ACM Interactions

Authors:
Elizabeth Churchill

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Like many people in these times of cost saving, I have lost my sense of humor. Why? Because what constitutes reasonable economizing—determining what costs are or are not optional—reveals some curious assessments of value. I am referring to human-centered research and the peculiar assumption that qualitative research methods—like qualitative interviewing and ethnographically inspired fieldwork—are too expensive to use in the design process during lean times. There are plenty of companies willing to jump in and offer cut-rate services, but, as in all of life, one should be aware that "you get what you pay for." Timothy de Waal Malefyt's…

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