3. Qualitative methods Flashcards
What are types of qualitative studies?
- Interaction with the user (observation, diary study, ..)
- Location of data collection (field, lab)
- Number of participants (individual, group)
- Modality of interaction (written, mediated oral, ..)
- Freedom in interaction (unstructured, semi-structured, fully structured)
What is an individual interview?
- A talk with one user
- Face-to-tace, phone, video, conference, IM
- Open, semi-structured, structured questions
When do you use an individual interview?
- Discover attitudes, beliefs, desires, and reactions towards a concept
- Context for quantitative measures
What is a contextual interview?
- Watch people’s behavior in their own environment doing their own tasks
- Ask questions while observing
- Can be combines with scenarios/usability tests
When do you use a contextual interview?
When context is important
What are advantages of a contextual interview?
- Natural behavior
- Real life tasks/environemnt
- Explicit & observable knowledge
Wat are disadvantages of a contextual interview?
- Costly
- Poor control over conditions
What is laddering?
An interview technique that helps discover links between:
- Attributes of your product
- Consequences of this attribute (benefits, impact)
- Values that expose the cause behind someone’s interest in the product
When do you use laddering?
Evaluate meaningfulness
How does laddering work?
Keep asking why
What are advantages of laddering?
Getting to high-level goals and underlying values
What are disadvantages of laddering?
- Can feel tedious/childish
- Not easy to conduct
What is a focus group?
An informal, semi-structured, moderated group discussion (n=5-10)
When do you use a focus group?`
Discover attitudes, beliefs desires and reactions towards a concept
What are advantages of focus groups?
- Cost effective
- Discover what users need, want, feel, value, ..
What are disadvantages of focus groups?
- Explicit knowledge only (say, no do/use)
- Poor method for usability evaluation
- Requires advanced moderation skills
- Group dynamics
What is think aloud?
User verbalize thinking process while performing tasks
For what is think aloud for?
- Discover what users really think
- Uncover design flaws
Wat are advantages of think aloud?
- Cost effective (low n sufficient)
- Flexible (prototypes and finished products)
- ‘Real time: measure of experience
What are disadvantages of think aloud?
- Unnatural for users
- Chance of bias
- Individual differences
- Affects other measures