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9.4 Conducting ethnographic research 235

design (Schuler and Namioka, 1993). Starting from concerns about the impact of
computer systems that are simply foisted on users without consideration of their
needs and preferences, participatory design efforts involve users in every stage of de-
sign, from early discussions aimed at understanding problems, concerns, and needs,
to brain-storming regarding design possibilities, evaluation of paper or other low-
quality prototypes, and continued refinement of working systems. Although partici-
patory design shares ethnography's interest in direct participation and engagement
with the group being studied, the goal is generally different. Ethnography focuses on
understanding people, their groups, their processes, their beliefs. Ethnography really
focuses on understanding the problem. Participatory design is often the process of
using ethnographic approaches with the end goal of designing a computer system.
Participatory design can be seen as using ethnographic methods to understand the
problem, and then intensely involving those same participants in building potential
solutions to the problem. In ethnography, understanding the problem, the context, the
culture, or the group interactions, is sufficient as a research study.
Participatory design as a development method is often used for systems devel-
opment in three types of situations where a deep understanding of the situation is
required. The first situation is where the user tasks are not well understood, such
as the many different and complex tasks that teachers carry out in an average day
(Carroll et al., 2000). The second situation is where the users themselves are not
well-understood, such as people with cognitive impairment and memory loss (Wu
et al., 2007). The third situation is where even minor errors in task completion can
lead to catastrophic consequences, such as at a nuclear power plant or an aircraft
carrier. While participatory design is ideal for developing all types of systems, it
is very time and cost-intensive, and so participatory design is often used when the
computer development projects are high risk, have a high likelihood of failure, and a
high payoff for success. Most design projects cannot afford the time or cost involved
in intensive ethnographic approaches.
That said, the delineations between some of these forms of research are often
blurred, at best. Some self-described HCI “ethnographies” may involve theoretical
propositions that make them seem more like case studies. Studies that aren't driven
by a theoretical basis may make some use of ethnographic tools to build an under-
standing of contextual issues, without going into the detail associated with a full-
blown ethnography. Projects involving the design of tools for domain experts—such
as the hospital scenario described above—may involve techniques from ethnography,
such as the shadowing of experts, while other similar efforts may seem more like
participatory design than ethnography. No matter; the interest here lies in identifying
appropriate research techniques and understanding how they might be used.

9.4 CONDUCTING ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

Ethnographic research can be extremely challenging. Ethnographic studies are usu-
ally conducted “in the wild,” in homes, workplaces, educational settings, or other
places where the “action” of interest takes place. As these studies often involve