I think hidden cameras are a little on the evil side... I just read a Koan about a Zen master that was dying and he gave his pupil his writing and the pupil tossed it into the fire.
I think incognito when nobody knows your coming is the best approach. Your cover is already blown people are going to be playing the part. On Mon, Feb 2, 2009 at 4:00 PM, Will Evans <[email protected]> wrote: > I love you guys and your polemics - what ever happened to "it depends..." > > Now it's Note taking is evil and > > Eye tracking is voodoo. > > RED, ACD, GDD, UCD: It all reminds me of the religious arguments people > used to get into between kung-fu, aikido, aikijujitsu, shotokan, judo, > wingchun, as to which "style" was the best/most effective/most versatile. > only neophiles got in to those arguments. the masters never did :-) New > Practitioners used so spend as much time discussing their art/style and > often more time discussing, than doing. We had an old saying: Shut up and > practice. Same with [insert TLA Silver bullet methodology here] - the > process that can be spoken is not the ultimate process. Those who speak, do > not know, and those who know, do not speak - the master shows by doing, all > else is void and emptiness. > ~ will > > "Where you innovate, how you innovate, > and what you innovate are design problems" > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Will Evans | User Experience Architect > tel: +1.617.281.1281 | [email protected] > http://blog.semanticfoundry.com > aim: semanticwill > gtalk: semanticwill > twitter: semanticwill > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > On Feb 2, 2009, at 3:48 PM, Jared Spool wrote: > > >> On Feb 2, 2009, at 2:12 PM, Katie Albers wrote: >> >> I feel compelled to reiterate my note-taking plea here: Don't do it! >>> Note-taking splits your attention and tends to change the behavior of the >>> subject. It's aurally, visually and actively intrusive. >>> Note-taking is evil. >>> Use a tape recorder or a web cam or a small video camera you can mount on >>> the cubicle wall and aim, or similar (depending on what behaviors you're >>> particularly studying) but if at all possible, don't take notes. Much of >>> what you would take notes on can be translated into sound simply by asking >>> questions. Then schedule time between sessions when you can jot down your >>> notes and aides de memoir. >>> >>> I realize that contemporary note-taking is in some cases simply >>> unavoidable, but make sure that you really need to do it in this case before >>> automatically incorporating it. >>> >> >> I'd argue that note taking is very valuable and, when properly done, very >> important to both the observer and the participant. >> >> (As an aside: In this case, the "subject" is not the person you're >> observing, it's the software you're studying. The formal name in >> phenomenalogical ethnographic studies is "informant", but many of us just >> use "participant". Or their first name, which feels less impersonal.) >> >> Trying to remember everything you see, especially in an 5 to 6 hour >> session, also splits your attention. Tape recorders, web cams, and video >> cameras change the participants behaviors as much, if not more, than note >> taking. >> >> When I'm doing field studies, I prefer to take a small audio recorder. >> (I'm in love with the Olympus LS-10, though we often use bulkier Marantz >> PMD-660s.) However, I still take my trusted Moleskine large-size reporter's >> notebook, for which I take most of my notes. I would not take notes on a >> laptop or palm-sized keyboard. >> >> If you've never taken notes in a live interview before, I recommend you >> practice it. It's a learned skill and practicing definitely improves it. >> Rehearsing your site visit by watching fellow colleagues, taking notes, then >> writing up your daily summary -- repeating that process a couple of times -- >> is a great way to work the kinks out and get some practice. >> >> Jared >> >> Jared M. Spool >> User Interface Engineering >> 510 Turnpike St., Suite 102, North Andover, MA 01845 >> e: [email protected] p: +1 978 327 5561 >> http://uie.com Blog: http://uie.com/brainsparks Twitter: jmspool >> UIE Web App Summit, 4/19-4/22: http://webappsummit.com >> ________________________________________________________________ >> Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! >> To post to this list ....... 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