During our first seminar we mainly discussed our project from a technical standpoint. During our discussion we went over some of the, according to us, focal points found in each chapter. We also summarized all of the questions the chapters brought about. Following is a run-through of the topics central to our discussion.
Our discussion began with us summarizing the main topic of each chapter. Our mutual understanding was that chapter 7 mainly discussed the following:
• What should you think about when gathering data?
• How do you conduct a successful survey?
The focal point of chapter 8 was:
• How do you analyze data?
Finally, chapter 10 primarily discussed:
• How do you assign necessary requirements to the data?
We all agree that each chapter leaves us with something to ponder, and that together, the chapters paint a picture. A project cannot be successful if the research meant to back it up falls short. It is very clear that the groundwork of today determines the outcome of tomorrow. You cannot put a roof on a non-existing house. Without a structure, it'll crumble. The same goes for our project.
We spent the remainder of our seminar discussing each chapter in great detail, debating both pros and cons of the methods mentioned in the course literature as well as discussing what methods to use. At the end of the seminar we all agreed that open-ended or unstructured interviews with emphasis on quantitative data gathering was the way to go since we want to target a specific type of traveler traveling the route of our choosing. We don't know who that traveler is yet, neither do we know what route we want to chose, but we'll be determining that sometime in the near future.
Down below I'll be listing some of our thoughts concerning the methods presented in the course literature:
• A con of using a questionnaire is that questions could be easily be misinterpreted. We believe that a pilot study is a great tool to use to reduce miscommunication. By conducting a pilot study, you'll most likely find the majority of your errors before conducting the actual study. As a result, the likeliness of you questionnaire being misconstrued is slim to none.
• To identify a specific target group is of great importance when conducting a survey. By doing so, you will have only gathered data relevant to your purpose.
• Something we all thought about was the fact that people might feel more comfortable answering a questionnaire then answering questions during an interview. When answering a questionnaire you don't feel as though your being judged. When answering questions face to face you possibly do. A con of conducting an interview face to face is, as a result of this argument, that people might answer with what they believe is the norm.
• A con of using an open-ended interview as your main source of information is that there'll be lots of (possibly unnecessary) data to analyze. You might also lose track of the purpose of the conversation. The answers you receive could also vary with the way you convey your questions, as a result, so will the outcome.
• Transcribing an audio-recorded interview will take a lot of time, but it’ll allow you to be more focused during the interview.
During the seminar, another topic of our discussion was how to communicate with efficiency. Since Facebook is a social media we all use, we decided that this should be our main platform for communication. We'll start a chat with all of the members of our group and discuss any topic related to our project from there.
Also, we decided that the academic quarter should be part of our schedule since it's a system we're all well accustomed to.
Questions
• What makes a pattern?
• How come all things positive should be on the left hand side in a questionnaire?
• What are the risks when gathering an overview of the data using a qualitative method?
• How can an analysis be misinterpreted?
• How can data be misinterpreted?
• Is knowing a lot (about a service or a product) better than knowing nothing at all when designing an interactive design?
• What is the best way of doing research without interfering with the result or being bias?
• When should you, as an observer, participate? When should you be passive?
• How can requirements be defined to minimize confusion between the group members?
Click the links to find our individual reflections of the three chapters:
• Thomas
• Joakim
• Johanna
• Marcus
• Hannes
You can't build a great building on a weak foundation. You must have a solid foundation if you're going to have a strong superstructure.
- Gordon B. Hinckley -
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