An integrated ethnographic and empirical methodology in a study of knowledge searches in aerospace design

Conference paper (2003)

Authors

P. M. Langdon University of Cambridge
P.J. Clarkson External organisation
Affiliation
External organisation
Empirical study Design philosophy User evaluation, sampling
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Published Date

2003

Language

English

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Affiliation

External organisation

Abstract

This work continues development and evaluation of a practical approach to a Design Research Methodology developed previously [1] and extended to practical application in [2] and concentrates on empirical techniques for research evaluation. We test a method of integrating an ethnographic approach with analytic observational techniques. The ethnographic study proved a rich source of novel insights into designers' knowledge searches during normal design activities over a 9-week period. These insights were used in conjunction with a diary study and interview data to interpret the self-report and observational data. This lead to the formation of models of the search process and the development of a number of categorisation schemes for search. A methodological analysis of a number of these schemes (1) a search tree based representation, (2) a feature commonality model, was made leading to the adoption of a scheme strongly based on the ethnographical insights rather than an abstract model. Some preliminary results from the use of this model are described and methods for verification and validation of the approach discussed.