1.
In their own
words…
Using ethnographic
methods to get
people talking
https://www.flickr.com/photos/62990032@N03/12777190423

2.
Who the heck are you?
• Georgina Cronin
• UX Librarian at Cambridge Judge Business
School
• Experienced in using ethnographic methods
in the field
• Advocate of applying innovative skills to
librarianship
• Tweets at @senorcthulhu

3.
Session outline
• AEIOU framework
• Exploratory research
• Interview techniques
• Love & break-up letters
• Touchstone tours
• Photo studies
https://www.flickr.com/photos/61629383@N08/14524671021

4.
Ethnography
‘The ethnographer enters the field with
an open mind, not an empty head’
David Fetterman in Ethnography Step by Step
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cuppini/14488679251

5.
AEIOU
framework
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ekilby/13201050664/

6.
A is for Activities
• Goal directed set of actions
• What are the pathways that people take
towards the things that they want to
accomplish?
• What are these specific actions and
processes?
• How long did they spend doing something?
• Who are they doing it with?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stuartwebster/5658827200/

7.
E is for Environments
• Environments include the
entire space where activities
take place
• What describes the
atmosphere and function of
this space?
• What is the context of this
space?
• Remember to include
individual and shared spaces
https://www.flickr.com/photos/anne-ostsee/15093457326/

8.
I is for Interactions
• Interactions are between a
person and someone or
something else
• They are the building blocks of
activities
• What is the nature of routine
and special interactions?
• Are these interactions between
people, people and objects in
their environment, or across
distances?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/halfrain/13987795362

9.
O is for Objects
• Objects are the building blocks
of the environment
• They are key elements
sometimes used in complex or
even unintended ways
• This use can sometimes change
their function, meaning or
context
• What are the objects and
devices that people have in
their environments?
• How do these relate to their
activities?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/koopmanrob/5523527145/

10.
U is for Users
• Users are the people
whose behaviours,
preferences, and
needs are being
observed
• Who is present?
• What are their roles
and relationships?
• What are their values
and prejudices?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wcmcwi/4348472383/

11.
AEIOU Framework
• Elements are not independent of each other
• Interrelated with critical interactions
• The Framework can be applied to any
ethnographic or observational method
• Use as a worksheet when collecting data
• Use as broad categories under which
subcategories can be created for analysis
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hanspoldoja/5001818922

12.
Exploratory research
User studies intended to forge an
empathic knowledge base
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rk_photos/5411820296

13.
Examples of exploratory research…
• Surveys and questionnaires
• Observation
• Experience sampling
• Touchstone tours
• Diary studies
• Cultural probes
• Contextual enquiry
• Unobtrusive measures
https://www.flickr.com/photos/f-oxymoron/4752989199/

14.
Directed storytelling
Participant(s)
Researcher
Assistant
Recording device(s)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wooandy/5160377937

15.
Directed storytelling
• Rooted in social science method of narrative
enquiry
• Shorthand method of collecting compelling
stories from participants
• Useful if time or other factors limit
opportunities for direct observation or longer
forms of research

16.
Directed storytelling
• ‘Tell me a story about the last time you…’
• Researcher guides story with who, what, when,
where and how questions
• Researcher guides story while assistant
documents the session
• Ideas that emerge can be themed and grouped
• Powerful tool in expressing experiences
• Does not need large investment of time or
resources

17.
Contextual enquiry
Participant(s)
Environmental context
Recording device(s)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95222905@N02/10997835056

18.
Contextual enquiry
• Similar to storytelling but more
focused on context
• Master/Apprentice approach allows
for participant to explain in their
own words
• Feedback to participant allows for
accurate interpretation of meaning
• Allows researcher to ‘see’
participant’s world and understand
it fully
• Spend good amount of time with
participants and research multiple
user groups
https://www.flickr.com/photos/66652264@N00/3008033829

19.
Love letter/Break-up letter
Participant(s)
Paper and pen
Video recording device
Group scenario (if needed)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38389073@N04/5966912759

20.
The Love Letter
• Allows participants to express
sentiments about a product or
service
• Uses a format that is
immediately understood
• Rather than writing to a
person, participants are asked
to personify a product/service
• Results can reveal a lot about
relationships that people have
with services in their lives
https://www.flickr.com/photos/26866240@N07/3037960164

21.
The Break-up Letter
• Same principle as the Love
Letter
• Focuses on when a product
or service does not work
• Participants can share
information about new
products or workarounds
• Approach can focus on a
library service or a broader
landscape
https://www.flickr.com/photos/74199783@N00/3399611073

22.
Writing a Love or Break-up Letter
• Spend no longer than 10 minutes on a letter
• Think about a product or service that you’ve
really enjoyed, or one that you’ve started
having second thoughts about
• Imagine that it is a person, and write a love
letter to it or tell them how you feel with a
break-up letter
• Think about how you felt when you first
clicked and work from there…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29406311@N04/4576127693

23.
Is anyone feeling brave?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/83346641@N00/4338199567

24.
Letter summary
• Spending no longer than 10 minutes on the
letter stops you overthinking it
• Participants should be filmed reading their
letters out
• Capture non-verbal cues and expressions
• Physical letters are an important research
artifact
• Very emotive method of research
https://www.flickr.com/photos/12325841@N07/3395615608

25.
Touchstone Tours
Participant(s)
Environmental or object context
Recording device(s)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/16433024@N06/15035417942

26.
Touchstone Tours
Designed as a
conversation that uses
artefacts and the
environment as
touchstones for
questions and insights
https://www.flickr.com/photos/76283035@N00/1508443118

27.
Touchstone Tours
• Contextual and empathic method that
immerses researcher in participant’s world
• Participant is typically at ease in their
surroundings
• Due to ease, participants can be enthusiastic
about talking to researcher
• Conversation should be guided but flexible
enough to allow offshoots and observations

28.
Touchstone Tours
• Large environmental spaces
• Individual rooms
• Backpacks/purses
• Digitally
• Computer desktops
• File storage
https://www.flickr.com/photos/44124479650@N01/5851371290

29.
Photo studies
Participant(s)
Camera
Environmental context
https://www.flickr.com/photos/80068056@N03/9118136424

30.
Photo studies
• Invite participants to document
aspects of their lives
• Ideal way of highlighting
personal significance of spaces
and objects for participant
• Often used as a complementary
tool to another study
(Touchstone Tours etc.)
• Can often generate great
enthusiasm from participants
due to creative nature of
method
https://www.flickr.com/photos/59482135@N08/5481287331

31.
Photo studies at CJBS
Mapping spaces through signs
[image from Buzzfeed]

32.
Photo studies at CJBS
‘I like the alcove desks
because they’re tucked
away and I can get
some privacy’
MST student

33.
Photo studies at CJBS
‘I used to love the
desks but now I work
on the beanbags as
they’re like my comfy
chair at home’
MBA student

34.
Photo studies at CJBS
‘What’s in your bag?’
https://www.flickr.com/photos/beorn_ours/8608763523

35.
Recap time
• AEIOU framework
• Directed storytelling
• Contextual enquiry
• Love letter/Break-up letter
• Touchstone tours
• Photo studies
https://www.flickr.com/photos/33854765@N00/8205757689

36.
In conclusion…
Have fun!

37.
Coming next…
Fieldwork!