week eight research questions. some notes on cw1 and cw2 cw1 essay requires you to choose a...

Week EightResearch Questions

Some notes on cw1 and cw2

• Cw1 essay requires you to choose a conceptual or methodological approach to apply to a user experience

– The following two weeks are dedicated to looking at appropriate research tools that could be used to develop your method

Distinction• Research tools

• Questionnaires• Ethnography• Card sorts• Walkthrough• Web analytics • Prototyping• Eye tracking

• Method

• A combination of tools logically applied to help you answer your research question.

Some notes on cw1 and cw2

• Cw2 (research proposal) requires you to come up with a doable research question– This week we look at how to phrase a research

question and how the question relates to the choice of tools and method

Cw2 Research Proposal – 1,600 words (40%)SED DEADLINE: 1st May

“Researching a New Media User Experience”A full research proposal agreed with your seminar tutor(s). This will include the seven elements

introduced in the module.1. One research question covering both conceptual approach and practical outcome (the

question must have a clearly identifiable independent and dependent variable)2. Clear aims and objectives (what you want to achieve and how you intend to achieve it!)3. Specific research questions (a list of no more than six subsidiary questions you think your

project will also address)4. A project summary (a short introduction to your research topic which provides both a

description of the user experience you are researching and a context for the research – why it matters)

5. Research concepts (developing on the work you carried out in coursework one, what concepts/ideas does your project draw on? Is there a certain game design theory or design theory you intend to apply, or are you drawing on ideas from other disciplines, like psychology (affect or emotion e.g.) or sociology (ethnography e.g.)?

6. Methodology (developing on the work you carried out in coursework one, set out a clear and logical set of research tools (focus groups, user testing, prototyping, ethnography e.g.).

7. List of references for published work you think you will use in the project (this list must evidence an extensive literature search in both the library and online. Books and articles must be credible academic texts and relate to the above sections)

Concepts and Methods

• The research proposal (cw2) will require both concepts and methods

• Concepts to understand the context of the research – informed by literature (bibliography)

• Methods to help you test/answer the question – test the relation between variables

Research Questions

• This session approaches the phrasing a research question and making it testable

• The mechanics of posing questions

Variables

• There are different kinds of variable used in research questions

• QUANTITATIVE variables – Differences can be measured by numbers, rates, e.g. a

continuum from high to low etc

• QUALITATIVE variables – Differences not about amounts, just differences. You may

refer to categories, attitudes, opinions, feelings etc.

QUANTITATIVE variables

… amount of decisions made

… number of visits recorded

… time it takes to complete task

…. impact on scores

… how much is remembered?

… level of frustration?

… number of errors made

QUALITATIVE variables

Variables in emotional design =

How they feel (emotional and affective feedback)

What the user thinks of an experience (mental model, focus group, questionnaires)

What you observe them doing (user tests, ethnography)

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

• Independent Variable– What is manipulated

• Dependent Variable – What is observed – the outcome

What is the IV and what is the DV?

• The independent variable (IV) is the presumed cause controlled by the experimenter

• The dependent variable (DV) is the apparent effect which is observed and measured

• In a question about the relationship between well-designed websites and the number of hits the sites receive

• What are the independent and dependent variables?

• The well-design website = the independent variable • – it is manipulated by the researcher

• The number of hits = the dependent variable • – it becomes the measured outcome of the test

• One problem is – how do we test “good” design?

• What makes a “good” interactive or game experience?

• Another is the rather crude causal relation established between these variables

How do we test experiences of design?

We avoid generalisations like good and bad and focus on more complex

processes

Establishing relations between variables

Dependent variablesWhat becomes the outcome• The number of hits

What element of experience is influenced?

• User choice• User decision making• User frustration• User satisfaction• User emotions

– pleasant/unpleasant– active/passive

• User perception

• User learning (performance)• User memory (retaining it)• User attention (gaining it)

Independent variablesWhat is manipulated• A well-designed site?

What can the researcher introduce to tests?

• Amount of choice• Number of forks• User control over error• Levels of interaction• Quantity/quality of information• Control of experience• Levels of user participation• Complexity of navigation

• Choice of media• Type of task• Affective priming

Consider how variables are used in the following questions

Task OneWhat kinds of variables are used and how can they be

tested?

• Can the affective priming of a 3D environment influence user decisions?

• Can the introduction of audio prompts reduce user frustration encountered completing a task?

tested?

• Can the emotional design of a 3D environment influence user decisions?

• Can the introduction of audio prompts reduce user frustration encountered completing a task?

tested?

• To what extent can a user’s perception of fear and building tension experienced in an interactive horror story be determined by varying audio effects?

• Can understanding a child’s emotional engagement with learning aid the prototype design of effective educational software?

tested?

• To what extent can a user’s perception of fear and building tension experienced in an interactive horror story be determined by varying audio effects?

• Can understanding a child’s emotional engagement with learning aid the prototype design of effective educational software?

tested?

• To what extent can camera perspective in a game environment influence a player’s perception of fear and building tension

• What influence do audio effects have on player scores in a specified game

tested?

• To what extent can camera perspective in a game environment influence a player’s perception of fear and building tension

• What influence do audio effects have on player scores in a specified game

tested?

• Can different rewards systems improve the user experience of a game?

tested?

• Can different rewards systems improve the user experience of a game?

• Former games student’s study of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards

tested?

• Does a user’s emotional engagement experienced in live political debate increase or decrease depending on the type of medium used for the debate?

tested?

• Does a user’s emotional engagement experienced in live political debate increase or decrease depending on the type of medium used for the debate?

Examples of emotional variables

• Can the emotional facial expressions of an interactive virtual guide help reduce user frustration experienced in complex navigational structures?

• Does the introduction of increased user choice in an interactive story elicit a passive or active emotional response?

Examples of emotional variables

• Can the emotional facial expressions of an interactive virtual guide help reduce user frustration experienced in complex navigational structures?

• Does the introduction of increased user choice in an interactive story elicit a passive or active emotional response?

GETTING LOST

• To what extent can getting lost be regarded as positive user experience?

• Using the experience of mazes and labyrinths to research user experience.

GETTING LOST

• To what extent can getting lost be regarded as positive user experience?

• Using the experience of mazes and labyrinths to research user experience.

Task Two:How can user experiences be tested?

• What does Don Norman provide that can help us?

Task Two:How can user experiences be tested

User Experience

Behaviour Reflective Visceral

We can research USEWhat does the user actually do. What physical actions are required at each step?

We can research the user’s CONCEPTS & THOUGHTSWhat does the user think about the experience. What are the user's reflections at various stages?

We research a users FEELINGSHow does the user feel? What are the emotional experiences throughout.

Matching variables to tools

Elements of user experience• User choice/Amount of choice• User decision making/Number of

forks• User frustration/User control

over error• User satisfaction/Levels of

interaction• User emotions/Quantity/quality

of information• User perception/Control of

experience• User learning/Choice of media • User memory/Complexity of

navigation• User attention/Affective priming

Research tools • Questionnaires• Focus groups• Interviews• Ethnographic observations• Study of facial expressions• Emotional responses (measured

through affective analysis of text)• Measure of attentive states (eye

track/eeg)• Measure of relaxed states (eeg)• Web analytics (web moves/clicks)

Examples of Student Work

CloudCreative

• New media technologies and digital art: can stimulating creativity promote cultural participation?

• See presentation: CloudCreative

•http://www.playratecreate.co.uk/

Research Summary

The research will explore the way in which new media can:

• Use digital art to promote creativity

• Encourage participatory cultural production

• Democratise art and widen cultural participation

Literature ReviewManovich (2002) - Generation Flash

Ziv (2006) - Parallels between Suprematism and the Abstract, Vector-Based Motion Graphics

Richards (2006) - Users, interactivity and generation

Bruns (2007) - Produsage: Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation

Establishing the relationship between user, interaction and generation of content

Social and artistic potential of Flash – Programmers are the new modern artists

Comparison of Flash with traditional art movements of 20th century

Emergence of Web 2.0 and user generated content (UGC) offers new opportunities for cultural inclusion

Power of Flash and writing code to create new cultural systems

Literature Review

Leadbeater (2008) – We-Think: Mass Innovation not Mass Production

Burgess et al. (2006) – Everyday creativity as civic engagement: A cultural citizenship view of new media

Hargittai & Walejko (2008) – Information, Communication and Society

Questions the idea that UGC has led to cultural participation due to lack of digital literacy

New media has changed the way in which users engage in creative practices which nurtures cultural values and social inclusion

UGC and the collaborative Web fosters creativity and democratises cultural production

Research Methodology

Aims of the prototypes:• to allow users to be involved in design process• to iteratively test the design so any issues are resolved before production

Preliminary User Testing with Prototypes

Materials used to build prototype

Elements of Website being

tested

Corresponding elements of Norman’s

(2004)Emotional Design Model

Card Sort Post-it Notes & Pen Structure Reflective

Flow Analysis Pencil & Paper Functionality Behavioural

User Testing Physical model - selection of fabrics, buttons, beads etc.

Content Visceral

Research MethodologyPreliminary User Testing with PrototypesCard Sort

Research MethodologyPreliminary User Testing with PrototypesFlow Analysis

Research MethodologyPreliminary User Testing with PrototypesUser Testing

Research MethodologyPreliminary User Testing with PrototypesResults

How do extrinsic rewards impact the intrinsic

motivation of exploration in games?

http://www.kongregate.com/games/martinf/forest-explorer/

Online Surveys

http://www.affect-ed.com/

Look through the blog for inspiration

How can emotional engagement with learning materials help to improve

experiences of educational software?

How can ubiquitous experiences of educational software help to make

learning experiences more active?

Questions about cw2