Research method
How to actually do this thing
Would you kindly?
The prototype is to be field tested by participants of the course IT1301 – Datastøttet læring at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology during the spring semester 2013.
At the beginning of the semester,
This time will be used to present the project, the motivations and rationale for the project, as well as an introduction to the prototype. During the introduction, a questionaire is to be answered by all of the students.
The research will be primarily qualitative
As part of the case study, a SUS form is to be filled out...... creating some quantitative data.
The study consist of three parts.
First, questionaire to... Second, a group interview Third, a case study
Questionaire
A questionaire is a pre-defined set of questions, assebled in a pre-determined order.
Reason: To make generalizations
During an introductory lecture in the course,
The questionaire is to be answered by all participants that are present at the lecture, to get a broader understanding of the students' experience and preferences in relation to reading curriculum material, digital and non-digital. The results of this qustionaire will be used to stake out the road ahead, maybe to see who will participate in the later, proper, study or whatever.
While survey text is in Norwegian, a translated version is provided below.
The questionaire used can be found in chapter X
Case study
A case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident. (Robert K. Yin, 2002)
Reason: Two-fold
- Priming for the interview
- Does it work in practice?
Three types:
- Exploratory
- Descriptive
- Explanatory <- ?
Time:
- Historical
- Short-term, contemporary <-
- Longitudinal
Selection:
- Typical instance
- Extreme instance
- Test-bed for theor
- Convenience <-
- Unique opportunity
Interview
An interview is a particular kind of conversation between people. (Oates 2006)
A research interview is not carried out covertly.
"An interview is a formal meeting at which someone is asked questions in order to find out if they are suitable for a job or a course of study." - fra Clue
Three types
- Structured
- Semi-structured
- Unstructured
(Oates, 2006)
Group interview
User testing (case study)
After the conclusion of the survey, candidates for the user testing of the prototype is to be chosen. How this is to be done is not decided upon just yet.
The testing is to be commenced by having each of the candidates test the prototype, both with help and without help
The book will be made available to all, but only a selection of the participants of the course will be interviewed at the end of the user testing.
By being web based, the prototype book is available to everyone.
By being web based, the prototype book is available to everyone with a traditional computer, as well as Android based phones and tablet computers. The only preparation need to be done by the user is to download the latest Opera version (see the Opera box for more information on version differences), which supports the technologies used to best view the book. The prototype is realized using new technologies, not available in all browsers, thus making the Opera web browser the browser to be uses during the user testing.
Whether or not to test the book in its entirety, or just selected, more thorougly formatted chapters, is yet to be decided, but is has to be a reasonable chunk.
Opera versions

While the Opera web browser is available on all platforms, there are differences in the available versions. The best user experience is available to those with either an Android tablet computer running an experimental beta version of the browser, specifically built to demonstrate the pagination technique.
The Mac OSX version of the browser has a few , compared to the Windows version For instance, when changing pages, there is an animation which contains information on what action is... ... A two dimensional page turning animation, where the pages slides in the axis specified in the book's style sheet (limited to the horizontal and vertical axis). This is similar to the way it works on the Android version, where the user are able to swipe his/her finger across the display to "turn the page".
The iOS versions are not able to properly use the prototype as it is intended to be used, and will thus not be studied.
Why should I do user testing?
Two reasons.
System Usability Score
Test, test, så får du en SUS!
Results from the analysis of this large number of SUS scores show that the SUS is a highly robust and versatile tool for usability professionals. (Bangor, Kortum, Miller, 2008) - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10447310802205776
The SUS form is a standardized test used to assess a system's percieved usability.
Developed by John Brooke in 1986 as a "quick and dirty" way to assess the percieved usability of a system. Used during developlent, the SUS score can assist in asserting wether or not a change in the system is beneficial to the overall usability in the system.
It helps find problematic areas ...
It was developed by John Brooke [1] at Digital Equipment Corporation in the UK in 1986 as a tool to be used in usability engineering of electronic office systems. (wikipedia)
See appendix A for the form used for testing.
An Empirical Evaluation of the System Usability Scale
Interviews
After concluding the user testing of the book prototype, interviews are to be conducted to shed furhter light on how the book is experienced in actual use.
Group interview or individual?
I am initially scheduling two interviews with the students
How this is to be done is to be decided upon, subject to how many students that are available for the testing.
Second iteration
If time permits, a second iteration of the book is to be created for further user testing. This iteration is to be based on the feedback created from the user testing and interviews, correcting errors and addition of needed ... .
The new version will be tested in the same manner as the first iteration – user testing followed by a short interview.
Report
Concluding the user testing of the prototype, a report will be written by the students. The contents of this report is yet to be decided. To not increase the workload for the students, and to increase the motivation to produce such a paper, this paper is to be a part of the course curriculum.
This report will help the students
As the book is to be available throughout the course of the course,
The people should give me a report on this.
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