RIDING A BUS

‘Observationalism’ 101

Fundamental to performing quality and meaningful research is the ability to observe. The practice of viewing, unpacking, and analyzing takes practice and thus our first assignment for the research studio was to practice by performing a behavioral observation. Assigned a theme of ‘transportation’ and three hours time to complete I set off to ride a public bus around Puget Sound to observe and seek design insights.

I absolutely love this kind of challenge and activity. For as long as I can remember my mother would take me to public places just to watch. And now, developing an understanding of ‘how’ and ‘why’ supreme motivation to seek further opportunities in research. So, with only a few minutes to plan and eagerness to explore I plotted a long course around the Seattle area beginning and ending at the University of Washington. There are a variety of bus services in Puget Sound. Some travel long distances weaving throughout green and spacious suburban developments and other following a metropolitan route through central Seattle. I wanted to cover as much ground in as little time as possible, both literally and figuratively.

THOUGHTS

1) What should I look for?

Field research is time consuming. It’s impossible to know what you’re looking for ahead of time but looking collecting notes related to artifacts, interactions, transactions, space will undoubtedly make the unpacking and analysis steps much easier. Grounding field research related to a certain topic will aid in figuring out what to look for.

2) How do I blend in and not seem creepy?

I love to observe but others are not so keen on feeling watched. Sitting on the back of a bus and taking notes while the majority of bus patrons jam away on their mobile made me stick out sore thumb. My presence should not induce people to act differently.

3) What’s on the screen?

Understanding someone’s behaviour when they are interacting with a personal machine is very, very difficult. Observations can only gather so much information. Using another method of research like interviews or survey would be very helpful in this situation.

4) How to collect information?

Writing notes on a bus is not easy. I can only imagine needing to take notes in a very high paced, moving environment. Not easy. Choosing a method for information capture appropriate for the environment will make life easier.