http://www.tyeshasnow.com/2009/05/18/space-whats-it-doing-to-your-research/ Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:33:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 http://www.tyeshasnow.com/2009/05/18/space-whats-it-doing-to-your-research/comment-page-1/#comment-31 Elena Tue, 19 May 2009 04:00:05 +0000 http://www.tyeshasnow.com/?p=69#comment-31 Yes, environment matters. I once participated in a focus group-like study that took place over dinner in a nice home. It was facilitated by red wine and laughter. Oh, and a researcher strategist who guided the conversation. It was brilliant. The researchers were able to gather and film boatloads of uninhibited qualitative insights -- way more than generated by traditional focus group or traditional UCD research methods. The setting/environment and dinner company made all the difference. Cleary it’s not the technique you’d want to use for quantitative measures, but there’s something to be said about the formality and ugliness of most research facilities and how that might affect the emotional state of the participants and thus the outcome of the research. What if more research was conducted outside, in homes, circus tents, on big comfy couches, or faux smoking lounges instead of in commercial office settings with lots of putty colored furniture? Yes, environment matters. I once participated in a focus group-like study that took place over dinner in a nice home. It was facilitated by red wine and laughter. Oh, and a researcher strategist who guided the conversation. It was brilliant. The researchers were able to gather and film boatloads of uninhibited qualitative insights — way more than generated by traditional focus group or traditional UCD research methods. The setting/environment and dinner company made all the difference. Cleary it’s not the technique you’d want to use for quantitative measures, but there’s something to be said about the formality and ugliness of most research facilities and how that might affect the emotional state of the participants and thus the outcome of the research. What if more research was conducted outside, in homes, circus tents, on big comfy couches, or faux smoking lounges instead of in commercial office settings with lots of putty colored furniture?

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