Asking users and experts

Asking users and experts

1. Asking users: interviews

   • Interviews can be thought of as a "conversation with a purpose"
     • How like an ordinary conversation the interview is depends on the questions to be answered and the type of interview method used.
       • ARANZA ESTRADA A01176250
         • Preece, Jennifer. (2002). Interaction Design. United States of America: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
     • There are four main types of interviews: open-ended or unstructured, structured, semi-structured, and group interviews
       • The first three types are named ac- cording to how much control the interviewer imposes on the conversation by fol- lowing a predetermined set of questions. The fourth involves a small group guided by an interviewer who facilitates discussion of a specified set of topics.
   • Developing questions and planning an interview
     • When developing interview questions, plan to keep them short, straightforward and avoid asking too many.
     • Avoid long questions because they are difficult to remember.
       • Avoid compound sentences by splitting them into two separate questions.
         • Avoid using jargon and language that the interviewee may not understand
           • Avoid leading questions such as, "Why do you like this style of interaction?"
             • Be alert to unconscious biases.
     • Be Nice to Interviewees
       • An Introduction in which the interviewer introduces himself and explains why he is doing the interview
         • A warmup session where easy, non-threatening questions come first.
           • A main session in which the questions are presented in a logical sequence, with the more difficultones at the end.
             • A cool-offperiod consisting of a few easy questions
               • A closing session in which the interviewer thanks the interviewee
       • The golden rule is to be professional.
         • Dress in a similar way to the interviewees if possible.
           • Prepare an informed consent form and ask the interviewee to sign it.
             • If you are recording the interview, which is advisable, make sure your equip- ment works
               • Record answers exactly
       • Heuristics Evaluation
         • Visibility of system status
           • Match between system and the real world
             • User control and freedom
               • Consistency and standards
                 • Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
                   • Error prevention
                     • Recognition rather than recall
                       • Flexibility and eficiency of use
                         • Aesthetic and minimalist design
                           • Help and documentation
         • H 0 M E R U N
           • High-quality content Often updated Minimal download time Ease of use Relevant to users' needs Unique t o the online medium Netcentric corporate culture
         • Doing heuristic evaluation
           • The briefing session, The evaluation period, The debriefing session in which the experts come together to discuss their findings
         • Heuristic evaluation of websites
           • Internal consistency. Simple dialog. Shortcuts. Minimizing the user's memory load. Preventing errors. Feedback. Internal locus of control. Layout.
             • Navigation One of the biggest problems for users of large websites is navigating around the site. The phrase "lost in cyberspace"
               • Access Accessing many websites can be a problem for people with slow Internet connections and limited processing power.

2. Unstructured interviews

   • They are more like conversations that focus on a particular topic and may often go into considerable depth.
     • Going in without an agenda to accomplish a goal is not advisable, and should not to be confused with being open to new infor- mation and ideas.
       • A benefit of unstructured interviews is that they generate rich data.
         • Make sure you have an interview agenda that supports the study goals and questions
           • Be prepared to follow new lines of enquiry that contribute to your agenda
             • Pay attention to ethical issues
               • Respond with sympathy if appropriate
   • Structured interviews
     • Pose predetermined questions similar to those in a question- naire
       • Are useful when the study's goals are clearly understood and specific questions can be identified. To work best, the ques- tions need to be short and clearly worded.
         • Typically the questions are closed, which means that they require a precise answer. The same questions are used with each participant so the study is standardized.
     • Semi-structured interviews
       • Use both closed and open questions. For consistency the interviewer has a basic script for guidance, so that the same topics are covered with each intervie- wee.
         • It is important not to preempt an answer by phrasing a question to suggest that a particularanswerisexpected.
           • Also the interviewer needs to accommodate silences and not to move on too quickly.
             • Probes are a device for getting more infor- mation, especially neutral probes such as, "Do you want to tell me anything else?"
               • You may also prompt the person to help her along. For example, if the interviewee is talking about a computer interface but has forgotten the name of a key menu item, you might want to remind her
       • Group interviews
         • One form of group interview is the focus group that is frequently used in marketing, political campaigning, and social sciences research. Normally three to 10 people are involved.
           • The benefit of a focus group is that it allows diverse or sensitive issues to be raised that would otherwise be missed.
             • The method assumes that individuals de- velop opinions within a social context by talking with others.
               • Focus groups are also attractive because they are low-cost, provide quick results, and can easily be scaled to gather more data.
         • Other sources of interview-like feedback
           • Telephone interviews are a good way of interviewing people with whom you can- not meet. You cannot see body language, but apart from this telephone interviews have much in common with face-to-face interviews.
             • Online interviews, using either asynchronous communication as in email or synchronous communication as in chats, can also be used. For interviews that in- volve sensitive issues, answering questions anonymously may be preferable to meeting face to face.
               • At various stages of design, it is useful to get quick feedback from a few users. These short interviews are often more like conversations in which users are asked their opinions.

3. Data analysis and interpretation

   • Analysis of unstructured interviews can be time-consuming, though their contents can be rich.
     • Which type of analysis is done depends on the goals of the study, as does whether the whole interview is transcribed, only part of it, or none of it.

4. Questionnaries

   • Questionnaires are a well-established technique for collecting demographic data and users' opinions. They are similar to interviews and can have closed or open questions.
     • The questions asked in a questionnaire, and those used in a structured inter- view are similar, so how do you know when to use which technique? One advan- tage of questionnaires is that they can be distributed to a large number of people
   • Designing questionnaires
     • Many questionnaires start by asking for basic demographic information (e.g., gen- der, age) and details of user experience
       • From knowing the sample range, a designer might develop two different versions or veer towards the needs of one of the groups more because it represents the target audience.
         • Following the general questions, specific questions that contribute to the evalu- ation goal are asked. If the questionnaire is long, the questions may be subdivided into related topics to make it easier and more logical to complete.
           • Make questions clear and specific. When possible, ask closed questions and offer a range of answers. Consider including a "no-opinion" option for questions that seek opinions. Think about the ordering of questions.
     • Question and response format
       • Check boxes and ranges
         • The range of answers to demographic questionnaires is predictable. Gender, for example, has two options, male or female
         • Scales
           • There are a number of different types of rating scales that can be used, each with its own purpose Here we describe two commonly used scales, Likert and semantic differential scales.
             • Likert Scales Likert scales are used for measuring opinions, attitudes, and beliefs, and conse- quently they are widely used for evaluating user satisfaction
               • Divide the items into groups with about the same number of positive and nega- tive statements in each group.
                 • Decide on the scale. QUIS uses a 9-point scale, and because it is a general questionnaire that will be used with a wide variety of products it also includes NIA (not applicable,) as a category. Many questionnaires use 7- or 5-point scales and there are also 3-point scales.
           • Semantic differential scales They explore a range of bipolar attitudes about a particular item. Each pair of attitudes is represented as a pair of adjectives.
     • Administering questionnaires
       • Two important issues when using questionnaires are reaching a representa- tive sample of participants and ensuring a reasonable response rate.
         • Some ways of encouraging a good response include: Ensuring the questionnaire is well designed so that participants do not get annoyed and give up.
   • Online questionnaires are becoming increasingly common because they are effec- tive for reaching large numbers of people quickly and easily. There are two types: email and web-based.
     • Other advantages of online questionnaires include. Responses are usually received quickly. Copying and postage costs are lower than for paper surveys or often non- existent. Data can be transferred immediately into a database for analysis.
       • Developing a web-based questionnaire
         • Developing a successful web-based questionnaire involves designing it on paper, developing strategies for reaching the target population, and then turning the paper version into a web-based version
         • Turning the paper questionnaire into a web-based version requires four steps.
           • Produce an error-free interactive electronic version from the original paper- based one.
             • Make the questionnaire accessible from all common browsers and readable from different-size monitors and different network locations.
               • Make sure information identifying each respondent will be captured and stored confidentially
                 • User test the survey with pilot studies before distributing.

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