Research Zine I - March 2021
This research zine captures the intermittent results from a first round of gathering and analysing data. The goal of this zine is to create access to said data, in a less rigorously scientific manner. I’d love for you to see this a snapshot, as well as a working tool. It’s not meant to stay untouched. Take notes on it, mark what you find interesting, scribble and sketch. The texts are not meant to be read in a linear way. Just jump in where your attention takes you. It’s a process and you’re now part of it.
Introduction
A core subject of this research project is the application of animism in the design of technological artifacts. So I probably need to elaborate a bit on that.
Thematic Analysis
Thematic analysis is an approach to work with qualitative data. In it, you label pieces of data that you find interesting, help to answer questions or stand out with codes. In a second phase, you try to find themes that summarize the codes. I followed a reflexive approach after Brown & Clark. All the data that lead to this analysis can be access on the digital archive. The main methods involved in the gathering were interviews, observations, user journey mappings as well as online research.
In the analysis I concentrated on those parts, that were not so positive. They interested me because they offer potential for change.
- What is a voice assistant
- Conditioning the User
- Questions of scale
- Communication, Language and Behavior
Visuals
What I saw in the field was a stark contrast to what the advertisements sell. Quite another impression leaves the many ways of customizations for voice assistants that can be found online.