“Practical Techniques for Field Research”

Session Summary

Regardless of whether it’s the first time or your hundredth time, conducting any sort of field research is always a bit of a daunting task. The planning and conducting of field research is a juggling act between prep work, interview skills, and synthesis of research data. While it does take practice and experience to get comfortable with the act of field research, there are lessons you can learn that will help you get past many rookie mistakes and get you to collecting invaluable information. This workshop will cover key aspects of three main stages of conducting field studies:

• Planning and Prep – Good research data starts with proper planning. This involves everything from writing interview questions, developing an interview guide, recruiting participants, and determining the logistics for the interview sessions.
• Out in the Field – Conducting this type of research can drain you physically and mentally. There are a number of tricks that help you keep your mind sharp and allow you to give each session the same amount of energy as the first.
• Finding the Patterns – The number of data points that result from field research grows quickly. Aside from time, certain techniques exist that help you get through this mountain of information and get to the findings you need to be successful.

The world is changing faster than people can keep up, both physically and mentally. Field research is one of the key tools that designers can use to understand how new products and digital experiences can be designed to aid people with managing this growth.

Brad Nunnally – @bnunnally

Brad is a member of the design team at 18F. His passion is finding the reason why wicked problems exist and finding ways to remove barriers that prevent people from accomplishing their goals.