For this assignment, I’m asking you to connect the Zuckerman, Norman, and Kling readings from the beginning of the semester to the operations of a HCI/UI/UX research lab.
Each Class Meeting group is assigned to a different HCI lab, which is profiled in the interactions magazine articles
- Blue Group (My Group) assigned to “Bureau of Difficult Things”
Steps:
- Start by doing a thorough reading of the “A Day at the Lab” article for your group’s lab. Make a note of any names, projects, and publications that you may want to do further research on.
- Follow up by looking at the lab’s web site, social media accounts, and blogs – feel free to share the information you find with other members of your group.
- Check online for published research studies authored or co-authored by people working with the Lab your group has been assigned. It’s OK to share the information with other members of your group.
- Using evidence from your sources to support your points, write a 750-1000 word answer to the three bullet point questions below:
- Is the lab engaging in any activities to try to avoid the problems of “solutionism” discussed by Zuckerman?
- In what ways does the lab work in an interdisciplinary fashion and how does the lab’s work or setup attempt to address Norman’s complaint about the woeful ignorance of many designers of “the deep complexity of social and organizational problems”?
- Towards the end of his article, Kling declares that “Social informatics researchers are specially interested in developing reliable knowledge about information technology and social change, based on systematic empirical research, to inform both public policy debates and professional practice.” In what ways is that kind of development evident or not evident in this lab?
Information you need to do well:
- Citations to referenced material, including the original interactions magazine article should be listed as in-line citations in your write up and alphabetically listed by author(s) in a “Works Cited” section at the end of the assignment.
- Expect to cite at least five sources beyond the course readings and the ACM “Day in the Lab” article in your essay. In total, you should have at least nine sources.
- The sources you discuss should focus on the recent activities of the assigned lab, not the ideas presented in the Zuckerman, Norman, and Kling articles.
- Remember that while it’s OK to share ideas and resources among members of the group, each individual member is expected to produce their own write-up for submission to be graded. In short, it’s not OK to copy language from another member of your group.
- As always, please reach out to me via email or come to office hours if you have any questions about this assignment.
