I am a trained computer scientist and I have done qualitative research. This means I'm comfortable with analysing numbers and words alike.
When I started my doctoral studies, there was an alarming lack of empirical studies in the area of interactive tabletops as music learning tools. It is not clear what happens when you give people a giant touch screen, and teach them music with it. This means you have to sit down and watch them, record their actions, and analyse their conversations.
Qualitative research is hard and fascinating work: it gives you insight on what people do and think – like reading minds, if you think about it.
QR is at the heart of user experience research, among other applications – that means figuring out what people think about the things you make, and how they use them.
You can look at pretty much anything for information. Typical data sources include interviews, journals, videos, and so on. However, it is a common misconception that qualitative findings are less rigorous than quantitative findings: they are simply different, and they can even work together to strengthen each other and produce even more rigorous research.
Do you have a pressing question that needs answer? Do you want to make your app better and easier to use? Do you have a brilliant new idea and want to know if it's worth developing it?
Things I can help you with include
I can work with your designers and developers to help you look into ideas and products, prototype and evaluate them, and finally build and release amazing solutions.
Curious? Get in touch!
