifically the attempts to evoke a "wow factor" from visitors. The trail is subdivided into several constituent parts that can be read either in a suggested linear order or through following links. There will always be a "next" link on each screen which will direct you to the next suggested screen. The Wow Factor Trail 4

MIQDAS Cardiff School of Social Sciences Cardiff University Glamorgan Building King Edward VII Avenue Cardiff CF10 3WT Tel: +44(0) URL: