Computer Supported Cooperative Work
2007
Fieldwork for DesignTheory and Practice Authors:

• Dave Randall,
• Richard Harper,
• Mark Rouncefield
• …show all 3hide
  

ISBN: 978-1-84628-767-1 (Print) 978-1-84628-768-8  (Online)

About this book

• Provides a much needed overview of the field
•                                         Draws heavily on the authors’ practical experience, providing lessons learned
•                                         Illustrated with real examples from the authors’ various experience in academic and commercial settings
  

Fieldwork for Design looks at why ethnographic approaches have been turned to in the design of computing devices for the workplace, for the home and elsewhere. It presents a history of ethnography, both as it was practiced before computer science picked it up and since, most especially in the CSCW and HCI domains. It examines, further, the various ethnographic or ‘fieldwork’ frameworks currently popular, explaining and examining what each claims and entails. The focus of the book throughout is on the practical relationship between theory and practice, a relationship that is often misunderstood yet fundamental to successful design.
The book is illustrated with real examples from the authors’ various experiences in academic and commercial settings, reporting on the use of ethnography before, during and after design innovation and implementation. The result is a book that provides the working knowledge necessary for using any kind of ethnographic approach in the design of computer technologies.
Written to provide an overview of the topic for researchers and graduates, as well as practitioners, this book will prove an invaluable resource for all in the field.
As an HCI researcher and practitioner, I am delighted to see, at last, a balanced view about the practice of ethnography within our field.
Gary Marsden, Associate Professor of HCI, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Dave Randall is Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
Richard Harper is a Senior Researcher for Microsoft
Mark Rouncefield is a Senior Research Fellow at Lancaster University

• Reviews
  

"As an HCI researcher and practitioner, I am delighted to see, at last, a balanced view about the practice of ethnography within our field. This book presents an informative balance between the theory and practice of fieldwork methods, allowing researchers to conduct trials with confidence and understand the scope of the results that can be gained from these trials.
At last, some of the most per-eminent people in their field show computer scientists and HCI researchers that it is valid to use ethnographic techniques without doing "proper" Sociology and Anthropology."
Professor Gary Marsden, professor of HCI, University of Cape Town, South Africa