Research Methods Seminar

1
Research Methods Seminar

• Gosia Kwiatkowska
• gosia_at_uel.ac.uk

2
Designing New Media

• Choosing your research method

3
Quantitative or Qualitative Method or both?
4
Quantitative Methods

• Designed to ensure objectivity, reliability and
  ability to generalise
• Test predetermined hypothesis explanations
• Who, how much, how many?
• Closed questions
• Short answers
• Averages, percentages, ranges, means, frequencies
• Can generate accurate and precise data
• Can test statistical relationship between
  variable
• Can prove whether or not a particular problem
  exists
• Can identify specific characteristics of a
  population

http//documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/do
cuments/ko/mekb_module_13.pdf
5
Quantitative Methods

• Strengths
• Robust
• Objective
• Verifiable
• Weaknesses
• Out of context human behaviour, real world
  settings are not considered
• Any variables left out of data collection are not
  used in analysis

6
Qualitative Method?

• User perspectives
• Questions how and why?
• Captures perceptions, judgements, meanings,
  processes and reasons
• Open ended questions, checklist of topics
• Hypothesis and follow up questions are generated
  during data collection and analysis
• Subjective not easy to objectively verify
• Interviews allow to probe
• Provides deeper insight
• Broader understanding and explanations, views

http//documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/do
cuments/ko/mekb_module_13.pdf
7
Qualitative Method?

• Strengths
• Participatory
• Rich, detailed data
• Considers users perspectives and the context for
  their behaviours
• Weaknesses
• Hard work
• Time consuming
• Smaller sample of users
• Not easily verifiable
• Not easy to group your responses/categorised

8
Quantitative or Qualitative or Both?

• Quantitative methods can highlight an issues that
  could then be studies in depth using qualitative
  methods.
• Qualitative methods might be used at the
  beginning of a study to help the researcher to
  decide what closed questions could be used in the
  bigger quantitative survey or questionnaire.

9
Learning outcomes

• By the end of today you will have fully developed
  model or map to move forward with your thesis
• Define your question
• Identify your ID and DV
• Identify your research methodology
• Develop your map

10
Tools

• Surveys type of questions?
• Interviews interview questions?
• Focus groups purpose and objectives, discussion
  notes, who, why, where? What did you find out?
  Which quotes, comments will you use to support
  your findings?
• Observations observation checklist
• Case studies use triangulation

11
Designing your questionnaires

• Questions types
• List
• Category
• Ranking
• Scale
• Quantity
• Grid
• Verbal

12
Checklist for designing and conducting
interviews, focus groups, surveys

• Decide what you need to know.
• State why you need to know this information.
• What is the best way of obtaining this
  information.
• Outline your questions.
• Check wording of each question.
• Decide on the tool for data collection and the
  question type.
• Refine the questions and order them.
• Consider how questions will be analysed.

13
Checklist for designing and conducting
interviews, focus groups, surveys cnt

• Write instruction that might be included in your
  surveys.
• Consider layout and appearance.
• Decide on your sample, are they representative.
• Prepare a schedule.
• Pilot.
• Revise, if necessary.
• Do your best to avoid bias.
• Select who to interview.
• Ensure official channels have been cleared.
  Information sheets, consents etc
• Introduce yourself and explain the purpose of the
  research

14
Checklist for designing and conducting
interviews, focus groups, surveys cnt

• Say how long will the interview/survey last.
• Check accuracy of your notes with respondents
  during interviews.
• Decide whether to record the interview.
• If you using surveys specify when you need them
  back.
• Try out your methods of analysis.
• (Bell, 1999)

15
Scenarios

• typical task, goal, conditions at the beginning
  of the task, activities in which the persona will
  engage, the outcomes of these activities.

16
Biometrics

• Description of Facial Action Coding System
  http//face-and-emotion.com/dataface/facs/descript
  ion.jsp
• http//www.gobookee.org/what-the-face-reveals-paul
  -ekman/
• EEG Electroencephalography - A neuroscientific
  tool a way of measuring electrical conductivity
  on the scalp. Respondents wear a cap with sensors
  which take readings from sites associated with
  cognitive functions like emotional intensity,
  frustration and long term memory encoding.
• GSR Galvanic Skin Response - A biometric tool
  that measures tiny fluctuations in your body
  temperature and perspiration

17
Get started now
18
Activity A recipe for my research

• My question
• My IV and DV
• My methodology
• My map

19
References

• Bell, J. (1999) Doing your research project A
  guide for first-time researchers in education and
  social science. (3rd Ed) Open University Press,
  Buckingham, Philadelphia
• Garrett, J. (2010) The elements of user
  experience user-centred design for the web and
  beyond. New Riders Press, Barkley, CA
• Goto, K. Cotler, E. (2002). Web ReDesign.
  Workflow that Works. Indianapolis New Riders.
• Heim, S. (2008) The Resonant Interface HCI
  Foundations for Interaction Design, Pearson
  Addison-Wesley, New York
• Norman, D. (2004). Emotional Design. New York
  Basic Books. 
• Preece, J., Rogers, Y. Sharp, H. (2002).
  Interaction Design Beyond Human-Computer
  Interaction. New Jersey John Wiley Sons. 
• Saffer, D. (2010)Designing for interaction. (2nd
  ed) New Riders Press, Berkley, CA
• Shneiderman, B. and Plaisant, C. (2005).
  Designing the User Interface Strategies for
  Effective Human-Computer Interaction (Fourth
  Edition) Pearson Addison Wesley, Boston, MA.
• Torres, R.J. (2002). Practitioner's Handbook for
  User Interface Design in Development. New Jersey
  Prentice Hall.
• Van Duyne, D., Landay, J. Hong, J (2003). The
  Design of Sites. New York. Addison- Wesley.
• www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/heuristic_list.html
  
• www.cse.unr.edu/dascalus/ID2011_11.ppt
• http//uxcentered.wordpress.com/2009/12/27/hello-w
  orld/
• http//www.grameenfoundation.applab.org
• http//www.gliffy.com/examples/wireframes
• http//www.nngroup.com/reports/prototyping/video_s
  tills.html
• http//www.userfocus.co.uk/articles/cogwalk.html
• http//cmym.wordpress.com/2013/06/13/eyetracking-g
  sr-and-eeg-which-new-research-methods-get-you-clos
  er-part-2-eeg-gsr/