Resources

Here are some books I'd recommend for writing instruction/advice:

The Synonym Finder -- kicks Roget's ass all over the map
http://www.amazon.com/Synonym-Finder-J-I-Rodale/dp/B000LP66TS

Writing Down the Bones - Natalie Goldberg -- it's a bit New Agey, but I adored it enough to name
my main character after Ms. Goldberg
http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Down-Bones-Freeing-Writer/dp/0877733759

Bird by Bird -- Ann Lamott --good life advice, funny stories and some writing advice as well
http://www.amazon.com/Bird-Some-Instructions-Writing-Life/dp/0385480016

On Writing Well - William K. Zinsser good non-fiction writing instruction
http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-30th-Anniversary-Nonfiction/dp/006089...

On Writing Well -Strunk and White a classic and hella concise
http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-Fourth-William-Strunk/dp/020530902X...

The Chicago Manual of Style another classic reference work
http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Manual-Style-University-Press/dp/022610403...

Some basic tips:
*Read your work aloud (you find errors, unintentional rhymes, bad phrases much easier this way--also, if it's difficult to read aloud
it's probably hard for the readers to follow).

*Find a critique group (Any group of people willing to review your work whom you might also review can be invaluable. Not only
does having multiple pairs of eyes on your work help, but editing others' work can often help you rethink your own. I often
identify mistakes in my own work by first spotting it in others' works.)

*Let things sit, then review them. (This isn't always an option, but I've discovered I'm much more able to edit pieces that I have
not worked on or looked at recently. Fresh eyes are everything.)

*Try the condensation approach to your writing. Use condensation notes on your own paper, breaking it down by paragraph or section. (Do you spot any gaps or leaps in logic that elude the reader? Fill 'em in.)

*If starting at the beginning is too hard, start at the end. (Start with your conclusion and work backwards. No one says you can't.)

From their site - "Dunne & Raby use design as a medium to stimulate discussion and debate amongst designers, industry and the public about the social, cultural and ethical implications of existing and emerging technologies."

http://www.designinginteractions.com/interviews/DunneandRaby

In our very first class, we ran into a bit for trouble when Karen pulled out the research triangle of qualitative work. Here's another research triangle that is a bit closer to home, dealing with interaction design (and HCI), things that are near and dear to most of our work, if not our hearts.

One of the questions that we saw in that first class had to do with the role of practice. It's interesting to see that this author has chosen to create a triangle between design practice, design study, and design exploration.

For the impatient, the diagram is on page 5 (figure 1).

Reference:
Fallman, Daniel. "The Interaction Design Research Triangle of Design Practice, Design Studies, and Design Exploration."
Design Issues. Summer 2008, Vol. 24, No. 3, Pages 4-18. (doi:10.1162/desi.2008.24.3.4)

For those looking for a how-to guide to research, Shani mentioned this book by Rudestam and Newton. It's been recommended a few times and she wanted to share it as a possible resource.

“Context mapping” is a process where we try to understand the environment in which the behavior under study takes place. We collect relevant artifacts and map out the spaces where "what's going on" happens. This could involve drawing maps of a space, picking up and identifying objects, or logging sms messages related to the topic at hand. In contrast with traditional ethnography, context mapping actively involves the people being investigated by giving them tools to express themselves.

Indeed, contextmapping is a procedure which includes several research techniques. To access the deeper levels of knowledge, it uses methods such as generative techniques and cultural probes. With these techniques people are invited, encouraged and stimulated to document parts of their own lives, and thus parts of their experiences. Thus, the main assumption is that people are not aware of all these aspects which influence their experience, and need to reflect on their own experiences to become aware of their experiences. Thus, they generate information about their own experiences.

This method is often used in several design schools and research labs in Europe.

http://www.maketools.com/pdfs/GenerativeTools_Stappers_Sanders_03.pdf
http://studiolab.io.tudelft.nl/contextmapping/background/

This paper shows how an ethnography study can be used more productively in the design process. It challenges the arguments that some scientist have about in-situ studies provide little added value, are difficult and more expensive to conduct that lab studies and question whether "it is worth the hassle". In this paper, authors present the step-by-step analysis of 2 case studies and show how the study informed their design.

Authors discuss the utility of the data representation and combination of methods to aid the analysis and design process. In particular, their combination of methods included: logged device (PDA) data, observations, interviews and video vignettes. They argue that these methods provided a "contextual backdrop" against which to reflect upon the design of the user experience and the mobile device (relevant to the Ubicomp community), sensitizing them to how their device will work in practice. It provided a deeper understanding of the situated activities assisting them in explaining why some features where using and why others were not.

They finally state that it is impossible to capture everything with a qualitative method. However, the key is to use various methods that reveal both hopped for and unexpected effects of the context of use. It identifies the experience which provides a good framing reference from which to analyze the details of certain events.

This is the "yellow fluff" podcast that was mentioned on February 5th. While necessarily a bit shallow, it's an entertaining foray into some deep questions about science, research, and methodology. 1 hour. Fair warning: the last 10 minutes are a little past PG-13.

A comprehensive survey (1400 pages!) of the field of qualitative research edited by Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln.