Observation

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Observation

• What is included?

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To improve your observation skills...

• ...conduct a systematic observation of computer
  gameplay.
• What is a systematic observation?
• Involves the selection, observation, and encoding
  of a set of natural behaviours or other naturally
  occurring phenomena.
• But, what is encoding the observation?
• Encoding is the process of simplifying the
  observation through some data-reduction method,
  such as categorisation, and quantifying
  categories for analysis.

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Types of systematic observation

• Systematic observations differ in how the
  observations are recorded and encoded.
• Relatively unstructured methods
• natural history approaches
• The observer tries to provide as complete and
  non-selective a description as possible.
• Structured methods
• Checklists
• Predefined methods, which itemize, count, and
  categorize behaviour. Here the observer decides
  beforehand which behaviours will be
  observed/recorded.

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Relatively unstructured methods

• The most unstructured method of observation would
  be a complete descriptive account of everything
  that surrounded an event. Is that desirable or
  even a possible goal?
• The basic principle is that an observational
  technique summarise, systematise, and simplify
  the representation of an event rather than
  provide a complete replay of it.
• All observational techniques involve selection
  and editing.
• However, opt for as little prior categorisation
  as possible enter the scene and discover what is
  there!
• Aimed at the generation of hypotheses rather than
  the testing of them.
• How much interpretation?

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Example Non-formal Therapy and Learning
Potentials through Human Gesture Synchronised to
Robotic Gesture(Petersson Brooks, 2007, in
Universal Access in the Information Society,
6166-177.)

• We concentrated on behaviours tied to specific
  motor or muscular phenomena, and avoided
  descriptions that involved inference.
• For example, with this approach we would not
  describe someone as looking very pleased. That
  would entail too much interpretation.
• Instead, we would describe such details as facial
  expression, body movement, speech content rather
  than allude to some underlying state or intention.

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Post-it notes!!
Post-it notes!!
Post-it notes!!
Post-it notes!!
Post-it notes!!
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Table 1 describes an interaction between boy and
teacher. On own initiative he has turned to the
teacher for help.
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Structured methods

• I, as investigator, know what aspects of social
  activity are relevant for my purposes before
  starting and deliberately set forth a specific
  and explicit plan to record them.
• Require an observer to code the appearance of the
  behaviour.
• Checklists or category systems can range from
  simply noting whether or not a single behaviour
  has occurred to multiple behaviour systems.
• Example Sony EyeToy
• Important to have distinct definition of
  categories.
• Each behaviour must be able to be classified into
  one and only one category

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Example Play Therapy Utilizing the Sony EyeToy
(Brooks Petersson, 2005, pp. 303-314)
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EyeToy Analysis of tempospatial movements
(Brooks Petersson, 2005, pp. 303-314)

• Expressive gestures (Laban, 1963 Efron, 1970)
  correlated with facial/verbal expressions, screen
  description and computer analysis.

Time min. Temporal (rhythm repetition of movements) Temporal (rhythm repetition of movements) Temporal (rhythm repetition of movements) Temporal (rhythm repetition of movements) Temporal (rhythm repetition of movements) Temporal (rhythm repetition of movements) Spatial (qualities in play when body moved through extended movements) Spatial (qualities in play when body moved through extended movements) Spatial (qualities in play when body moved through extended movements) Spatial (qualities in play when body moved through extended movements) Spatial (qualities in play when body moved through extended movements) Spatial (qualities in play when body moved through extended movements)
Time min. Speed   Speed   Intensity   Intensity   Fluency   Fluency   Range   Range   Intentionality   Intentionality   Shift   Shift  
  High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low
1   1   1   1   1   1   1
2   1   1   1   1   1   1
3   1 1   1     1 1     1
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Learning by doing

• So, improve your observation skills by conducting
  systematic observations

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Interaction Analysis

• Find a focus for the observation

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What is interaction analysis?

• Interdisciplinary method for the empirical
  investigation of the interaction between human
  beings with each other and with objects in their
  environment.
• Investigates human activities like talk, non
  verbal communication, how humans interact with
  artefacts and technologies.
• Rooted in ethnography, sociolinguistics,
  conversation analysis.

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Assumptions of interaction analysis

• Knowledge and action are socially constructed
  through interactions.
• Observation provides best foundation for the
  analysis
• Grounding theories from empirical evidence.
• Video observation often used.

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Steps of interaction analysis (1)

• Observe users in the ethnographic context
• The context furnishes the background against
  which the analysis is carried out
• Content logs
• Made as soon as possible after the observation
• Group work
• Collaborative analysis by the evaluators
• Aiming at deep understanding of interaction.

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Steps of interaction analysis (2)

• Individual evaluators
• Analyse observation notes.
• Try to find generalised patterns in the user
  interaction.
• Proceeds in an inductive manner, building theory
  from the empirical data.

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Steps of interaction analysis (3)

• Transcription
• Content logs expanded into transcriptions.
• Level of detail depends on researcher.
• Debate on how much to transcribe.
• Viewing video tapes together with users
• Can give deeper insight.

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Why video is important to interaction analysis

• Advantages
• Optimal data when we want to reconstruct what
  happened.
• Evaluator bias removed.
• Enables theorising on a phenomenon.
• Creates a permanent primary record.
• Can represent complex interactional data, which
  can be difficult using spoken language (due to
  the limitation of language).

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Disadvantages of video

• Only a reconstruction of reality, not reality
  itself.
• Incorporates the camera-operator bias.
• Technology is limited to represent some data (it
  cannot capture the full complexity, e.g. it
  cannot capture the sense of smell or has limited
  peripheral representation.

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Foci for analysis

• Analytic foci are ways of looking at how the
  interaction can be analysed, i.e. from what
  aspect can interaction be analysed.

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Foci of analysis - the structure of events

• Peoples experience on tape bunched into events
• Events have a structure, at the least they have
  Beginnings and Endings
• Official beginnings.
• Collaboratively achieved by users rather than
  officially imposed.
• Events are segmented
• Transition between segments may be smooth or bad.
• Indicated by changes and shifts in activity (e.g.
  putting away of dishes before the dessert).
• Many learning and work activities involve a known
  projectable sequence of events.

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Foci of analysing events - turn taking

• Interaction analysis takes into account all sorts
  of turn taking during conversation
• Taking a turn may be actually talking or may be
  bodily gestures or gestures with artefacts.
• Talk driven interactions imply a turn in talk.
• Instrumental driven conversations imply a turn in
  the manipulation of a physical object (e.g.
  playing a video game).

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Foci of analysing events - participation
structures

• Participation structures
• Common task orientation and attention focus among
  participants.
• Analyses how participants communicate their
  engagements to each other.

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Foci of analysing events - trouble and repair

• Interaction analysis can focus on the trouble in
  any activity
• Sequence of activity broken in some way.
• Careful analysis reveals unspoken rules.

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Foci of analysing events - spatial organisation
of activity

• Interaction analysis can reveal how people are
  spatially oriented during an interaction.
• Physical co-presence managed by socially
  recognised rules regarding
• Occupancy of space
• Interaction with others
• Use of objects and resources
• Interaction analysis reveals which
  user/participant owns a particular space or
  territory
• Interaction analysis analyses whether spatial
  orientations are free flowing or imposed

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Focus of analysis another aspect of interaction

• Test of Playfulness (ToP)

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Test of Playfulness (Bundy, 2001)

• Purpose
• To assess vital aspects of play
• Theoretical orientation
• Based on meta-communication theory (Bateson,
  1955), previous work on playfulness (Lieberan,
  1977 Barnett, 1991)
• Age
• 3 months to 15 years
• Areas assessed
• Consists of 24 items scored on a 4-point scale
  intrinsic motivation, internal control, freedom
  to suspend reality, and framing (how the player
  maintains the play scenario and understands
  social cues within play context)
• Operationalisation of elements - a vital step in
  the development of a valid assessment of
  playfulness - leads to creation of the actual
  test items

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Internal
External
Perception of control
Intrinsic
Extrinsic
Playful
Source of motivation
Free
Not free
Suspension of reality
Schematic representation of the elements of
playfulness (Bundy, 1991)
Non-playful
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Relationships of commonly cited play traits to
the three primary elements of play and
playfulness
Play element Play trait Theorist
Intrinsic motivation Play is absorbing. Play involves more attention to the process than to the product. Play is usually thought to be fun although that perception may be clearer after the play has ended than while it is happening. Play is more surprising than predictable. Csikszentmihalyi (1975a, 1975b, 1990) Rubin et al. (1983) (Csikszentmihalhyi (1975a) Caillois (1981)
Internal control Play is more safe than risky. In play, the player reaches beyond him- or herself to meet a challenge. Caillois (1981) Csikszentmihalyi (1975a, 1975b, 1990)
Internal control, suspension of reality In play, the player makes things come out the way he or she wants or acts out his or her worst fears. The player can be whoever he or she desires, The player can control material things and make them do whatever his or her competence allows. Connor, Williamson, Seipp (1978)
Suspension of reality In play, the usual meanings of objects no longer apply. As if serves the same function as rules. Rules create fiction. No activity in real life corresponds to games with rules. Rubin et al. (1983) Caillois (1981)
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Motivation
Intrinsic
Extrinsic
Engaged Repeats Process Exuberance Persists
Items associated with intrinsic motivation and
internal control
Control
Internal
External
Shared Negotiates Plays with others Plays
interactively Assumes leadership Initiates Shares
Self Decides Safe Modifies Challenges
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from data to theory throughcoding and
categorisation
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from data to theory throughcoding and
categorisation

• Grounded Theory (GT)
• Barney Glaser Anselm Strauss
• Generating theory through data (induction)
• Coding, core variables, comparative analysis
• From groundless to grounded theory (Glaser)

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The relation between data and theory within GT
Data
Theory
coding
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Data collection guided by theoretical clues
Data collection
guided by foci, clues ideas
Theoretical selection
guided by data
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Data collection and coding - a parallel process
OP 2
OP 3
OP 1
coding
questions
coding
questions
coding
questions
ideas
ideas
ideas
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Creation of concepts and categories
event
event
category
data
event
pattern
concept
event
event
Category level 1. Interactive play
self-agency 2. Facilitating play
To conceptualise i.e. giving name to data
Expressions (facial expressions related to head
limb gestures)
Exploration Concentration Consciousness
of Intent.

• Concept level
• 1. Doing as sensation
• 2. I am in control here!

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Open coding - the initial step

• When starting comparing the coding is very open
• Comparison is the key activity
• Through the comparison more and more concepts and
  categories are created
• Open coding continues until a category is created
• Open coding line by line, paragraphs sentences,
  the whole document.
• Warning! Do not over-code

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Questions to ask your data

• General question
• What is the data expressing?
• More precise questions
• What is this event or happening expressing? Which
  concept or category can best express what is
  happening?
• What is actually happening within the data? Which
  are the basic social and psychological problems
  that the participants are confronted with? Which
  are the basic social and structural processes
  making these problems visible? What is explaining
  these basic processes and problems?

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Substantial theory

• Theory that is created for a delimited empirical
  field, e.g. computer-generated interactions,
  gameplay.
• The empirical field is the focus.
• From the substantial theory formal theory is
  formulated.
• But that will not be of any concern within this
  course.
• The distinction between substantial and formal
  theory is in terms of lower or higher degree of
  genralisation level.
• Substantial theory has its starting point from
  the participants experiences.
• Formal theory tries to break through this
  experience based theory and develop conceptions,
  models of its own.

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Assignment

• Start up/continuation of the written exam paper.
• Mini-study Gameplay interaction observation and
  analysis
• Choose 1 person from the group who shall play the
  computer game. The remaining group participants
  observe the gameplay in terms of Gameplay and
  Interaction.
• Choose foci of observation and analysis
• Formulate a question/aim for your observation,
  which will guide you through the encoding
  procedure.
• Prepare the observation and analysis (grounded
  theory inspired) - so that they become
  operational
• Compose an observation protocol.
• The gameplay should take 15 minutes (if game is
  over before 15 minutes, keep playing so that you
  reach 15 minutes gameplay and observation)
• Observers take notes individually
• Make a group-collaborative analysis of the
  observation (discussion and comparing notes).
• Mini-transcription of content logs.
• Coding and identification of recurring patterns
  (categories).
• Find relevant theories to support your findings -
  idea level.
• Present tomorrow on a poster.