El medio físico del municipio como factor de desarrollo

Generally, field studies are characterized by taking place in the real world as opposed to in a laboratory setting. Field studies cover a range of qualitative and quantitative approaches from ethnographic studies of phenomena in their social and cultural context inspired by the discipline of social and cultural anthropology to field experiments in which a number of independent variables are manipulated (Kjeldskov and Graham, 2003).

Ethnographic field studies are characterized by researchers spending significant amounts of time in the field and, to some extent, immersing themselves into the environment they study. Typically, data is gathered through observations and/or interviews and the phenomena studied are placed in a social and cultural context. Ethnography may be very appropriate if the research wishes to gain insights about a particular context and to better understand and interpret it from the perspective(s) of those involved (Saunders et al., 2009). However, the major disadvantages of ethnographic field studies is that it is very time consuming and takes place over an extended time period as the researcher needs to immerse herself or himself in the social world being researched as completely as possible (Saunders et al., 2009).

While ethnographic field studies are non-experimental, field experiments are characterized by the manipulation of a number of independent variables to observe their influence on dependant variables in a natural setting. Field experiments are conducted in dynamic social, industrial, economic and political arenas, not in the laboratory environment (Fathi, 2009). The major advantages of field experiments are increased control in comparison to ethnographic field studies and the fact they support studying complex situated interactions and processes whereas the disadvantages include limited control of experiments and the fact they can be a more complicated and more time consuming data collection compared to, for example, experiments in laboratory settings (Kallio and Kaikkonen, 2005). In relation to mobile HCI research, field studies can be applied for either informing the design for, or the understanding of, mobility by ethnographic studies of current practice or for evaluating design or theory by conducting experiments in realistic use settings (Duh et al., 2006).

4.5.3. ACTION RESEARCH

There are numerous definitions of action research. However, one of the most widely cited is that of Rapoport’s who defines action research in the following way:

Action research aims to contribute both to the practical concerns of people in an immediate problematic situation and to the goals of social science by joint collaboration within a mutually acceptable ethical framework (Rapoport, 1970, p. 499).

While conducting action research, the researcher participates within the activity or phenomenon being studied while at the same time evaluating the results. According to Saunders et al. (2009), action research is particularly useful for ‘how’ questions and puts explicit focus on action, in particular on promoting change within the organisation. Therefore, it differs from the other research strategies because of its strength in focusing on change. The advantage of action research is the very close relationship between researchers and the phenomena of interest. This facilitates first-hand insight, limits researcher influence on the subjects being studied and supports a successful way of applying theory to practice and evaluating its outcome. However, action research is very time consuming and, since the researcher takes part in the phenomena studied while remaining objective, can be difficult. Also, when participating within an activity or phenomenon, considerations can emerge concerning, for example, if it is ethically acceptable for a researcher to conceal knowledge of particular approaches having better effects than others. Finally, the outcome of this type of research can be difficult to generalize.

In relation to mobile HCI research, action research could be used for extending field or case studies by researchers, participating actively in real world activities involving mobility, introducing different solutions or theories “on-the-fly” as well as evaluating their effects and/or validity (Kjeldskov and Graham, 2003).

4.5.4. LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS

In contrast to field studies, laboratory studies are characterized by taking place anywhere (laboratories, office, simulator, etc.) provided it is in a controlled environment created for the purpose of research. The purpose of an experiment is to study causal links, whether a change in one independent variable produces a change in another dependent variable. The data may come from quantitative methods (e.g. cognitive walkthrough method) or quantitative methods (e.g. heuristic evaluation or think-aloud protocols during the conduct of experimental tasks) (Kjeldskov and Graham, 2003). The major advantages of laboratory studies is that they provide an opportunity to focus on specific phenomena of interest and a large degree of experimental control in terms of the manipulation of variables before and during the experiment (through, for example, the assignment of test subjects and exposure to different treatment variables). Also, laboratory experiments are typically highly replicable and facilitate good data collection. Disadvantages include limited relationships to the real world and an unknown level in the generalisability of the results outside laboratory settings.

In mobile HCI research, laboratory experiments are suitable for evaluating design ideas, specific products or theories about design, and user interaction in controlled environments with little or no interference from the real world.

4.5.5. SURVEY RESEARCH

Surveys generally inform research by delivering information from a recognised sample of people compiled within their individual environment through different systematic approaches. Basically, data are gathered via questionnaire surveys without researcher interference and are analysed quantitatively by using descriptive and inferential statistics (Saunders et al., 2009). The questionnaire, however, is not the main data collection technique that is part of the survey strategy. Structured observation (of the type normally involved in organisation and methods’ (O&M) research) and structured interviews (when standardised questions are asked) also belong to this strategy (Saunders et al., 2009).

The essential benefits of surveys are that they enable a large amount of data to be collected with very minimal effort, assisting in the extensive generalization of the

outputs. Furthermore, a high level of control with regards to the sample subjects enables the minimization of potential bias, hence improving validity. In spite of this, surveys have problems by delivering only snapshots of the studied phenomena and depend highly on the subjective views of the respondents. In mobile HCI research, surveys may, for instance, enable generalisable information to be obtained regarding user needs and requirements in order to discover a phenomenon, build theory or develop systems. Additionally, surveys could be utilized for acquiring data regarding users’ experience of specific products or designs for evaluation requirements.

4.5.6. APPLIED RESEARCH

As outlined by Kjeldskov and Graham (2003), applied research establishes on a trial and error based on the researcher’s capabilities of judgment from intuition, experience, deduction and induction. Generally, the expected goal or output of the research process is known, with regards to requirements, at a certain level of abstraction; however methods or techniques for achieving this output are not clear, therefore, are requested through utilizing potentially relevant research. The benefits of applied research are that it is very goal-focused and (basically) leads to a number of products being produced that can be evaluated against the main goals. The main disadvantages of applied research are that the main solutions could be very minimal and not generalisable and that suitable solutions for obtaining the desired output may not be presented at all. In mobile HCI research, applied research is appropriate when considering the design and implementation of systems, interfaces and techniques which fulfil certain requirements for performance, user interaction, user satisfaction, etc.

4.5.7. NORMATIVE WRITINGS

Kjeldskov and Graham (2003) note that the category of normative writings comprises the concept ‘development writings’ including presentation of “truth” and “application descriptions” with a purpose of providing the “non-research” writings regarding phenomena of interest in the classification of research methods. The concept of development writings arranges ideas with the intention to assist and identify directions for future research. On the other hand, the “truth” category produces ideas and fundamentals, as well as recommendations, which appear to be intuitively right but are

not influenced by theory or research. Meanwhile, the application descriptions are described as “narratives written by practitioners”. It explains subjective ideas on a scenario and the items that were effective for them within that certain situation.

The main benefit of normative writings is that they need minimal action to deliver as opposed to producing complex theoretical concepts. The weaknesses of normative writings include minimal theoretical and methodological reflection and minimal generalisability. In mobile HCI, normative writings explaining designs and processes that proved helpful or which did not prove to be effective could be ideal for encouraging future research or design.