Cultural Probe

A research method preferred for more subjective results

 

In my previous work i used many different methods of understanding users, from the totally objective to the silly subjective. Through a variety of methods i hope that i can understand how we can be effective in bringing people together .

 

I am interested in the distinction between product and research tool and many of the items in a cultural probe's context were, i believe, both products and tools for research.

 

A large group of volunteers are given probe packs. The participants use the items in the pack until the pack is completed. The items are chosen to stimulate creative thought and capture experiences. The advantage of this method is to gather a large volume of qualitative data without close interaction with each research candidate

 

The value of the Cultural Probe was to create fictional character profiles. These could then be introduced as character cards, in essence creating a set of stakeholders which can be designed for. This technique combined with real stakeholders has value which was proven in the earlier project: The Community Chest.