Asking what effects the material characteristics of externalising models have on how digital systems are represented means observing how participants use them to construct those representations. Similarly, finding out what types of activities externalise representations of digital systems means staging various activities with a view to identifying what activities work best to externalise those representations. Observation as a method in design-related HCI is used, for example, in a study of how people use their mobile phones while shopping by Newcomb et al (2003), while Nakhimovsky et al (2009) show the use of field observation in a user experience evaluation study. These studies are relevant because they demonstrate the use of observation as a method in studies of how people use digital systems.
Kiefer et al (2008) use observation to investigate how people interact with digital music controllers, and Bruckman et al (2009) show the use of participant-as-observer methods in their study of designing computer systems with young people under semi-controlled conditions. These studies relate directly to my research question: What characteristics of visual and physical models externalise people’s experiences of digital systems? because they establish a basis for the use of observation as an effective method of data collection in research that asks how people use digital systems. I thus take observation in qualitative research, as outlined by Gray (2014), as a primary data collection method. Following Bruckman
good way to incorporate the time constraints that may prevent the full immersion implied by participant observation on the one hand, and the dispassionate distance implied by naturalistic or non- participant observation on the other. This is relevant to my research because of the workshop situations used and because it provides a way to address the question: What types of activities externalise representations of digital systems?
I attend the case study workshops, though not directly as a participant. My participation in the research is as instigator, observer, and interviewer, remaining unobtrusive in terms of modelling activities and not making written observation notes. I am obviously and visibly the instigator and facilitator of the activity in the way described by Sanders and Stappers (2008) and Stringer (2013), distributing materials, explaining the procedure and rationale behind the research, and eliciting informed consent from participants.
3.5.1 Stimulated recall interviews
Stimulated recall (SR) is a research method that involves interviewing participants while they view visual materials such as video footage or photographs (Lyle, 2010). SR has been used in HCI research by Michel and Smith (2017) and Chau and Lee (2017) using digital technologies and interactive systems as stimuli. Stimulus materials in qualitative interviews have traditionally been in the form of two dimensional representations such as video recordings (Lyle, 2010,
Hakkarainen (2016) use physical objects such as school bags and craft materials as stimulus materials during research interviews. There is also increasing attention on the use of physical artefacts created by participants. Burden et al (2015: 27) show how ‘discussion of artefacts created by participants can promote participant-driven enquiry, thereby reducing researcher bias’. Punch (2002) describes the use of stimulus material during interviews during which participants were asked to complete a set of tasks with materials including boxes, cards, and pens. These materials were used as a stimulus to the conversation between researcher and participants in a situation where personal information was elusive or difficult to uncover.
Stimulated recall in design research is a usability evaluation tool (Hyrskykari et al, 2008) that can elicit emotional recall of experiences (Pätsch et al, 2014), often augmented with other technologies, such as mobile devices or eye tracking systems. I use participants’ own models as prompts to elicit their experiences of digital systems, relying on their spoken accounts about what the models show. The use of physical prompts in design research is also a long established practice (Houde and Hill, 1997, Laurel, 2003).
I conduct semi-structured interviews, in line with Weiss (1994) and Drever (2003), because the nature of this research is exploratory. I direct the interviews with a few initial questions but then let the conversation evolve, occasionally bringing the interview back to the
relevant topics in relation to the research questions. The presence of visual and physical models helps to maintain focus during the interviews, since I am able to touch or point to them to frame questions.
3.5.2 Photographic documentation
While participants make their models I document their actions and outcomes visually by taking photographs of what they are doing. This method is used by Hirsh et al (2000) to gather data related to uses of technology by elderly people, and by Macdonald (2015) to document the technology interactions of librarians. Pierce (2014) describes the importance of photographic documentation in HCI research, emphasising how it plays a significant role in the documentation of research artefacts and activities. I use photographic documentation in direct response to the questions: What characteristics of visual and physical models externalise people’s experiences of digital systems? and: What effects do the material properties of externalising models have on how digital systems are represented? by capturing aspects of how participants use the models and how materials are configured.
My aim is to capture not just the models themselves (although this is important) but to include the room, furniture, materials, spatial layout, lighting, etc of the spaces. Photographic observation is a way of capturing this type of contextualising data. Addressing the question: What types of activities externalise representations of
unfold. Finding out how the material characteristics of externalising models affect how experiences of digital systems are represented involves maintaining a visual record of participants using those materials to construct their representations.
As Rose (2014) points out, photographs can be unreliable records taken from a chosen perspective that may exclude or omit important details. I thus use them as supporting evidence in this research and include them as reference material in the process of data analysis. Gray (2014) provides support for this method of using photography in qualitative research, saying photography can be used to recall events or stimulate theory building.
3.5.3 Audio recordings
I use audio recordings in my research to gather data relative to the question: What effects do the material properties of externalising models have on how digital systems are represented? asking participants about these effects with the models in front of them, and recording their answers. Audio recordings as a data gathering method in HCI is used by Blandford et al (2016) in their discussion of qualitative approaches to analysis in interaction design, and in user experience research by Law and Sun (2012). Ardito et al (2014) show how audio recordings can be used in a study of UX practice in real world situations.