In user experience research, is there an academic – practitioner divide? We think not - applied research is the new basic: As Stokes puts it, there is a “reverse flow, from technology to science” and “more and more science has become technology derived.” Rather than draw a distinction between academic and practitioner research, Michael Zarro and Michael Carvin will present a view of research based on its contribution to fundamental understanding and considerations of use. Research in the fields of usability/user experience and the social sciences can be more alike than not with motivation and presentation being a primary difference. In addition to discussing the similarities and differences of academic and practitioner research, they will look at academic research specifically and the role it can play in improving day-to-day projects for UX practitioners. They will share tips on finding the appropriate research papers and articles, understanding their contents and examples of how projects have directly benefited from such research.

1. user experience research!
is there an academic –
practitioner divide?
Michael Carvin
Chair, PhillyCHI
Michael Zarro"
PhD Student, Drexel University

2. no
*
* it depends
agenda
• research
• artificial world
• perception
• the reality

3. research is…
basic
widen the understanding of the
phenomena of a scientific field
applied
directed toward some individual or
group or societal need or use
http://www.flickr.com/photos/undertow851/5804642145
http://www.flickr.com/photos/saturdave/504020933
- Donald E. Stokes, 1997

4. linear view
basic
applied
development
production
academic?
practitioner?

5. Photo credit: flickr user u2005.com
I used to write,
I used to write letters I
used to sign my name!
- The Arcade Fire
If I could have it back
All the time that we wasted
I'd only waste it again
sciences of the artificial
- Herb Simon

6. applied is the new basic
reverse flow, from technology to science
more and more science has become technology derived
- Donald E. Stokes, 1997
research
technology

7. heard of the google?
The anatomy of a large-scale hypertextual Web search engine
Citation map from ISI Web of Science

8. we share…
a desire to affect change
- requires trust & expertise

9. you are here
Academics
Practitioners

10. the perception problem
• not easy to find
• it s not sexy
• it s dense
• it might not even be what I m looking for

11. not hard to see why

12. the reality
• academic research really is fairly easy to find
• it isn t as dense as you d think
• it might not speak directly to your project, but it might be close enough
• no, it really isn t sexy.

13. existing secondary research sources
• Pew Internet/American Life
• Government Agencies and services like Data.gov
• Non-Government Organizations like SCORE
• Related charitable Foundations and Non-profits
• World Bank
• US Census
• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Center for Disease Control
• Google News and other news services like the AP and Thomson Reuters
• Usability and UX-related publications
• Consultancies like Forrester, McKinsey and Gartner
• Client-funded market research and analytics
• Research Journals?

14. three things i ve gotten out of this
• explore the problem space
• inform design decisions
• support the client

15. explore the problem space
what are people doing better
at different times of the day?
thanks lynne!

16. inform the design
how does advanced search really
advance the user s progress?

17. how secure are
security questions?
support the client
from http://antivirus.iyogi.com/

18. i need a volunteer from the audience…
what’s your design challenge?
(this could go well. or not.)

19. go forth!
• check out ASIST, JSTOR, Emerald and others
• ACM Digital Library: portal.acm.org
• Google Scholar: scholar.google.com
• Individual Researcher s homepage"
-www.ischool.drexel.edu/faculty/mkhoo/cv.html"
-www.thomasheverin.com
• WorldCat: www.worldcat.org
• Inter-library loan (Access PA): "
www.accesspa.state.pa.us
• Alumni services "
www.library.drexel.edu/services/alumni
Michael Zarro
Drexel University
mzarro@gmail.com
mikezarro.com
@mzarro
Pasteur s Quadrant (1997) Donald E. Stokes
The Sciences of the Artificial, 3rd edition (1996) Herbert A. Simon
Michael Carvin
Chair, PhillyCHI
michael.carvin@gmail.com
mcarv.in
@mcarvin