Page 57 - DLIS102_LIBRARY_AND_ITS_USERS

Library and its Users

Notes in good research practice that will also build collaborative relationships and provide a support
network for staff as they embark on user studies. Events are free of charge to all Duke Libraries
staff, pending discussion with their supervisor. Staffs are also encouraged to include participation
in this series in their professional development (“PEP”) plan.

Staff who attend a minimum of 4 events during the year and contribute to the planning
or implementation of a user study will be eligible to receive a certificate of participation
from Library HR.

9.1 Methods and Techniques

Survey of Relevant User Study Techniques

These techniques are appropriate for different stages in the development of an application, from
initial concepts, to design and evaluation of a working application. Based on previous experience, we
are in favor of using multiple techniques and advocate that the participants be representative of the
target user population.

9.1.1 Contextual Field Research

Contextual field research (CFR) is a technique for gathering qualitative data by observing and
interacting with users as they go about their normal activities. It is typically used to discover how
users think and act rather than to test preformulated hypotheses. Data is collected by a combination
of note taking, video, audio, and photographs. Some benefits of CFR are that it is conducted in the
user’s environment rather than the laboratory, users perform their normal activities rather than
contrived tasks, and because no application needs to be in place to conduct CFR, it may be used to
help guide the application’s requirements and design. However, CFR has disadvantages. Users may
alter their behavior when they know they are being observed. It can be more expensive than other
qualitative techniques.
The cost of CFR can be difficult to gauge before it begins, as the evaluator may not know what he
will learn, how much data he will have to collect, or how long the observations will take. He may
also not know how long the data will take to analyze.
The evaluator cannot guarantee that the sessions he observes are typical for the users. Despite the
disadvantages, the quality of data from CFR is often better than that from other techniques; evaluators
do not have to rely on the user to remember everything about his work and environment, nor must
evaluators worry about inventing appropriate tasks for the user to attempt.

9.1.2 Intensive Interviewing

Intensive interviewing is a technique for gathering qualitative data by asking users open-ended
questions about their work, background, and ideas. Unlike more structured interviewing techniques,
question order and content may vary from user to user. As with other interviewing techniques,
evaluators must ask questions in such a way as to not influence users’ responses. Several hours are
often spent with each user over a series of one to two hour sessions; the total time spent with each
user is typically between six and fifteen hours. Similar to CFR, data is captured by a combination of
note taking, video, and audio. Some benefits of intensive interviewing are that evaluators learn about
the user’s work in the user’s own words, and it is relatively inexpensive compared to observational

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