Research and design: a changing
relationship and the influence of Ethnography
DR GAVIN MELLES
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A Prompt: Ethno What?
http://www.methods.manchester.ac.uk/methods/ethnography/
Personal experiences
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Designs new realities
Design Ethnography: Fishing?
http://vimeo.com/6038262
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The nature and requirements of
interaction design: why ethnography?
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Developing clarity and
focus from uncertainty
Perspectives on the role
of anthropology in design
Zimmerman, J., Forlizzi, J., & Evenson, S. (2007). Research through
design as a method for interaction design research in HCI. Proceedings
of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems CHI ’07 (pp. 493-502)
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Research through design:
anthropology's contribution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgEAAhEeDHY
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Human-centred design: IDEO's message
The landscape of human centred design: multiple entry
points for ethnography
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Sanders, E. B.-N., & Stappers, P. J. (2008).
Co-creation and the new landscapes of
design. CoDesign, 4(1), 5-18. doi:
10.1080/15710880701875068
A little bit of history
Developments in Ethnography
Ethnography: origins of
the outsider/insider view
http://img.ehowcdn.com/article-new/ehow/images/a05/f9/rk/ethnographic-observation-800x800.jpg
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In the field one has to face a
chaos of facts, some of which
are so small that they seem
insignificant; others loom so
large that they are hard to
encompass with one synthetic
glance. But in this crude form
they are not scientific facts at
all; they are absolutely
elusive, and can be fixed only
by interpretation (Bronislaw
Malinowski, Baloma (1954),
238.
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Sociological ethnography: city as
laboratory
Understanding cultural subgroups
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Visual ethnography: a
picture worth 1000 words
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Focused ethnography: impetus
from Latour and Goffman
http://www.intel.eu/content/www/eu/en/healthcare-it/healthcare-ethnography-video.html
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Medical ethnography: an
example
Engebretson, J. (2011). Clinically applied
medical ethnography: relevance to cultural
competence in patient care. The Nursing
clinics of North America, 46(2), 145-54
https://www.ethosapp.com
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Technology development:
new ways of working
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Without field research: cliches versus
thick description
http://www.methods.manchester.ac.uk/methods/groundedtheory/index.shtml
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Analysis: grounded
theorizing or design driven
Crucial questions
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Should I take an overt or covert role in the field?
How much should my prior reading and analysis dictate the
field study?
How long should or can I remain in the field?
What is the effect of my presence on results and can I
intervene in situations?
Should I take photographs or film in the field?
Can I use cultural probes to get users to gather their own
evidence?
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Conclusion
• Ethnography has its own history of developments
• Applied ethnography represents a practical application
• There is a critical discussion between applied and
traditional approaches
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• The application into design puts an emphasis on stories
and people's own perceptions