Jan Chipchase

The Field Study Handbook is ostensibly a guide to running qualitative research in unfamiliar cultures. It walks the reader through the entire process of defining the scope of the research, pitching to clients, building a team, recruiting participants, research methods, analysis and synthesis methods, reporting, and how to stay sane throughout the process. But it's far more than that. As Craig Mod described it in his podcast On Margins, it's a guide to travel considerately and reflectively in show more the 21st century. It's immediately practical: "Carry a photocopy of your passport, as the locals do in places where graft is high, and give that to local authorities looking for ID first, because if they take your original they can extract a bribe." "Don’t carry a fake passport; you’ll be taken as a spy. Get a second passport for times when traveling frequently between non-compatible countries (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel)." P 67. It stands on its own as a travel guide to the world, how to move among people in a respectful and investigative manner without being crass or consumptive in your desire to learn about other cultures. “Field research is easier when you choose somewhere you don’t know so well, you’ll have less to unlearn.” P 329. The entire idea of the popup studio, a hybrid living and working area embedded in the local culture rather than hidden away in a hotel, makes the book worth it by itself.

“Data is noise. The ability to turn data into something valued requires contextual understanding, nuanced conversations, and reflection.” P 426. To me, a cognitive scientist by training and an educational designer by trade, the Handbook also serves as a bulwark against the crusade of unreflective quantitive data-driven design. We live in an age where engineers can immediately perform quantitative A/B testing of designs without regard to hypotheses or frameworks. This kind of testing is fine when it is informed by theory, when it actually tests hypotheses. But how do you generate those hypotheses, how do you find out what to measure and test? This book answers those questions at the ground level: “Quantitative data is good at showing *what* is happening and can reveal a degree of *how*. However, it’s less effective at revealing *why*. The value of the *Handbook* is built on the premise that there are significant advantages to understanding why.” P 44. “The difference between an able research who can subtly shape social dynamics and a con artists, or even worse, a sociopath, is intent.” P 331. The Handbook is not Creswell's Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design, and it doesn't try to be; it's a far more practical approach to running research programs in the field.

The book is not a perfect abstract work of the academy nor a ghostwritten romp through developing countries. It's a meditative exploration of what it means to do meaningful work throughout the world. The Handbook is very much a product of how it was written, in the morning, with middle-distance views and a cup of good coffee, before a day of solid, meaningful work. show less

Too bad. The subject matter could be fascinating, but the author, despite claims to the contrary, goes after the low-hanging fruit, jumps to conclusions, and over-simplifies. "Design research" and consumer psychology are, after all, much like other kinds of psychology, and much like anthropology. No specialist can truly understand human nature.

For example, the last chapter lists a bunch of complex behaviors. I call them hypocrisies. The author says they're universal. I study them in re' show more myself and my family, and find none we are guilty of. A second example: the author claims that 'what we carry' always includes money, keys, phone. I almost never carry my phone. Third: they shadowed a young Chinese woman who never let go of her purse, even when trying on boots in a boutique... they assumed she was paranoid and represented many denizens of her city, and a company would benefit if they could design and sell to them something to make them more comfortable... I wonder if she didn't have a personal, individual bad experience.

Now I don't expect the author to pay a lot of attention to outliers. Marketing to the tens of thousands (?) of rural ppl in the US who are still digitally connected only by satellite is not cost-effective compared to marketing to millions of poor but aspiring Bangladeshi. Trying to get me to pay a subscription for a smart-phone is not going to work. But by not considering outliers, design researchers are not considering the whole picture. And they could very well be overlooking ways to improve their products and services for the reluctant adopters, too.

My main complaint, however, with the book is that it's touted as insightful, and the author as especially visionary or talented. However, even though this specialty is unfamiliar to me, the information seemed trite and assumptive. Much like the book [b:Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do|2776527|Traffic Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)|Tom Vanderbilt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320428955s/2776527.jpg|2802281] or the CDC's advice against movie popcorn, my response is "Well, duh." Pay attention, think, explore... you can find what's "hidden" too. show less

somewhat disappointing, i felt that essential questions remain unanswered but maybe i am outside of the target group