Mon, 28 Feb 2005 08:49:41 +0000
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This brings us back to an old thread about "what they say and what they
do." Those with long memories may recall the disparity found between
espoused and real behaviour discussed at that time. My principle point
of reference was (and remains)
Nisbett, R.E., Wilson, T.D. (1977) ‘Telling More Than We Can Know:
Verbal Reports on
Mental Processes’,* */Psychological Review, /Vol.84, No.3, May 1977, pp.
231-259.
Hence the move from lab testing a la Card & Moran to more ethnographic
models. In my organisation we moved to a far more ethnographic model
following the chapters in Coolican on the failur of lab tyesting in
behavioural research. As for questionnaires, if you can't trust them
(and speaking personally, I can't) then don't use them.
We uise observers who get involved in the experiment with the users and
try afterwards to comment on which areas their user had trouble with.
The downside of ethnographic research is you can't generalise, but then
generalisations based on questionnaires are notoriously unreliable
anyway, in particular when concerning cognitive processes.
For more info on the Nisbett & Wilson paper, a description can be found
in Cialdini's "Influence".
David Unsworth
Director of eCommerce
Saga Group Ltd
U.K.
Nick Quinn wrote:
> "Objectivity" appears to be the justification for HCI/CHI user tests,
> trials and focus groups, but this guy raises real doubts about asking
> someone their opinion
> <http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail230.html>.
>
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