Research in the wild

Abstract

We are starting to see a paradigm shift within the field of HCI. We are witnessing researchers leaving the safety and security of their controlled, lab-based environments and moving their research out into 'the wild'. Their studies are carrying out in-situ development and extended engagement, sampling experiences and working with communities in their homes and on the streets. This research has initially focused upon understanding the impacts that technological intervention has upon our day-to-day life and is leading us to explore the ways in which in-situ design, development and evaluation can be used to understand and explore these technological interventions. Is it the case that lab-based studies, taking people out of their natural environment and designing in the lab without long term user engagement are no longer appropriate to properly understand the impacts of technology in the real world?

GeoCoin

“…Several methods have evolved from traditional forms of Brainstorming [16] or Sketching [7], and have been translated into an increasing number of ideation cards and toolkits [17,21,26] to name just a few). Some focus 9 http://foam.space on ideation for designers while others aim to engage participants in the design process [43] as in participatory design approaches [36].…”

“…Some of these systems are centralised, while others [22] offer a way for community groups to develop peer-to-peer platform cooperativism [45]. A very recent example in early development is the FOAM protocol 9 which introduces secure storage of a spatial dimension to the blockchain, acting as decentralised geospatial infrastructure.…”

“…As identified by Elsden et al [15], one key aim for future HCI research is to engage participants in novel blockchain designs through speculative and experiential methods. A crucial factor to achieve this is the use of smart contracts 'in the wild' [9], raising real-world concerns and drawing connections to broader societal issues.…”

Using Converging Strategies to Reduce Divergence in Intercultural User Interface Design

“…Localization (divergence) led to internationalization and UI4All (user interfaces for all) (convergence), which in turn recently dissolved again in indigenous perspectives and designed for the wild (divergence) (cf. [6]). In addition, this can be observed in the wavelike behavior within the HCI design process from top (abstract-convergence) to the bottom (concrete-divergence) and vice versa, which is iterative design, i.e.…”

Exploring the dimensions of eco-feedback in the wild

“…A important concern when performing in-the-wild studies is to take into account user requirement, either for technologies that will introduce new practices or complement pre-existent practices. These studies move away from lab studies, which are usually utilized to produce design implication or system guidelines (Chamberlain et al, 2012).…”