Needfinding Flashcards
Why is needfinding required? What does it achieve?
Needfinding is required as it helps to uncover the needs people have which they may or may not be aware of, helps guide innovation efforts, identifies someone to design for and also discovers the emotions that guides user behaviours.
What are the pros and cons of the following techniques (Direct Observation, Indirect Observation, Ethnography, Surveys, Interviews, Focus Groups)
Pros of Direct Observation: Rich qualitative data, focus on task without interruptions
Cons of Direct Observation: Hawthorne Effect, time consuming
Pros of Indirect Observation: Can gather data without direct participant involvement; useful for studying sensitive or private behaviours; less intrusive.
Cons of Indirect Observation: Relies on secondary data sources, which may not be as accurate or up-to-date; limited control over data collection; potential for bias in data sources.
Pros of Ethnography: Provides rich, in-depth insights into a culture or community; captures context, relationships, and nuances; can uncover hidden patterns and behaviors.
Cons of Ethnography: Time-consuming and resource-intensive; may require long-term immersion; potential for researcher bias; findings may not generalize to other contexts.
Pros of Surveys: Efficient for collecting data from a large number of participants; structured format allows for easy comparison and analysis.
Cons of Surveys: Limited to the questions asked; may not capture the full depth of participant experiences; response bias and low response rates can be issues; difficulty in interpreting open-ended responses.
Pros of Interviews: Allows for in-depth exploration of individual experiences and perspectives; flexible and adaptable; can clarify responses and probe deeper into topics.
Cons of Interviews: Time-consuming, especially for large samples; responses may not be honest and may be biased.
Pros of Focus Groups: Relatively low cost, quick way to learn a lot from various groups with different perspectives
Cons of Focus Groups: Requires careful facilitation to ensure balanced participation; may be influenced by dominant voices.
When is it appropriate to use each technique?
Direct Observation: You want to observe and record specific behaviours or actions in real-time, such as user interactions with a website or customer behaviour in a retail store. It’s useful for studying actions, but less effective for uncovering motivations and thoughts.
Indirect Observation: You need to collect data without direct interaction with participants or when studying sensitive topics like online behaviour or social media trends. It’s valuable for situations where direct observation is impractical.
Ethnography: You aim to deeply understand a culture, community, or specific context, including the relationships, values, and social dynamics within it. Ethnography is ideal for long-term, immersive studies and exploring complex social phenomena.
Surveys: You want to collect data from a large and diverse group of participants efficiently, especially when you need to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviours, or demographics. Surveys are suitable for structured data collection and statistical analysis.
Interviews: You seek in-depth, qualitative insights into individual experiences, attitudes, motivations, or opinions. Interviews are valuable for exploring complex topics, clarifying responses, and understanding the “why” behind behaviours.
Focus Groups: You want to gather diverse perspectives on a specific topic, stimulate group discussions, and explore shared attitudes or perceptions. Focus groups are useful for generating insights through interaction and group dynamics.
What is the Hawthorne Effect?
The Hawthorne Effect is when participants have the tendency to perform differently when they know that they are being observed. They may become more nervous and not behave normally. They may also be thinking more about being observed than doing the task.
What is the difference between direct and indirect observation?
Direct observation is a primary research technique where the researcher is the observer, while indirect observation is secondary research, relying on the reported observations of others.
What are the 2 settings where direct observation can be done and what are the pros and cons of each setting?
The 2 settings are a controlled setting and a field setting.
Pros of controlled setting:
1. Control over variables
2. Accuracy in data collected
3. Results more easy replicated
Cons of controlled setting:
1. Lack realism of natural environments
2. Resource-intensive
Pros of field setting:
1. Natural behaviour as participants are in their natural environment
2. Increase in valuable information collected not found in controlled settings
Cons of field setting:
1. Less control in variables
2. Difficult to recreate results
What is ethnography? How is it different from doing direct observation?
It is a qualitative research method used in the field of social science and anthropology to study and understand the cultures, behaviours, and social practices of specific groups of people or communities. It involves spending a significant amount of time, for months or even years, in the field, which can be a physical location or a specific social setting. A variety of methods used: surveys, interviews and actively participating in the group to gain an insider’s perspective of the group.
