RESEARCH METHOD

27 Design Ethnography

Design ethnography approximates the immersion methods of traditional ethnography, to deeply experience and understand the user’s world for design empathy and insight.¹

The intent of exploratory user research in design is clearly exemplified in this definition of ethnography: “The study of people in their natural settings; a descriptive account of social life and culture in a defined social system, based on qualitative methods (e.g., detailed observations, unstructured interviews, analysis of documents).”²

While every aspect of the above definition holds true for the motivations of design research, ethnography as practiced by professional ethnographers or anthropologists must be distinguished from design ethnography. While true ethnographers may immerse themselves in a culture or specific population for months or years at a time,³ designers are more typically seeking sufficient information from time-sampled observations of behaviors. For example, designers conducting immersive ethnographic research may “sample” real experiences of participants through the experience sampling method, diary and photo studies, cultural probes, contextual inquiry, and various forms of observation, including modified versions of participant observation.

Design ethnography is therefore a broad approach encompassing several research methods, focused on a comprehensive and empathic understanding of the users, their lives, their language, and the context of their artifacts and behaviors. The methods of design ethnography are largely qualitative, yet designers can borrow a lesson from the rigor of true ethnographers, as suggested by this description:

“The ethnographer enters the field with an open mind, not an empty head. Before asking the first question in the field, the ethnographer begins with a problem, a theory or model, a research design, specific collection techniques, tools for analysis, and a specific writing style.”⁴

Analyses of design ethnography depend on the specific methods used, but are generally focused on a comprehensive view of the users and design territory under investigation, built from deciphering patterns and themes emerging from research materials, and articulated in a set of design implications or guidelines in preparation for generative research and concept development.

1. Seminal work in ethnography derives from social anthropology, and in particular the work of Malinowski. See:

Malinowski, B. Argonauts of the Western Pacific. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1922.

Precedent works in design and ethnography include:

“Anthropology: A Research Resource.” Innovation, special issue. Industrial Designers Society of America, Summer 1996.

Salvador, Tony, Genevieve Bell, and Ken Anderson. “Design Ethnography.” Design Management Journal (Fall 1999): 35–41.

Sanders, Elizabeth. “Ethnography in NPD Research: How ‘Applied Ethnography’ can Improve your NPD Research Process.” PDMA Visions Magazine XXVI, no. 2 (April/May 2002): 8–12.

An extensive ethnography and design bibliography compiled from “Ethnography and Design: Resources for Teaching and Research” by Bruce M. Tharp (ed.), March 2006, is available at designresearch.wikispaces.com/file/view/compiled_ethno_biblio.pdf.

2. Bowling, Ann. Research Methods in Health: Investigating Health and Health Services. Buckingham: Open University Press, 1997.

3. LeCompte, Margaret D., and Jean J. Schensul. Designing and Conducting Ethnographic Research, Ethnographer’s Toolkit, Vol. 1. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, 1999.

4. Fetterman, David M. Ethnography Step by Step, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998.