Theme 5: Design research

Research paper:

Journal: IEEE Transactions on systems man and cybernetics part c – applications and reviews. Vol 34 Issue 2. May 2004. Impact factor: 2.009

Article: Involving users in the design of a mobile office robot

Source: Web of knowledge, web of science

The research paper I’ve chosen is about the design process of a fetch-and-carry-robot that was supposed to be used by motion-impaired people in an office environment.

1.       How is theory being used to guide the design process?

The theory used for this project is mainly based on related research done in the field of service robotics. However, there was little to be found regarding user-centered design of mobile service robots. They point a study by “Flynn and Brooks” published in the 1980s about the importance of developing and testing embodied robots in real environments to identify unanticipated research issues in system design and development. And this advocates the methods later used for designing the prototype. They also look at previous research done regarding the diversification of service robots, as separated from industrial robots and this helps them decide upon which type of components to use and the physical aspects of the robot.

2.       Which research method or methods are used in the paper? Which are the benefits and limitations of using these methods?

At an early stage they performed a questionnaire study to assess people’s attributes towards having robots around there working environment. The targeted users were people who suffered from physical impairments.

They also used a framework for task analysis, to find out about the users’ needs and work tasks.

The findings from using these two methods were used to guide the development of a prototype robot including interface, components etc. They then recruited a small group of potential users for doing user observations to develop the prototype even further in terms of the physical design and user interface. At last, a three month field study was also carried out to evaluate the robot in an office environment.

The design process used here was iterative and took a lot of time and resources, on the other hand it was really thorough and the result met the need of the users very well.

3.       What did you learn about conducting design research from reading the paper?

This type of user-focused design process is very well suited for designing a service or a product when the target group is quite small and have specific needs or have some other specific requirements. This is in contrast to the genius design process which is based on previous experience in the same field. The prototype developed in this article however was one of the first of its kind.

Reflections on:

Réhman, S., Sun, J., Liu, L., & Li, H. (2008). Turn Your Mobile Into the Ball: Rendering Live Football Game Using Vibration. IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, 10(6), 1022-1033.

How can media technologies be evaluated?

Media technologies can be evaluated in many ways, for example by qualitative or quantitative methods but a more specific and appropriate approach is, as described in this article; user testing. By having a prototype and letting the users be involved in the evaluation and development. Another approach is to have experts involved in the evaluation, but that all depends on what kind of media technology is being evaluated.  

What role will prototypes play in research?

A developed prototype makes it possible to perform testing for further development. A prototype is often developed from theories and results from survey methods that lead up to the developed prototype which in hand can be used for further, more practical research.

What are characteristics and limitations of prototypes?

Often, they don’t feature the final functionality and usability nor the final physical aspects. They provide a great opportunity for further developing a product or a service through testing.

Reflections on the past week (Theme 4: Qualitative methods)

This week I’ve learned a lot about qualitative methods, how to use them, and the pros and cons with the different methods. I am going to summarize some parts among other things that we discussed on the seminar and that I think is important and interesting when using qualitative methods.

I think there could be a potential risk with relying on just one or two qualitative methods in many cases. Because most qualitative methods are very thorough they are also niched so to speak, in what they are investigate. For instance; performing surveys that aim to investigate some habits or behavior, of let’s say online gamers or alike, via mail or in a way that you as a researcher are geographically separated from the participants in the survey could depict the actuality in a faulty manner. And so if observations were carried out, as another type of qualitative method, you would maybe get another result as you as a researcher analyzes the reality instead of having other people doing that, thinking about what and how they should answer the questions.

Here we come back to the term “sense-data” that Russel wrote about in his book; when performing qualitative research, I think it is best to use your own senses as much as possible for input data and carry out observations as you then often get the most accurate results for your research as possible. Of course, there are many cases where observations isn’t possible, and also cases where doing surveys at a distance are beneficial, as the participants gets time to think about what to answer etc. and that is many times required. But I think however that one should be careful not to rely on just a single qualitative method to conclude the research since the choice of qualitative method will almost certainly reflect the outcome of the result. It is therefore best, if qualitative methods are chosen, to perform several or at least two different methods for a more accurate picture. Or indeed mixed methods with maybe both qualitative and quantitative research. Anyhow, documentation is key when using qualitative methods, especially for observations; such as recording interviews, taking notes while a task is performed, or recording the screen for HCI research or tasks performed on a computer is vital so that a good analysis and reflection on the result can be carried out afterwards. 

Theme 4: Qualitative methods

Reflections on:

Fernaeus, Y. & Jacobsson, M. (2009). Comics, Robots, Fashion and Programming: outlining the concept of actDresses. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Tangible and Embedded Interaction. New York: ACM. 

The article provides an interesting take on HCI development in the form of letting physical elements control a certain device. The “actdresses” is used as a metaphor for how the devices should behave or what the characteristics of the device should be at any given moment, chosen by the user. The idea was founded from using symbols from fashion and comics as a way of controlling digital devices. The method used for creating the actdresses was to put together already existing pieces of code for making programs that described how the device should behave for the different actdsesses. The method was inspired by visual programming but what distinguishes the system is that a physical sign shows the immediate physical context for and that it produces perceivable actions.

I think that the physical approach with this particular HCI development is interesting and somewhat rare these days. I guess this example could be used in educational purpose regarding behaviors. But I think it could also be seen as a step in AI design as human behaviors is applied to describe how digital devices should work. This example with artdresses could also be seen as a further development of toys for children in the style of previous dolls or tamagotchi that are supposed to be “taken care of”.

Research paper:

Journal: Computer Standards & Interfaces, Vol. 29 Issue 2, February 2007. Impact factor: 1.257

Article: An exploratory investigation of two internet-based communication modes

Source: Web of knowledge, web of science

1.     Which qualitative method or methods are used in the paper? Which are the benefits and limitations of using these methods?

In this article, a qualitative method is used for comparing instant messaging (IM) and e-mail as communication tools while performing a group task within a team. The method was used to determine what modes of communication IM or E-mail provoked, like; task effectiveness, task satisfaction, playfulness and ease of use. The subjects for the method were graduate business student and had prior experience of e-mail and IM.  The students were divided into two groups; the E-mail group and the IM-group. Each group was then subdivided into small task teams. The persons within the team were geographically separated and only allowed to communicate by the assigned communication method.

One benefit of this method could be that the target group is specified as students and not more general so conclusions may be drawn from that specific target group and could maybe be applied to other similar groups of people (students). The communications were logged for close analysis and the data from the survey was measured by variables of interest. The narrow target group of the study is of course also a limitation as a generalization of the result can’t be done beyond the target group.

2.     What did you learn about qualitative methods from reading the paper?

That there are many different ways to attack a research problem and that generalization and that qualitative method sometimes can be quite useful. As in this case where thorough documentation and analysis is carried out.

3.     Which are the main methodological problems of the study? How could the use of the qualitative method or methods have been improved?

They could have included additional measurements for determine the modes of communication, for instance they could have included facial expressions and physical behaviors while the communication was carried out instead of just analyzing the text.

Reflections on the past week (Theme3 Quantitative methods)

The past week has been about quantitative methods. It has made me think about how to collect data when doing research. But more importantly, it has made me think about that the incentives for doing data collection should be of high importance when choosing and performing quantitative methods. Many times the method used for collecting data is something that is taken for granted. We often know what kind of data we want to gather but often do not think about how to do it in the best way possible. And so the method is something that is explained in retrospect rather than chosen from the beginning. The chosen method should be considered with care because the method is often the part that requires the most time and resources in a research project. However, if resources isn’t an issue it can be useful to use a  rigorous method or mixed methods for getting accurate and appropriate data.

I’ve also taken a look at the SPSS software for managing quantitative data. I like the practical approach with this; actually get to learn or at least take a look at software that we could have use for after the education as well. It seems similar to excel in many ways but more specialized on statistics and managing data from surveys etc. It would have been useful if the use of this software was integrated in some course earlier in the media technology program. It could maybe have been useful for doing the bachelor thesis. However I don’t know to what extent it is widely used and by what companies. Good to now know that it exists at least.

We have also specified our group project further and divided the tasks and different parts within the subject that each group member should work on.

Theme 3: Quantitative methods

Reflection on:

Lowenthal, P. R. & Leech, N. (2009). Mixed research and online learning: Strategies for improvement.

* What is the main question or hypothesis in this project?

The paper addresses that the research done about online education is generally of low quality and because online education is continuously growing there needs to be a change is how the research is done. They bring up the importance of this topic for research and make suggestions for what the researchers in this area need to consider.
* What is the purpose of this study - exploratory, descriptive or explanatory?

The purpose of the paper is to hopefully increase the rigor and quality of online research studies and help other researchers in that field. It proposes that qualitative and quantitative research methods should be used together where the researcher’s needs a better understanding of how sample scheme and sample size impact their research.
* What are the main concepts?

The main concept or message in this case is that most of the research that has been done about online education is based on survey data, which is self-reported data which in this case is insensitive to changes over time is not appropriate to use solely for this type of research and that mixed research should be used.   

Reflection on:

Cleveland-Innes, M. & Campbell P. (in press). Emotional presence, learning and the online learning environment.

* What is the main question or hypothesis in this project?
The aim of this study is to present evidence of emotional presence in online environments.
 In comparison to traditional learning, online learning that uses new technologies may in some cases require new competencies from the users and this in itself may elicit an emotional response. The paper studies what impact  these emotional responses could have for the experience of online learning.

* What is the purpose of this study - exploratory, descriptive or explanatory?

The purpose is mainly exploratory, to see how online learning evokes emotions and how that translates into the whole user experience for online learning.

* Is the presentation of argument relevant and logical?

The paper presents some background information about previous research and mentions that emotion is sometimes mistaken as a deterrent that impedes effective teaching and learning.
* Is there a clear progression through support for key ideas to the value of the research question?
Thus, kind of a hypothesis is made; that emotion is likely to play a far more dynamic role in learning. And that is what’s being investigated.
* What collection methods are used?

The research was based on a survey of questions regarding his/her online experience. Conference discussion transcripts were also collected.
* Is the data quantitative or qualitative data?

The data is to be seen as quantitative data because the large number of participants. However they also claim to have qualitative data from the open questions in the survey.

* Are the data valid and reliable representations of the empirical reality they attempt to capture?
Yes, sort of. But they are not taking into consideration what genders and so on from their target group is represented in the findings.
* Is the data presentation comprehensive or are selected aspects presented?
Data is selected from the surveys and they then look for emotional content in the text

* What conclusions are drawn from the data?
Learners need to understand the role of emotion in life and in learning to realize their benefits. One can then make use of the emotional state in a learning situation. Learning should be set up so it arouses learners’ feelings of security, well-being, and self-confidence.

Reflections about the past week (Theme 2: Theory)

This week I’ve learned many interesting things. Or perhaps as we say in this course: I’ve gained some useful knowledge about some interesting topics. In particular; Theory. I’ve learned what it is, or at least what it can be and taking note of several definitions for it. I’ve also learned what theory is not and what criteria’s need to be fulfilled for it to be theory. The concept of dividing theory in five different types of theories was a new and interesting view on the subject for me. As was the seminar which gave some interesting discussion and I’m still not a 100% clear on where to draw the line between theory and hypothesis. That will give me something to still think about concerning this week’s topic.

I assume that the definition of theory, which we together summarized at the seminar is much more abstract than methods, which we are going to touch upon next week, thereby a group project in this course about some sort of method seems more eligible than doing a project about theory.

However, in theory, the result and aim with our group project is going to end up as a theory about how to implement a method. Did you get what I was trying to say or did you lose me and think this was some sort of circular argumentation? Read again, it wasn’t. ;)

But anyway it’s good to have started to choose subject for our group project and I look forward to gain some knowledge about how to conduct surveys and questioners in the best way possible. So, basically we our group has chosen that we want to write about surveys as a method in research for media technology. Hopefully this will also later on help me when doing my master thesis and other projects in the future. 

Theme 2: Theory

(566 words)

1. Theory is something that a method for research often builds on. It is supposed to be a framework, a systematic statement of rules or principles to be followed. This can correspond to known facts that have been confirmed by observation or experiments. A common view is that theory provides explanation and predictions for deriving logical argumentation for how something works. Theory can also be used for predictions or to base assumptions on which can then be tested. Theory can be something that new findings originate from and those new findings can then in term be theory. In physical or natural sciences, theory can be seen as what provides explanations and predictions for statements that can be tested against observations in the real world.

Theory can be divided into five different types of theory; 1. Analysis: says what is. 2. Explanation: says what is, how, why, when, where. 3. Prediction: says what is and what will be. 4. Explanation and Prediction: says what is, how, why, when, where, and what will be. 5. Design and action: says how to do something.

For example, sometimes theory can have either the aim to make explanations or the aim of prediction but at the expense of one another. It is for instance possible to achieve precise predictions without having the explanatory reasons for why the outcome occurs. An example is given; that it is possible to predict from the appearance of clouds that it will start raining without having understanding of how precipitation occurs. These different types of theories are important to address depending on what is aimed to be achieved.

It is easy to believe that theory can be any factual statement but theory must however present some logic that presents why thing are as such. Thus when a reference is made to what has been written; it has to include some logic that explains the statement. Data in itself isn’t always theory as such either but theory is rather why or how the data is or is going to be observed.

2.

Journal: Computers & Education Volume 52, Issue 3, April 2009Impact factor: 2.621

Article: Impact of media richness and flow on e-learning technology acceptance.

Source: Web of knowledge; web of science.

The major theory used in this paper is founded on previous advances in research related to what is called the technology acceptance model, flow theory and media richness theory along with hypotheses related to this research. They study this model and then makes the assumption that the use of this model is no longer sufficient to study the intended use of e-learning systems due to advances in research which shows that an increase in sophistication by computer users. They hereby use the fourth type of theory; Explanation and prediction. They provide explanations and tests done with the current technology acceptance model and they also provide predictions with casual explanations. They don’t however say how to do something in the theory part, only after the method and results are carried out, so they’re not falling into the fifth category which is design and action.

3. The benefits of using, in this case the selected method “Explanation and prediction” is that the work is delineated for examine a specific area and so the content can go into great detail and has a very clear definition of what the article is aiming to convey. However, the limitation of this could be that if the prediction already made in the theory turns out to be incorrect or faulty the main intention of the research can be rendered meaningless or with inferior interest.