new media research methods- part 1 planning stage: using methods, data and tools to explore user’s...
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New Media Research Methods- Part 1
Planning stage:Using Methods, Data and Tools to explore User’s Experience.
How methods relate to research questions?Gosia Kwiatkowska [email protected]
What is your research question?
General
Focused
Refined
- Is it clear and specific?
- Is it feasible in the time allowed?
- Clear, specific, feasible and relevant for the target audience
Good question
“Well-crafted questions guide the systematic planning of research. Formulating your questions precisely enables you to design a study with a good chance of answering them.”
Light, Singer, Willett (1990)
Research terminology
• Method – the process of gathering and analysing data about a user experience.
! It is also how you approach the relation between IV and DV.
Research terminology
• Data – refers to factual or sensory information taken from your tests, observations, surveys etc.
Think about the stages of your method!
• Logic• Choice of tools• How the data
captured feeds into the next phase of testing?
Beginning the process of UX research
• Brainstorming ideas• Who are the users? And what are
their needs?– Tools: • Observations• Questionnaires• Interviews• Focus groups• Ethnography• Personas
Questionnaires
• Cheap and quick• Easy• Q’s and A’s
standardised• Mainly quantitative• Cross-sectional• Replicable
Ethnography
• Participation• Observation• Experience• Natural settings• Why, how, who,
where…
• Netnography (Robert V. Kozinets)
Personas
• Made up• User
friendly• Used for
testing
http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/personas.shtml
UX research – what are you looking for?
• What data?• How are you going to capture it?• How will this data inform the next
phase?
User’s mental model vs your initial design?
• Conceptual design model:– Walkthroughs– Scenarios– Card sorts– PrototypesSet up a design phase to include early
paper prototypes to confirm what you have designed corresponds with the user’s mental model.
UX research – what are you looking for?
• What data?• How are you going to capture it?• How will this data inform the next
phase?
UX research – functionality and aesthetics
• From paper prototype to beta versions- testing basic functionality and design aesthetic.
• What aspects do you need/want to understand more about?
UX research – emotional design
• Tasks • Levels of frustration/satisfaction• Errors• Specific responses to your
aesthetics
UX research – what tools?
• Observations• Think aloud• Post test questionnaire• Heuristic testing• Task based tests
Observations
• Tasks • Levels of
frustration/satisfaction
• Errors• Specific responses to
your aesthetics
Think aloud
• Tasks • Levels of
frustration/satisfaction• Errors• Specific responses to
your aesthetics
Post test questionnaires
• Tasks • Levels of
frustration/satisfaction• Errors• Specific responses to
your aesthetics
Heuristics – Nielson’s ‘Rules of Thumb’
1. Visibility of system status2. Match between system and the real world3. User control and freedom4. Consistency and standards5. Error prevention6. Recognition rather than recall7. Flexibility and efficiency of use8. Aesthetic and minimalist design9. Help users recognise, diagnose, and recover from
errors10. Help and documentation
UX research – what are you looking for?
• What data?• How are you going to capture it?• How will this data inform the next
phase?
Research Question?
“Well-crafted questions guide the systematic planning of research. Formulating your questions precisely enables you to design a study with a good chance of answering them.”
Light, Singer, Willett (1990)
Activity• Refine your research question:– Is your question clear and relevant to your goal?– What is your target audience?– What is your independent variable?– What is your dependent variable?– What kind of research methods you might need to
use?– What can impact or influence your findings?– What you will need to use to collect data?– Will your research influence users? How?
References
• Light, Singer, Willett, By Design (1990)• http://www.nnyman.com/personal/2005/11/
18/the-user-experience-equation/• Kozinets, Robert V. (2010), “Netnography: The
Marketer’s Secret Weapon”; White Paper.