Unspoken phenomena

Using innovative qualitative methods to research the lived experiences of digital communities

Dr Jenine Beekhuyzen

Discovery consists of looking at the same thing

as everyone else and thinking something

different.” Attributed to Albert Szent Gyorgyi (1937 Nobel Prize Winner)

Why qualitative?

• counting vs what counts

• only way to study certain phenomena

• locate the interactional sequences (‘how’) in which participants’ meanings (‘what’) are deployed.

• answer ‘why’ questions - not causal /predictive in nature but deals with human reasoning and explanations

Current challenges in qualitative research

• artificial settings and the collection of “manufactured data” - considerably limiting the range of phenomena we can discover

• journalistic commentaries are common

• ignoring the mundane - “social order can be found in even the tiniest activities”

Current challenges in qualitative research• focus on one mode of data collection at the

expense of others

• how are meanings constructed? non verbal data which is often said to be 80% of communication - therefore transcriptions without contextual and non verbal data may be misleading

• need for transparency in data analysis

• lack of situatedness of the researcher

• minimal time spent understanding phenomena

Participatory qualitative approaches• focus on naturally occurring situated

interaction in which local meanings are created and sustained

• user is at the centre of the design and/or investigation

• capture multiple realities and accounts

• construct meanings interactively (i.e. with participants)

• user-centred design - scenarios, personas and use cases + expert panel

• self-documentation - photovoice

• sensory ethnography

• photo elicitation

• “go along” interview

capture needs and emotions

lived experiences narratives

Questions?

Questions?