Ethnography for impact
a new way of exploring user experience
in libraries__________________
Andy Priestner(@PriestLib)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/chasblackman/8502151556/
Judge Business School, University of Cambridge -one of the top business schools in Europe
- very high-fee paying students (MBAs – 40k per annum)- students consistently rate our library service as excellent
But I KNOW its not perfect, and until recently I really didn’t know enough about the library experience of ourusers…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_ch/5447151529
I, like most librarians, was more used to – and more comfortable with –sending out annual surveys, and
chiefly recording quantitative facts
My only qualitative approaches were comment boxes and, very
occasional, focus groups and usability studies
https://www.flickr.com/photos/64763706@N08/6850650385
As a result...
• too much of my service data was only coming from those people who filled in the library survey
• I was using too many closed or leading questions
• and routinely interpreting increases and decreases ‘blind’ rather than researching further
• largely ignoring qualitative feedback as it was ‘difficult’
• and when the comments boxes were left empty, as they so often are, I was not following up to find out more
• and I knew full well that self-reporting is largely unreliable and skewed
...so what was the answer?https://www.flickr.com/photos/rsms/1479448133/
Ethnography
a way of studying cultures through observation, participation and qualitative techniques
https://www.flickr.com/photos/collin_key/6080864794/
Ethnography - Malinowksi
Credit: London School of Economics
Conjured up the image of a white man ‘going native’ in the South Pacific
Ethnography - Malinowksi
‘The final goal is to grasp the native’s point of view, his relation to life, to realise his vision of the world’
(Malinowski – founding fatherof ethnography, 1925)
Credit: London School of Economics
‘The final goal is to grasp the user’s point of
view, their relation to life, to realise their
vision of the world’
https://www.flickr.com/photos/arthurjohnpicton/4387576057
Change just one word and highly relevant to libraries…
Ethnography
• Interest in context and culture• Explores personal and social• More holistic• Less structured• More detailed• Immersive• Breaks down preconceptions• Time-consuming• Embraces complexity
And offers a more complete picture(but I’m not saying ditch the quantitative data)
www.flickr.com/photos/droetker0912/5542920908
Once I’d decided to engage in ethnographic research: revised a post within my library service to incorporate this activity. Renamed as ‘UX Librarian’ as concerned with exploring and improving all aspects of User Experience (UX)
(I advocate a broader definition of UX - not just about websites and usability)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mollystevens/5179946914/
Some ethnographic techniques
• Behavioural Mapping• Cognitive Mapping
• Diary Studies• Usability Studies
• Focus Groups• Affinity Diagramming
• Card Sorting• Directed Storytelling
• Touchstone Tours• Love- break-up-letter
• Graffiti Walls• Personas
https://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/4046427260
3 Ethnographic Research Projects
@ Judge Business School
~ 1 ~Behavioural
Mapping
Behavioural mapping
Observing use of the Information Centre and mapping the results
(Our UX Librarian - Georgina Cronin)
Photo: Andy Priestner
The study (undertaken in a series of hour-long observation sessions) involved: mapping routes; volume of traffic; duration of stay; activities undertaken; interaction between users; choice of desks; staff assistance, food and drink consumed (we allow both); devices used; databases used; use of self-service.
As well as recording movement and activities on a map, information was recorded in a narrative log and colour-coded for later affinity sorting.
Photo: Andy Priestner
A visual representation of all the maps combined clearly shows the most popular route through the Information Centre, known as a ‘desire line’
https://www.flickr.com/photos/peterme/14037066/
Desire lines are everywhere, but you might not have known that this is what they are formally called
Key findings / impact
TRAFFIC:
Most users use the ground
floor in order to walk
straight up to the first floor
NOISE: Users are quieter
the fuller the space is, and
more irritated by noise
ACTIVITY: Huge variety in
duration of stay (some very
long stays) and in print /
digital use
• Re-siting our display screens so they are seen by more people
• Opening up our first floor entrance for direct access
• Sending staff print jobs elsewhere during busy periods
• Reducing staff noise (conducting 1-2-1s elsewhere, closing office door)
• Adjusting door springs
• Ensuring space redesign does not assume device-only culture.
• Offering more comfortable furniture
https://www.flickr.com/photos/96dpi/3906387641/
~ 2 ~Show-me
-round
Students guide us around the Information Centre space and explain the choices they make, what they like and dislike - recorded for later analysis
Photo: Georgina Cronin
Key findings / impact
WORKAROUNDS:
Users are failing to access key
services (WIFI, printing,
databases) and invent time
consuming workarounds
WORKSPACES:
Very definite ideas about
what makes a good
workspace
KIOSK TERMINALS:
Users felt these prevented
access to information and
didn’t use them
• Less front-loading of information and ensuring we repeat key access messages
• More joined-up dissemination of information with other depts
• More desks and desk space needed. Cushions purchased (see next slide).
• Recognition of two tribes –‘upstairs’ and ‘downstairs’ people with different needs
• Accepted they were not working as we anticipated and removed them in favour of full PCs
https://www.flickr.com/photos/96dpi/3906387641/
Photo: Ange Fitzpatrick
~ 3 ~Cognitive Mapping
Subjects were invited to draw a map of their research and learning landscape – sharing where and how they work
N.B. 1Most library use happens outside the library
N.B.2Ethnography often ‘follows the user home’ for a fuller picture of experience
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wrachele/8367457082
Example faculty map
Example student map
Key findings / impact
LIBRARIES:
Faculty members did not use
physical library / student
used many for different
purposes
BEDROOMS:
All subjects drew bedrooms
as key study areas
OVERALL LANDSCAPE:
Most subjects are regularly on
the move and using a variety
of research environments
offering varying degrees of
concentration/distraction
• Faculty members need more assistance with productive working methods – mobile tech, cloud computing, time management tools. We intend to offer more 1-2-1s/support in these areas
• Recognising that for this particular group of students our library service is only part of the picture – stop selling ourselves as a ‘one-stop shop’
• The variety of places from which subjects accessed our resources underlines how vital it is that we offer our services remotely and seamlessly
https://www.flickr.com/photos/96dpi/3906387641/
Today’s library services are so complex, accessed in many different ways and from many different places, that we must adopt ethnography to reveal the full story of user experience
https://www.flickr.com/photos/marcwathieu/2566147235
More infoFurther information
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mayoral/13848318454
The definitive ethnography handbook by Nancy Fried-Foster and Susan Gibbons
(available as a free PDF from www.ala.org)
Dr Donna Lanclos, anthropologist and library ethnographer at the J. Murrey Atkins Library at University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Blogs at:www.donnalanclos.com(@donnalanclos)
Co-devised‘Visitors & Residents’ in place of ‘Digital Natives’
Right: Donna’s library sleep map
A UK blog exploring ethnographyand user experiencein libraries
(run by myself, Georgina Cronin & Meg Westbury)
The new open access peer-reviewed journal of library user experience
www.weaveux.org@WeaveUX
UX in libraries - conference
‘UX in Libraries’ book by Andy Priestner & Matt BorgSummer 2015
Ethnography for impact
a new way of exploring user experience
in libraries__________________
Andy Priestner(@PriestLib)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/chasblackman/8502151556/