ABSTRACT Researchers at the University of Maryland’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab conducted thr... more ABSTRACT Researchers at the University of Maryland’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab conducted three studies spanning five years by visiting the homes of participants to investigate how children and adolescents search on the Internet. This chapter describes how the authors approached an exploratory research study by drawing from broad methods, including Grounded Theory and ethnography. The authors detail their experiences while planning, recruiting, and scheduling interviews; describe ethical considerations; and discuss the formation of their research team and their approach to diverse families. The chapter includes challenges the authors encountered while in the field, including differing levels of comfort with recording devices, over-eager parents, hungry and distracted child participants, and hectic family homes. For each problem, the authors share techniques they used to overcome the challenges and generalize from the context of their study by drawing lessons for other researchers planning in-home research with children and adolescents.
ABSTRACT Researchers at the University of Maryland’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab conducted thr... more ABSTRACT Researchers at the University of Maryland’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab conducted three studies spanning five years by visiting the homes of participants to investigate how children and adolescents search on the Internet. This chapter describes how the authors approached an exploratory research study by drawing from broad methods, including Grounded Theory and ethnography. The authors detail their experiences while planning, recruiting, and scheduling interviews; describe ethical considerations; and discuss the formation of their research team and their approach to diverse families. The chapter includes challenges the authors encountered while in the field, including differing levels of comfort with recording devices, over-eager parents, hungry and distracted child participants, and hectic family homes. For each problem, the authors share techniques they used to overcome the challenges and generalize from the context of their study by drawing lessons for other researchers planning in-home research with children and adolescents.
The current landscape of literature investigating youth Internet searching focuses mainly on how ... more The current landscape of literature investigating youth Internet searching focuses mainly on how youth search in classrooms or libraries at a single point in time and highlights problems youth encounter, rather than taking an expansive view of the entire search process. This research uses a framework of searching roles, or patterns of search behavior, to provide a complete picture of how youth behave as searchers in the home environment. The searching behavior of the youth participating in this research is examined by viewing the whole searcher, where search problems are important, but equally important are factors such as affect, context, and the process of search. This longitudinal study examined participants at ages 7, 9, and 11 in 2008 to 2009 and again at ages 10 to 15 in 2012 to 2013. The searching behaviors displayed during the study's in-home interviews were analyzed according to qualitative methods that evolved throughout the research. Results of the research provide a comprehensive picture of how youth search roles and search behaviors change over time, and through case study analysis of selected participants. The research also provides in-depth description of how individuals change as searchers over time. Additionally provided is a graphic to summarize the main characteristics of search roles in youth searchers. This research concludes with recommendations to adult stakeholders such as teachers, librarians, search engine designers, researchers, and parents to aid in promoting search literacy for youth.
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI '13, 2013
In this paper, we present a framework that describes commonly used design techniques for Particip... more In this paper, we present a framework that describes commonly used design techniques for Participatory Design with children. Although there are many currently used techniques for designing with children, researchers working in differing contexts and in a changing technological landscape find themselves facing difficult design situations. The Octoract framework presented in this paper can aid in choosing existing design techniques or in developing new techniques regardless of the stage in the design cycle, the technology being developed, or philosophical approach to design method. The framework consists of eight dimensions, concerning the design partners, the design goal, and the design technique. The partner dimensions are design experience of the participant and partner ability. The design goal dimensions are design space and maturity of design. The technique dimensions include: cost, mobility of technique, and technology level. Two cases will be presented which describe new techniques and two case of an existing technique.
Traditionally, researchers have portrayed information-seeking as systematic, orderly, and procedu... more Traditionally, researchers have portrayed information-seeking as systematic, orderly, and procedural. But as this child shows (Figure 1), seeking information using a keyword search interface on the Internet can lead to uncertainty and confusion, with a search process that can be ...
Cooperative Inquiry is a method of developing technology in which children and adults are partner... more Cooperative Inquiry is a method of developing technology in which children and adults are partners in the design process. Cooperative Inquiry is used to empower children in the design of their own technology and to design technology that is specific to children's needs and wants. As Cooperative Inquiry is continually evolving and expanding, we need to consider how researchers can extend this inclusive design approach to working with populations of children with developmental, behavioral, or learning disabilities. In a ...
In this paper, we present a framework that describes commonly used design techniques for Particip... more In this paper, we present a framework that describes commonly used design techniques for Participatory Design with children. Although there are many currently used techniques for designing with children, researchers working in differing contexts and in a changing technological landscape find themselves facing difficult design situations. The Octoract framework presented in this paper can aid in choosing existing design techniques or in developing new techniques regardless of the stage in the design cycle, the technology being developed, or philosophical approach to design method. The framework consists of eight dimensions, concerning the design partners, the design goal, and the design technique. The partner dimensions are design experience of the participant, and partner ability. The design goal dimensions are design space, and maturity of design. The technique dimensions include: cost, mobility of technique, and technology level. Two cases will be presented which describe new techniques and two case of an existing technique.
Performative Experience Design (PED) is an extension of experience design focusing on the unique ... more Performative Experience Design (PED) is an extension of experience design focusing on the unique time-bound encounter between performers and spectators. Technology is purposefully designed to enhance the experience between audience and performers. PED has been studied with adult participants; however, it has not been explored with children. We conducted a Cooperative Inquiry session to explore 1) how children want to interact with live performances; 2) how they seek to change a story in live performances; and 3) a specific technique that might facilitate designing for such interactions. We present our initial findings regarding children’s perceptions of what constitutes live performance and the ways in which children want to use technology to interact with, direct, and respond to narrative structures and characters within live performances. We include a discussion of the features of a specific co-design technique for supporting the ideation process of our child designers.
Proceedings of the 7th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Making Sense Through Design, 2012
For many years, researchers at the Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) have partnered with chil... more For many years, researchers at the Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) have partnered with children ages 7-11 in designing technology through Cooperative Inquiry. In this paper, we present two cases in which we have worked with adolescents as designers using both a modified form of Cooperative Inquiry and design-focused interview techniques. We find that adolescents can participate as design partners given modifications to Cooperative Inquiry design techniques. However, designing with adolescents can present challenges in terms of logistics, communications, relationships, and power structures.
Cooperative Inquiry is a method of developing technology in which children and adults are partner... more Cooperative Inquiry is a method of developing technology in which children and adults are partners in the design process. Researchers use Cooperative Inquiry to empower children in the design of their own technology and to design technology that is specific to children’s needs and wants. As Cooperative Inquiry is continually evolving and expanding, it is important to consider how researchers can extend this inclusive design approach to work with populations of children with disabilities. In a semester-long case study, researchers explored the use of Cooperative Inquiry in a classroom of middle school boys with learning differences, including mild to moderate autism, specific learning disabilities, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The participating class of 10 boys ages 11–12 designed a browser-based computer game using Cooperative Inquiry over the course of six design sessions. During the project, the children had overall positive experiences and were able to form partnerships with the adult researchers to develop the game. Based on the experiences of all the team members, researchers make recommendations for employing Cooperative Inquiry in special education classrooms. These include adding informal time during the design sessions, maintaining a high adult-to-child ratio, giving instructions using many modalities, and planning for high engagement. Through
this work, researchers broaden Cooperative Inquiry’s applicability to a new population in a classroom setting, and provide guidance for designing with populations of children with special leaning needs in the future.
In this paper, we present a framework that describes
commonly used design techniques for Partici... more In this paper, we present a framework that describes
commonly used design techniques for Participatory Design
with children. Although there are many currently used
techniques for designing with children, researchers working
in differing contexts and in a changing technological
landscape find themselves facing difficult design situations.
The FACIT PD framework presented in this paper can aid
in choosing existing design techniques or in developing
new techniques regardless of the stage in the design cycle,
the technology being developed, or philosophical approach
to design method. The framework consists of eight
dimensions, concerning the design partners, the design goal,
and the design technique. The partner dimensions are
partner experience and need for accommodation. The
design goal dimensions are design space and maturity of
design. The technique dimensions include: cost, portability,
technology and physical interaction. Three cases will be
presented which describe new techniques developed using
the framework and two cases will describe existing
techniques.
This paper discusses the challenges inherent in conducting
research with young participants. Bas... more This paper discusses the challenges inherent in conducting
research with young participants. Based on a series of three
studies with children ranging in age from 7-17 as examples, the
paper contains descriptions of participant recruitment approaches
and challenges. Also included is a discussion of issues
surrounding the retention of participants for longitudinal studies,
including specific issues for participant retention and loss.
Overall, this paper provides detailed experiences of the challenges of large-scale long-term field work with children, and provides guidance for others who are in similar research situations.
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2013
In this article, we present an in-home observation and in-context research study investigating ho... more In this article, we present an in-home observation and in-context research study investigating how 38 adolescents aged 14–17 search on the Internet. We present the search trends adolescents display and develop a framework of search roles that these trends help define. We compare these trends and roles to similar trends and roles found in prior work with children ages 7, 9, and 11. We use these comparisons to make recommendations to adult stakeholders such as researchers, designers, and information literacy educators about the best ways to design search tools for children and adolescents, as well as how to use the framework of searching roles to find better methods of educating youth searchers. Major findings include the seven roles of adolescent searchers, and evidence that adolescents are social in their computer use, have a greater knowledge of sources than younger children, and that adolescents are less frustrated by searching tasks than younger children.
Proceedings of the 7th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Making Sense Through Design, 2012
For many years, researchers at the Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) have partnered with chil... more For many years, researchers at the Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) have partnered with children ages 7-11 in designing technology through Cooperative Inquiry. In this paper, we present two cases in which we have worked with adolescents as designers using both a modified form of Cooperative Inquiry and design-focused interview techniques. We find that adolescents can participate as design partners given modifications to Cooperative Inquiry design techniques. However, designing with adolescents can present challenges in terms of logistics, communications, relationships, and power structures.
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Mar 2012
This paper presents the results of a large-scale, qualitative study conducted in the homes of chi... more This paper presents the results of a large-scale, qualitative study conducted in the homes of children aged 7, 9, and 11 investigating internet searching processes on Google. Seven search roles, representing distinct behavior patterns displayed by children when interacting with the Google search engine, are described, including Developing Searchers, Domain-specific Searchers, Power Searchers, Nonmotivated Searchers, Distracted
Searchers, Rule-bound Searchers, and Visual Searchers. Other trends are described and selected to present a view of the whole child searcher. These roles and trends are used to make recommendations to designers, researchers, educators, and parents about the directions to take when considering how to best aid children to become search literate.
ABSTRACT Researchers at the University of Maryland’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab conducted thr... more ABSTRACT Researchers at the University of Maryland’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab conducted three studies spanning five years by visiting the homes of participants to investigate how children and adolescents search on the Internet. This chapter describes how the authors approached an exploratory research study by drawing from broad methods, including Grounded Theory and ethnography. The authors detail their experiences while planning, recruiting, and scheduling interviews; describe ethical considerations; and discuss the formation of their research team and their approach to diverse families. The chapter includes challenges the authors encountered while in the field, including differing levels of comfort with recording devices, over-eager parents, hungry and distracted child participants, and hectic family homes. For each problem, the authors share techniques they used to overcome the challenges and generalize from the context of their study by drawing lessons for other researchers planning in-home research with children and adolescents.
ABSTRACT Researchers at the University of Maryland’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab conducted thr... more ABSTRACT Researchers at the University of Maryland’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab conducted three studies spanning five years by visiting the homes of participants to investigate how children and adolescents search on the Internet. This chapter describes how the authors approached an exploratory research study by drawing from broad methods, including Grounded Theory and ethnography. The authors detail their experiences while planning, recruiting, and scheduling interviews; describe ethical considerations; and discuss the formation of their research team and their approach to diverse families. The chapter includes challenges the authors encountered while in the field, including differing levels of comfort with recording devices, over-eager parents, hungry and distracted child participants, and hectic family homes. For each problem, the authors share techniques they used to overcome the challenges and generalize from the context of their study by drawing lessons for other researchers planning in-home research with children and adolescents.
The current landscape of literature investigating youth Internet searching focuses mainly on how ... more The current landscape of literature investigating youth Internet searching focuses mainly on how youth search in classrooms or libraries at a single point in time and highlights problems youth encounter, rather than taking an expansive view of the entire search process. This research uses a framework of searching roles, or patterns of search behavior, to provide a complete picture of how youth behave as searchers in the home environment. The searching behavior of the youth participating in this research is examined by viewing the whole searcher, where search problems are important, but equally important are factors such as affect, context, and the process of search. This longitudinal study examined participants at ages 7, 9, and 11 in 2008 to 2009 and again at ages 10 to 15 in 2012 to 2013. The searching behaviors displayed during the study's in-home interviews were analyzed according to qualitative methods that evolved throughout the research. Results of the research provide a comprehensive picture of how youth search roles and search behaviors change over time, and through case study analysis of selected participants. The research also provides in-depth description of how individuals change as searchers over time. Additionally provided is a graphic to summarize the main characteristics of search roles in youth searchers. This research concludes with recommendations to adult stakeholders such as teachers, librarians, search engine designers, researchers, and parents to aid in promoting search literacy for youth.
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI '13, 2013
In this paper, we present a framework that describes commonly used design techniques for Particip... more In this paper, we present a framework that describes commonly used design techniques for Participatory Design with children. Although there are many currently used techniques for designing with children, researchers working in differing contexts and in a changing technological landscape find themselves facing difficult design situations. The Octoract framework presented in this paper can aid in choosing existing design techniques or in developing new techniques regardless of the stage in the design cycle, the technology being developed, or philosophical approach to design method. The framework consists of eight dimensions, concerning the design partners, the design goal, and the design technique. The partner dimensions are design experience of the participant and partner ability. The design goal dimensions are design space and maturity of design. The technique dimensions include: cost, mobility of technique, and technology level. Two cases will be presented which describe new techniques and two case of an existing technique.
Traditionally, researchers have portrayed information-seeking as systematic, orderly, and procedu... more Traditionally, researchers have portrayed information-seeking as systematic, orderly, and procedural. But as this child shows (Figure 1), seeking information using a keyword search interface on the Internet can lead to uncertainty and confusion, with a search process that can be ...
Cooperative Inquiry is a method of developing technology in which children and adults are partner... more Cooperative Inquiry is a method of developing technology in which children and adults are partners in the design process. Cooperative Inquiry is used to empower children in the design of their own technology and to design technology that is specific to children's needs and wants. As Cooperative Inquiry is continually evolving and expanding, we need to consider how researchers can extend this inclusive design approach to working with populations of children with developmental, behavioral, or learning disabilities. In a ...
In this paper, we present a framework that describes commonly used design techniques for Particip... more In this paper, we present a framework that describes commonly used design techniques for Participatory Design with children. Although there are many currently used techniques for designing with children, researchers working in differing contexts and in a changing technological landscape find themselves facing difficult design situations. The Octoract framework presented in this paper can aid in choosing existing design techniques or in developing new techniques regardless of the stage in the design cycle, the technology being developed, or philosophical approach to design method. The framework consists of eight dimensions, concerning the design partners, the design goal, and the design technique. The partner dimensions are design experience of the participant, and partner ability. The design goal dimensions are design space, and maturity of design. The technique dimensions include: cost, mobility of technique, and technology level. Two cases will be presented which describe new techniques and two case of an existing technique.
Performative Experience Design (PED) is an extension of experience design focusing on the unique ... more Performative Experience Design (PED) is an extension of experience design focusing on the unique time-bound encounter between performers and spectators. Technology is purposefully designed to enhance the experience between audience and performers. PED has been studied with adult participants; however, it has not been explored with children. We conducted a Cooperative Inquiry session to explore 1) how children want to interact with live performances; 2) how they seek to change a story in live performances; and 3) a specific technique that might facilitate designing for such interactions. We present our initial findings regarding children’s perceptions of what constitutes live performance and the ways in which children want to use technology to interact with, direct, and respond to narrative structures and characters within live performances. We include a discussion of the features of a specific co-design technique for supporting the ideation process of our child designers.
Proceedings of the 7th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Making Sense Through Design, 2012
For many years, researchers at the Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) have partnered with chil... more For many years, researchers at the Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) have partnered with children ages 7-11 in designing technology through Cooperative Inquiry. In this paper, we present two cases in which we have worked with adolescents as designers using both a modified form of Cooperative Inquiry and design-focused interview techniques. We find that adolescents can participate as design partners given modifications to Cooperative Inquiry design techniques. However, designing with adolescents can present challenges in terms of logistics, communications, relationships, and power structures.
Cooperative Inquiry is a method of developing technology in which children and adults are partner... more Cooperative Inquiry is a method of developing technology in which children and adults are partners in the design process. Researchers use Cooperative Inquiry to empower children in the design of their own technology and to design technology that is specific to children’s needs and wants. As Cooperative Inquiry is continually evolving and expanding, it is important to consider how researchers can extend this inclusive design approach to work with populations of children with disabilities. In a semester-long case study, researchers explored the use of Cooperative Inquiry in a classroom of middle school boys with learning differences, including mild to moderate autism, specific learning disabilities, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The participating class of 10 boys ages 11–12 designed a browser-based computer game using Cooperative Inquiry over the course of six design sessions. During the project, the children had overall positive experiences and were able to form partnerships with the adult researchers to develop the game. Based on the experiences of all the team members, researchers make recommendations for employing Cooperative Inquiry in special education classrooms. These include adding informal time during the design sessions, maintaining a high adult-to-child ratio, giving instructions using many modalities, and planning for high engagement. Through
this work, researchers broaden Cooperative Inquiry’s applicability to a new population in a classroom setting, and provide guidance for designing with populations of children with special leaning needs in the future.
In this paper, we present a framework that describes
commonly used design techniques for Partici... more In this paper, we present a framework that describes
commonly used design techniques for Participatory Design
with children. Although there are many currently used
techniques for designing with children, researchers working
in differing contexts and in a changing technological
landscape find themselves facing difficult design situations.
The FACIT PD framework presented in this paper can aid
in choosing existing design techniques or in developing
new techniques regardless of the stage in the design cycle,
the technology being developed, or philosophical approach
to design method. The framework consists of eight
dimensions, concerning the design partners, the design goal,
and the design technique. The partner dimensions are
partner experience and need for accommodation. The
design goal dimensions are design space and maturity of
design. The technique dimensions include: cost, portability,
technology and physical interaction. Three cases will be
presented which describe new techniques developed using
the framework and two cases will describe existing
techniques.
This paper discusses the challenges inherent in conducting
research with young participants. Bas... more This paper discusses the challenges inherent in conducting
research with young participants. Based on a series of three
studies with children ranging in age from 7-17 as examples, the
paper contains descriptions of participant recruitment approaches
and challenges. Also included is a discussion of issues
surrounding the retention of participants for longitudinal studies,
including specific issues for participant retention and loss.
Overall, this paper provides detailed experiences of the challenges of large-scale long-term field work with children, and provides guidance for others who are in similar research situations.
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2013
In this article, we present an in-home observation and in-context research study investigating ho... more In this article, we present an in-home observation and in-context research study investigating how 38 adolescents aged 14–17 search on the Internet. We present the search trends adolescents display and develop a framework of search roles that these trends help define. We compare these trends and roles to similar trends and roles found in prior work with children ages 7, 9, and 11. We use these comparisons to make recommendations to adult stakeholders such as researchers, designers, and information literacy educators about the best ways to design search tools for children and adolescents, as well as how to use the framework of searching roles to find better methods of educating youth searchers. Major findings include the seven roles of adolescent searchers, and evidence that adolescents are social in their computer use, have a greater knowledge of sources than younger children, and that adolescents are less frustrated by searching tasks than younger children.
Proceedings of the 7th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Making Sense Through Design, 2012
For many years, researchers at the Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) have partnered with chil... more For many years, researchers at the Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) have partnered with children ages 7-11 in designing technology through Cooperative Inquiry. In this paper, we present two cases in which we have worked with adolescents as designers using both a modified form of Cooperative Inquiry and design-focused interview techniques. We find that adolescents can participate as design partners given modifications to Cooperative Inquiry design techniques. However, designing with adolescents can present challenges in terms of logistics, communications, relationships, and power structures.
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Mar 2012
This paper presents the results of a large-scale, qualitative study conducted in the homes of chi... more This paper presents the results of a large-scale, qualitative study conducted in the homes of children aged 7, 9, and 11 investigating internet searching processes on Google. Seven search roles, representing distinct behavior patterns displayed by children when interacting with the Google search engine, are described, including Developing Searchers, Domain-specific Searchers, Power Searchers, Nonmotivated Searchers, Distracted
Searchers, Rule-bound Searchers, and Visual Searchers. Other trends are described and selected to present a view of the whole child searcher. These roles and trends are used to make recommendations to designers, researchers, educators, and parents about the directions to take when considering how to best aid children to become search literate.
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Papers by Elizabeth Foss
this work, researchers broaden Cooperative Inquiry’s applicability to a new population in a classroom setting, and provide guidance for designing with populations of children with special leaning needs in the future.
commonly used design techniques for Participatory Design
with children. Although there are many currently used
techniques for designing with children, researchers working
in differing contexts and in a changing technological
landscape find themselves facing difficult design situations.
The FACIT PD framework presented in this paper can aid
in choosing existing design techniques or in developing
new techniques regardless of the stage in the design cycle,
the technology being developed, or philosophical approach
to design method. The framework consists of eight
dimensions, concerning the design partners, the design goal,
and the design technique. The partner dimensions are
partner experience and need for accommodation. The
design goal dimensions are design space and maturity of
design. The technique dimensions include: cost, portability,
technology and physical interaction. Three cases will be
presented which describe new techniques developed using
the framework and two cases will describe existing
techniques.
research with young participants. Based on a series of three
studies with children ranging in age from 7-17 as examples, the
paper contains descriptions of participant recruitment approaches
and challenges. Also included is a discussion of issues
surrounding the retention of participants for longitudinal studies,
including specific issues for participant retention and loss.
Overall, this paper provides detailed experiences of the challenges of large-scale long-term field work with children, and provides guidance for others who are in similar research situations.
Searchers, Rule-bound Searchers, and Visual Searchers. Other trends are described and selected to present a view of the whole child searcher. These roles and trends are used to make recommendations to designers, researchers, educators, and parents about the directions to take when considering how to best aid children to become search literate.
this work, researchers broaden Cooperative Inquiry’s applicability to a new population in a classroom setting, and provide guidance for designing with populations of children with special leaning needs in the future.
commonly used design techniques for Participatory Design
with children. Although there are many currently used
techniques for designing with children, researchers working
in differing contexts and in a changing technological
landscape find themselves facing difficult design situations.
The FACIT PD framework presented in this paper can aid
in choosing existing design techniques or in developing
new techniques regardless of the stage in the design cycle,
the technology being developed, or philosophical approach
to design method. The framework consists of eight
dimensions, concerning the design partners, the design goal,
and the design technique. The partner dimensions are
partner experience and need for accommodation. The
design goal dimensions are design space and maturity of
design. The technique dimensions include: cost, portability,
technology and physical interaction. Three cases will be
presented which describe new techniques developed using
the framework and two cases will describe existing
techniques.
research with young participants. Based on a series of three
studies with children ranging in age from 7-17 as examples, the
paper contains descriptions of participant recruitment approaches
and challenges. Also included is a discussion of issues
surrounding the retention of participants for longitudinal studies,
including specific issues for participant retention and loss.
Overall, this paper provides detailed experiences of the challenges of large-scale long-term field work with children, and provides guidance for others who are in similar research situations.
Searchers, Rule-bound Searchers, and Visual Searchers. Other trends are described and selected to present a view of the whole child searcher. These roles and trends are used to make recommendations to designers, researchers, educators, and parents about the directions to take when considering how to best aid children to become search literate.