1.
DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN THE COMMUNICATION OF
EXPERIENTIAL AND ACADEMIC
DESIGN KNOWLEDGE
YUBO KOU & COLIN M. GRAY
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
A Linguistic Analysis

2.
GAP
RESEARCH/PRACTICEPRACTICE
ACADEMIA

3.
Gray, Stolterman, Siegel (2014)

4.
Gray, Stolterman, Siegel (2014)
B Bubble Up (research-led)
+ other recent work on translational practices (e.g., Colusso et al., 2017, 2018)

5.
Supporting Distributed Critique through
Interpretation and Sense-Making in an Online
Creative Community
YUBO KOU and COLIN M. GRAY, Purdue University
Critique is an important component of creative work in design education and practice, through which
individuals can solicit advice and obtain feedback on their work. Face-to-face critique in offline settings such
as design studios has been well-documented and theorized. However, little is known about unstructured
distributed critique in online creative communities where people share and critique each other’s work, and
how these practices might resemble or differ from studio critique. In this paper, we use mixed-methods to
examine distributed critique practices in a UX-focused online creative community on Reddit. We found that
distributed critique resembles studio critique categorically, but differs qualitatively. While studio critique
often focuses on depth, distributed critique often revolved around collective sensemaking, through which
creative workers engaged in iteratively interpreting, defining, and refining the artifact and their process. We
discuss the relationship between distributed critique and socio-technical systems and identify implications
for future research.
CCS Concepts: • Human-centered computing → Human computer interaction (HCI); Empirical
studies in HCI
KEYWORDS
Distributed critique, user experience design, online creative community, practice-led research, research-
practice gap
ACM Reference format:
0501
2
3
4
5
UX Practitioners’ Engagement with
Intermediate-Level Knowledge
Abstract
Scholars have repeatedly called for the knowledge
production efforts of the HCI research community to
have resonance with the needs of practitioners. These
efforts, reified in approaches such as “implications for
design,” annotated portfolios, and other forms of
intermediate-level knowledge have begun to take hold
within the research community, yet it is unclear if and
how these forms of knowledge are used to actually
support user experience (UX) practice. In this study,
we analyzed resources shared via URLs that pointed to
articles on external websites within a practitioner-
focused Reddit community. Using Löwgren’s taxonomy
of intermediate-level knowledge, we identified the
forms of knowledge these resources represent, and use
this analysis as a provocation for future exploration into
the types of knowledge practitioners desire and use to
support their practice.
Author Keywords
Intermediate-level knowledge; precedent; practice-led
research; UX practice; Reddit.
ACM Classification Keywords
H.5.m. Information interfaces and presentation (e.g.,
HCI): Miscellaneous.
Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for
personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are
not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that
copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights
for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other
uses, contact the Owner/Author.
DIS'17 Companion, June 10-14, 2017, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
© 2017 Copyright is held by the owner/author(s).
ACM ISBN 978-1-4503-4991-8/17/06.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3064857.3079110
Colin M. Gray
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
gray42@purdue.edu
Yubo Kou
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
kou2@purdue.edu
Exploring the Knowledge Creation
Practices of UX Designers on
Stack Exchange
Abstract
The contours of user experience (UX) design practice
have been developed by a diverse array of practitioners
and academics in an array of disciplinary traditions,
leaving UX without a coherent and agreed upon body of
disciplinary knowledge or a concrete path to become a
Yubo Kou
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
kou2@purdue.edu
Colin M. Gray
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
gray42@purdue.edu
Knowledge Production and Social Roles in an Online Community of
Emerging Occupation: A Study of User Experience Practitioners on Reddit
Yubo Kou, Colin M. Gray, Austin L. Toombs, and Robin S. Adams
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907
{kou2, gray42, toombsa, rsadams}@purdue.edu
Abstract
New occupations are emerging that have high job
demand in the market, but lack a coherent body of
disciplinary knowledge. For example, user experience
(UX) design is an emerging occupation that has not
been adequately supported by the traditional
educational system. For learners beginning their
[20,35,47]. Therefore, it becomes critically important to
understand how knowledge is produced and
disseminated in the context of emerging occupations.
In recent years, online communities have been
viewed as vital places that can enable learning and
socialization of both amateur and professional
practitioners in a wide range of disciplines [34,37,43].
However, little work has focused on the processes of
knowledge production in the context of emerging
Proceedings of the 51st
Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences | 2018
Gray & Kou
2017
Kou & Gray
2017
Kou & Gray
2018
Kou & Gray
2018
Knowledge Production and Social Roles in an Online Community of
Emerging Occupation: A Study of User Experience Practitioners on Reddit
Yubo Kou, Colin M. Gray, Austin L. Toombs, and Robin S. Adams
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907
{kou2, gray42, toombsa, rsadams}@purdue.edu
Abstract
New occupations are emerging that have high job
demand in the market, but lack a coherent body of
disciplinary knowledge. For example, user experience
(UX) design is an emerging occupation that has not
been adequately supported by the traditional
educational system. For learners beginning their
[20,35,47]. Therefore, it becomes critically important to
understand how knowledge is produced and
disseminated in the context of emerging occupations.
In recent years, online communities have been
viewed as vital places that can enable learning and
socialization of both amateur and professional
practitioners in a wide range of disciplines [34,37,43].
However, little work has focused on the processes of
knowledge production in the context of emerging
Proceedings of the 51st
Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences | 2018

6.
RESEARCH QUESTION
What are the distinct characteristics of
communication of experiential knowledge
compared to that of academic knowledge?

7.
METHODS OF INQUIRY
Participant observation in online sites
(Boellstorff et al., 2012)
Discourse analysis
(Gee, 2014)
Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC)
(Pennebaker, 2015)

8.
ACADEMIC
EXPERIENTIAL

9.
DESIGN
ISSUES
DESIGN
STUDIES
ACADEMIC
EXPERIENTIAL

10.
DESIGN
ISSUES
DESIGN
STUDIES
ACADEMIC
EXPERIENTIAL
UX STACK
EXCHANGE
REDDIT
/r/userexperience

11.
UX STACK
EXCHANGE
DESIGN
ISSUES
REDDIT
/r/userexperience
DESIGN
STUDIES
CONCEPTUAL
PRAGMATIC
ACADEMIC
EXPERIENTIAL

12.
1465 QUESTIONS
AND 2956 ANSWERS
(JANUARY–JUNE 2017)
10 ARTICLES
(5 TOP CITED + 5 TOP
DOWNLOADED)
825 POSTS AND
5433 COMMENTS
(JANUARY–JUNE 2017)
10 ARTICLES
(5 TOP CITED + 5 TOP
DOWNLOADED)
CONCEPTUAL
PRAGMATIC
ACADEMIC
EXPERIENTIAL

13.
610,375
WORDS
55,168
WORDS
408,284
WORDS
81,544
WORDS
CONCEPTUAL
PRAGMATIC
ACADEMIC
EXPERIENTIAL

14.
“When brainstorming
features with stakeholders i
commonly come across 2
kinds of reasoning 1 being
this is feature is so obvious
that the user will get it,
maybe because they use
other apps.”
“I would like to begin this
paper with a brief review of
some of the historical
concerns that have
emerged with respect to
the relationship between
design and science.”
“I'd like to hear some
thoughts from you all
about the ways in which
you think your companies
are doing UX well, and
where they can improve.”
“Creativity in the design
process is often
characterised by the
occurrence of a significant
event—the so-called
‘creative leap’.”

15.
Design Issues
unigram # bigram # trigram #
design 1546 of design 192 of the design 43
research 320 the design 133
the design
process
43
problem 233
design
research
72 in the design 31
science 220
design
process
55
Sciences of
the
30
Simon 193 in design 47
of the
Artificial
29
new 171 design Things 46
The Sciences
of
26
innovation 165 design and 45
the
development
of
20
designer 154
Design
Methods
42
science of
design
19
product 143 to design 40
of design
research
19
social 130 of Design 37
Simon's
science of
16
process 116 a design 36
Herbert A
Simon
15
more 89 design as 36 of design as 15
methods 86 and design 36
graphic
design history
14
develop 83 in Design 35
the meaning
of
13
meaning 81
problem
solving
34
object of
design
13
Design Studies
unigram # bigram # trigram #
design 1398 the design 153
the design
process
46
product 548 of design 125 of the design 40
process 401
low-fidelity
prototyping
100 in the design 36
designer 298 the product 99 a sense of 33
study 289
visual
accessibility
90
psychological
experience of
28
use 241
design
process
82
the
importance of
27
practice 235 the team 62
the
development
of
26
prototype 213 a design 61
of the
product
25
more 174 in design 54
response to
the
25
work 165
graphic
design
50
the Green
Team
24
innovation 162 response to 50
low-fidelity
prototyping
practice
24
research 161
product
design
49
consumer
response to
23
new 158 sense of 46
of visual
accessibility
22
team 148 Design for 46
design for
sustainability
22
tools 147 importance of 46
of low-fidelity
prototyping
22

16.
Stack Exchange
unigram # bigram # trigram #
user 6769 the user 2481 the user to 298
more 2207 want to 879 a lot of 251
like 2079 have a 824 be able to 246
make 2002 need to 786 you want to 203
use 1939 the same 767 I have a 179
button 1911 to use 529 I want to 157
need 1694 I think 512 the user can 154
design 1442 to make 506 to the user 151
way 1348 way to 491 you need to 150
want 1273 user to 404 there is a 149
page 1271 a user 390 for the user 149
example 1221 the best 383 the user is 145
time 1133 a good 364
download
bmml source
141
think 1080 the first 351 that the user 135
see 1026 a lot 348
with Balsamiq
Mockups
129
Reddit
unigram # bigram # trigram #
UX 2914 want to 658 a lot of 377
work 2680 a lot 578 you want to 188
design 1947 have a 557 be able to 174
like 1620 to do 535 I want to 134
more 1583 I think 521 I have a 119
get 1235 to get 473 you need to 93
think 1039 need to 440 I'm not sure 92
user 999 lot of 421 a UX designer 91
people 985 you have 407 you have a 82
research 973 a UX 343 to get a 81
good 917 the same 304 Thanks for the 79
really 901 going to 295 going to be 75
know 877 the user 257 I don't think 73
want 876 you want 254 if you have 70
time 870 trying to 246 want to do 69

17.
SUMMARY
LANGUAGE
VARIABLES
Analytic
“a high number reflects formal, logical, and hierarchical thinking; lower numbers reflect
more informal, personal, here-and-now, and narrative thinking.”
Clout
“a high number suggests that the author is speaking from the perspective of high
expertise and is confident; low Clout numbers suggest a more tentative, humble, even
anxious style.”
Authentic
“higher numbers are associated with a more honest, personal, and disclosing text;
lower numbers suggest a more guarded, distanced form of discourse.”
Analytical Thinking
“a high number is associated with a more positive, upbeat style; a low number reveals
greater anxiety, sadness, or hostility; a number around 50 suggests either a lack of
emotionality or different levels of ambivalence.”

18.
SUMMARY
LANGUAGE
VARIABLES
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Analytic Clout Authentic Tone WPS Sixltr
design issues design studies SE Reddit Blogs

19.
SEMANTIC
CATEGORIES
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
function
verb
num
ber
social
cogproc
drivesfocuspresent
relativ
work
AllPunc
design issues design studies SE Reddit Blogs

20.
Experiential knowledge and academic knowledge
have varying content and linguistic forms

21.
Experiential knowledge and academic knowledge
have varying content and linguistic forms
Expressions of knowledge on SE show a clear
tendency towards rigorous argumentation in
knowledge building

22.
Experiential knowledge and academic knowledge
have varying content and linguistic forms
Expressions of knowledge on SE show a clear
tendency towards rigorous argumentation in
knowledge building
Practice and academic communities and knowledge
building practices are connected, with the potential
for generative conversation and collaboration

23.
DESIGN RESEARCH
MUST KEEP UP WITH
THE EVOLUTION OF
DESIGN PRACTICE
ICTS SHIFT
EPISTEMOLOGICAL
& METHODOLOGICAL
ASPECTS OF
DESIGN PRACTICE
ICTS CAN PLAY AN
IMPORTANT ROLE IN
BRIDGING KNOWLEDGE
PRACTICE
ACADEMIA

24.
COLINGRAY.ME | UXP2.COM
YUBOKOU.INFO
THANK YOU