Chapter 8DATA GATHERING
- 8.1 Introduction
- 8.2 Five Key Issues
- 8.3 Data Recording
- 8.4 Interviews
- 8.5 Questionnaires
- 8.6 Observation
- 8.7 Choosing and Combining Techniques
8.1 Introduction
Data is everywhere. Indeed, it is common to hear people say that we are drowning in data because there is so much of it. So, what is data? Data can be numbers, words, measurements, descriptions, comments, photos, sketches, films, videos, or almost anything that is useful for understanding a particular design, user needs, and user behavior. Data can be quantitative or qualitative. For example, the time it takes a user to find information on a web page and the number of clicks to get to the information are forms of quantitative data. What the user says about the web page is a form of qualitative data. But what does it mean to collect these and other kinds of data? What techniques can be used, and how useful and reliable is the data that is collected?
This chapter presents some techniques for data gathering that are commonly used in interaction design activities. In particular, data gathering is a central part of discovering requirements and evaluation. Within the requirements activity, data gathering is conducted ...
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