Lecture+6

•What it is - and what it is not •Qualitative vs. quantitative - general differences? •IPS - analysis of 1) how school adapted to computers in the classroom and 2) how students could inform design of educational software tools •FSAE - analysis of how racecar team engaged organizational learning successfully despite 1) having limited resources and 2) turnover 40-66% annually •Global Seminar - online class analyzed through content analysis - apparently done “wrong”? •Portsmouth Tavern - analysis of student/townie relations in a local pub •Wikis in Education – looking at the nature of co-creation and emergence, also issues of identity and collective editing •No “right” answer as to what methods to use (but there’s better and worse solutions…) •Decisions based on focus of inquiry, required knowledge, resources available, access to people, activities, contexts, technologies •Triangulation - complementary methods that back up same conclusion - helpful •Inquiries for general vs. specific information •Information in human/social context •Builds and tells a narrative – can be used in informing use cases, scenarios •Secondary source research •Content Analysis •Interviews/Focus Groups •Case Studies/Grounded Theory •Ethnography/Observation •Contextual Inquiry/Action Research •Secondary source - learning from what’s already out there •Critical reading - what was learned when from whom via what methods - and consequently, what was not learned •Challenges? •Costs? •Narrative created through analysis of existing or generated artefacts •Attempt to find common patterns or occurrences •Structured - either computer-based (e.g., nVivo) or manually (e.g., index cards, whiteboards) Challenges? Costs? •Semi-structured discussions with individuals to discover their perspective or opinion •Should be recorded and analyzed at later date via content analysis •Challenges? Costs? •Collective interview - allows for gaining more opinion in same time •Also generates information via dialogue and debate - especially in heterogeneous groups •Worries of groupthink, leaders influencing discussion Challenges? Costs? •Focusing strongly on one instance - “thick description” •Goal is not generalizability but transferability - case is unique but can still highlight trends in similar cases •Can build towards grounded (or intuitive) theory - particularly if other cases confirm •Challenges? Costs? •Learning through observing people and their activities in context •Ethnography - a more detailed, holistic investigation of people and their social contexts •Requires empathy but also some degree of neutrality (or else you “go native”) •Challenges? Costs? •Often in design, the point is not simply to understand but to influence change •Contextual inquiry - elements of observation but also elements of changing that which is observed •Integrates many methods •Requires buy-in of those in context •Flow •Sequence •Artefact •Cultural •Physical •Analysis of flow of information (and its potential breakdown) Individuals, processes and groups - and their relations in handling informati •All potential links, big and small •Actual links vs. theoretical (e.g., the org chart problem) •Automatic actions - things that people do without thinking Look for breakdowns and bottlenecks •Work task representation - flow for tasks (similar to Assignment 1) •Intent - what sequence is supposed to do •Trigger - what sets the sequence in motion •Steps - how this is done Breakdowns - problems in procedure •External events that impact performance locally •Actions or intents that don’t fit the “right” model - breakdowns and contingencies •Branches of action - flowchart and decision making •The tools and artefacts of process •Content (what is) •Structure (information about what is) •Presentation (representation of what is) •Annotation (comments about what is) •Artefacts as “captures” of flow and sequence •Some are less useful or functional than others - why? •Change in artefact form, presentation might cause immediate concern or revolt from users - why? •Collective culture, norms, values of culture - and its influence on activity, for better or worse •Influencers - leaders (formal and informal) whose actions carry weight (and conversely, those who don’t) •Role influence (e.g., role of authority structure, bridging roles) •Characteristics and mobility of informal leaders •Cliques and counter-cultures - why they exist, and why they can be of help at times •Place and proximity can influence flow and sequence •Physical layout •Workflow movement diagrams •Industrial design issues •Mapping layout and flow in physical space •Bottlenecks and potential efficiencies •Relations to culture - are cliques physically separated as well? .
 * __ Class 6: Intro to Research Methods – Qualitative Methods  __**
 * __ Research __**
 * __ Five personal examples __**
 * __ What methods to choose __**
 * __ Qualitative Research __**
 * __ Methods __**
 * __ Secondary Source Analysis __**
 * __ Content Analysis __**
 * __ Interviews __**
 * __ Focus Groups __**
 * __ Case Study __**
 * __ Ethnography & Observation __**
 * __ Contextual Inquiry and Action Research __**
 * __ Contextual Inquiry Models __**
 * __ Flow Models __**
 * // Things to consider… //**
 * __ Sequence Models __**
 * // Things to consider… //**
 * __ Artefact Model __**
 * // Things to consider… //**
 * __ Cultural Model __**
 * // Things to consider… //**
 * __ Physical Model __**
 * // Things to consider… //**