ABSTRACT
Observation as a research technique derives from anthropology, the study of humans as social animals in their natural settings. It gives designers rich opportunities to understand real life behaviour and activity in all its complexity, and to examine people’s relationships with places and environments; for instance, product design and UX use observation extensively to see how people use products and to test prototypes. This chapter looks at applications for observation techniques, some approaches to gathering qualitative and quantitative data from observation, and working with the material gathered. It focuses on non-participant observation, as it’s more appropriate for the type of research questions that designers are likely to ask. It aims to entail observing people’s behaviour in real-world settings, fly-on-the-wall style, and was integral to the landmark studies.
