chapter 4 (information gathering: unobstructive methods) Flashcards
Unobtrusive Methods
- Less disruptive
- Text analytics to analyze qualitative data
- Insufficient when used alone
- Multiple methods approach
- Used in conjunction with interactive methods
Sampling
A process of systematically selecting representative
elements of a population
Involves two key decisions:
– What to examine
– Which people to consider
The reasons systems analysts do sampling are to
– Contain costs
– Speed up data gathering
– Improve effectiveness
– Data gathering bias can be reduced by sampling
Too costly to
– Examine every scrap of paper
– Talk with everyone
– Read every Web page from the organization
Sampling
- Sampling helps accelerate the process by gathering
selected data rather than all data for the entire population - The systems analyst is spared the burden of analyzing
data from the entire population
Sampling Effectiveness
- Sampling can help improve effectiveness if information
that is more accurate can be obtained - This is accomplished by talking to fewer employees but
asking them questions that are more detailed - If fewer people are interviewed, the systems analyst has
more time to follow up on missing or incomplete data
Sampling Bias
- Data gathering bias can be reduced by sampling
- When the systems analyst asks for an opinion about a
permanent feature of the installed information system, the
executive interviewed may provide a biased evaluation
because there is little possibility of changing it
To design a good sample, a systems analyst must follow
four steps:
– Determining the data to be collected or described
– Determining the population to be sampled
– Choosing the type of sample
– Deciding on the sample size
Four Main Types of Samples
- Convenience
- Purposive
- Simple random
- Complex random
Convenience Samples
- Convenience samples are unrestricted, nonprobability
samples - This sample is the easiest to arrange
- The most unreliable
Purposive Sample
- A purposive sample is based on judgment
- Choose a group of individuals who appear
knowledgeable and are interested in the new information
system - A nonprobability sample
- Only moderately reliable
Complex Random Samples
- The complex random samples that are most appropriate
for a systems analyst are
– Systematic sampling
– Stratified sampling
– Cluster sampling
The Sample Size Decision
- Determine the attribute
- Locate the database or reports in which the attribute can
be found - Examine the attribute
- Make the subjective decision regarding the acceptable
interval estimate - Choose the confidence level
- Calculate the standard error
- Determine the sample size
Investigation
- The act of discovery and analysis of data
- Hard data
– Quantitative
– Qualitative
Analyzing Quantitative Documents
- Reports used for decision making
- Performance reports
- Records
- Data capture forms
- Ecommerce and other transactions
Reports Used for Decision Making
- Sales reports
- Production reports
- Summary reports
Records
Records provide periodic updates of what is occurring in
the business
There are several ways to inspect a record:
– Checking for errors in amounts and totals
– Looking for opportunities for improving the recording
form design
– Observing the number and type of transactions
– Watching for instances in which the computer can
simplify the work (calculations and other data
manipulation)
Data Capture Forms
- Collect examples of all the forms in use
- Note the type of form
- Document the intended distribution pattern
- Compare the intended distribution pattern with who
actually receives the form
Analyzing Qualitative Documents
- Key or guiding metaphors
- Insiders vs. outsiders mentality
- What is considered good vs. evil
- Graphics, logos, and icons in common areas or web
pages - A sense of humor
- Email messages
- Memos
- Signs or posters on bulletin boards
- Corporate Web sites (note the interactivity of Web sites)
- Manuals
- Policy handbooks
Text Analytics
Software that can analyze unstructured qualitative data
from any source including:
– Transcripts of interviews
– Written reports
– Customers’ communication collected through email,
wikis, blogs, chat rooms, and other social networking
sites
Text Analytics
Unstructured, qualitative, or “soft” data are generated
through:
– Blogs
– Chat rooms
– Questionnaires using open-ended questions
– Online discussions conducted on the Web
– Exchanges occurring on social media
Text analytics can realize valuable insights into
– What customers are thinking about the organization,
the values and actions of the company
– Customer or vendor motivations for beginning,
maintaining, improving, or discontinuing a relationship
Text Analytics
- Text analytics provide insights for an organization’s
members who want to have a rapid and visual yet
decidedly qualitative approach to analyzing text data - An important element is to design the human activities
surrounding the use of text analytics software
Observation
- Observation provides insight on what organizational
members actually do - See firsthand the relationships that exist between
decision makers and other organizational members - Can also reveal important clues regarding HCI concerns
Analyst’s Playscript
Involves observing the decision-makers behavior and
recording their actions using a series of action verbs
Examples Analyst’s Playscript
– Talking
– Sampling
– Corresponding
– Deciding
STROBE
STRuctured OBservation of the Environment—a
technique for observing the decision-maker’s physical
environment
Often it is possible to observe the particulars of the
surroundings that will confirm or negate the
organizational narrative
– Also called stories or dialogue
– Information that is found through interviews or
questionnaires
STROBE elements
- Office location
- Desk placement
- Stationary equipment
- Props
- External information sources
- Office lighting and color
- Clothing worn by decision makers
Office Location
- Who has the corner office?
- Are the key decision makers dispersed over separate
floors?
Desk Placement
- Does the placement of the desk encourage
communication? - Does the placement demonstrate power?
Stationary Office Equipment
- Does the decision maker prefer to gather and store
information personally? - Is the storage area large or small?
Props
- Is there evidence that the decision maker uses a PC,
smart phone, or tablet computer in the office?
External Information Sources
Does the decision maker get much information from
external sources such as trade journals or the Web?
Office Lighting and Color
- Is the lighting set up to do detailed work or more
appropriate for casual communication? - Are the colors warm and inviting?
Clothing
- Does the decision maker show authority by wearing
conservative suits? - Are employees required to wear uniforms?
The five symbols used to evaluate how observation of the
elements of STROBE compared with interview results
are:
– A checkmark means the narrative is confirmed
– An “X” means the narrative is reversed
– An oval or eye-shaped symbol serves as a cue to
look further
– A square means observation modifies the narrative
– A circle means narrative is supplemented by
observation
