1. Interaktionsdesign Session 3 Etnografisk tilgang til kontekst

2. Ethnography Ethnography refers to the qualitative description of human social phenomena, based on fieldwork.qualitativefieldwork Ethnography is a holistic research method founded in the idea that a system's properties cannot necessarily be accurately understood independently of each other.holistic

3. Cultural studies Cultural studies combines sociology, social theory, literary theory, film/video studies, and cultural anthropology to study cultural phenomena in industrial societies. Cultural studies researchers often concentrate on how a particular phenomenon relates to matters of ideology, race, social class, and/or gender.sociologysocial theory literary theoryfilm/video studiescultural anthropologyculturalindustrial societies ideologyracesocial classgender Cultural studies concerns itself with the meaning and practices of everyday life. Cultural practices comprise the ways people do particular things (such as watching television, or eating out) in a given culture. Particular meanings attach to the ways people in particular cultures do things.meaninglife

4. Etnografi Fieldwork Observations Concrete experience Empirical data collected in the field and in observations Translation of data Culture Understanding

5. From life to text Ethnography collects information over ”other cultures” and describes them The field experience put into text –Monographies (1920) – wholedescriptions of a foreign culture –Genres – realism –Paradigms in genres – from author to writer –......and then to author again

6. CSCW Computer Supported Cooperative Work Technologies to support cooperative work between multiple users in organisational environments Ethnographical fieldwork useful in design of new systems

7. Field methods – relation to design Developement of descriptive understanding of human behavior and Designing of artifacts which support the activities described

8. Guiding principles of Ethnography Four main principles: –Natural settings To learn about a world you don’t know you must encounter it first hand. –Holism Particular behaviours can only be understood in the everyday context the occur –Descriptive Actual description of how people behave vs. how they ought to behave –Members point of view Understanding how people organize their behaviour and make sense of the world around them

9. Field tecniques Observations Note taking Video taped notes Interviewing Observations & interviews Video analysing Field trips

10. Observations –Say or do - distinction between ideal and manifest behavior –Ideal: what every “good” member should do –Manifest: what people actually do Observations can reveal tacit knowledge

11. Observational role Observer participant - “Fly on the wall” –unobtrusive Participant observer – fully participating in the activities studied –Advantage: First hand experience –Liabilities: overwhelming Blend of both

12. Focus of Observation What to observe? When to observe? Where to observe? When have you observed enough? –Usually when you are not surprised anymore Event focus-f.x meetings Person focus -activities of individuals Place focus -activities in places Object focus - f.x life cycles of a document

13. Interviews Informal interviews –Part of most ethnographic researc –Unstructured and open-ended Formal –Structured –Follow a given discourse Usually occur in the local setting Can be contextual –questions asked while respondants are engaged in some activity

14. Ethography and Design Why is it relevant? Designers often create artifacts for work settings they know little about –Getting the user’s view Thecnologies help shape the work practices of their users –Understanding helps identify possible uses Situations where designers create technologies whose possible uses are unknown –Understanding is needed User’s experience of a technology is influenced by the context of it’s use –Gaining a perspective is important Radically new technologies need envisioning and experiencing Single task focus is ill suited to design of technologies that support task integration

15. Ethnography and Design How and why link it? Studies of work practices by ethnographer –Insights from work practices transferred to design Ethnographic study by etnographics and designers –First hand experiences for the designer Project by ethnographers, designers and users –Enables design of artifacts better suited to needs of users

16. Ideas for Field exercises 1.Observation and note taking space in a building 2.Construction of a map of an office area 3.Interview of some specialist about his work 4.Collect a work life history from someone 5.Do a semantic analysis of documents

17. Ideas for Field exercises 6.Set up a video camera in a public area – record activity there for 30 min 7.In same area take 10 pictures – captivate action and physical activities 8.Observe activity in some area unobtrusively for 30 min 9.Interview someone with goal of developing a description of “social network”

18. Ideas for Field exercises 10.Observe a group of people in a public area – try to determine who they are 11.Interview someone about “life history” of a small collection of documents