Ethnography by design: On goals and mediating artefacts. (April 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Segelström, Fabian; Holmlid, Stefan
• Is Part Of: Arts and humanities in higher education. Volume 14:Number 2(2015)
• Page Start: 134
• Page End: 149
• Publication Date: 2015-04
• Subjects: Design ethnography -- design probes -- ethnography through artefacts -- mobile ethnography; Arts -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Periodicals; Humanities -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Periodicals; 700.711
• DOI: 10.1177/1474022214560159
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1474-0222

Abstract

Design ethnography is the appropriation of ethnography for the purposes of informing design. This paper investigates the effects of these appropriations, through a comparative study of how designers and anthropologists approach the same field site and by a review of new techniques introduced by designers to do ethnography. The techniques reviewed all apply artefacts to mediate the ethnographic process. Conducting ethnography through artefacts can be done in a number of ways and three ways are discussed here, including techniques which remove the researcher from the context of study. The implications for design ethnography of the comparative study and the introductions of artefacts to facilitate ethnographic work are discussed. The implications focus on potential methodological pitfalls of the 'designification' of ethnography as design ethnography matures.