The ‘Subjective’ Researcher Jasmine Stammes, UX Researcher 

Our Path ● What is “Subjective” Research? ● How can I practice “Subjective” Research? 

What is “Subjective” Research? 

Wait..shouldn’t we be talking about objective research? No, that is so last century! 

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A ‘Subjective’ Approach ‘Objective’ Research ● Observer ● Emphasis on not being influenced by emotions and feelings ● Emphasis on objective facts ‘Subjective’ Research ● Positionality ● Emphasis on Empathy ● Ethics ● Emphasis on subjective experience 

Positionality “Positionality is the notion that personal values, views, and location in time and space influence how one understands the world. In this context, gender, race, class, and other aspects of identities are indicators of social and spatial positions and are not fixed, given qualities.” 

Benefits of Positionality How do specific parts of my identity advantage me? ● Relationships, acceptance, trust ● Motivation, perspective, knowledge ● Societal benefits How do specific parts of my identity disadvantage me? ● Biases I hold, closed mindedness ● Relationships, acceptance, trust ● Societal disadvantages 

Empathy Empathy is the ability to fully understand, mirror, then share another person’s expressions, needs and motivations. 

“In UX, empathy enables us to understand not only our users’ people's immediate frustrations, but also their hopes, fears, abilities, limitations, reasoning, and goals. It allows us to dig deep into our understanding of the user and create solutions that will not only solve a need, but effectively improve our users’ lives by removing unnecessary pain or friction.” 

Empathy isn’t Sympathy 

Research Ethics Research ethics is the careful consideration of the rights, well-being, and dignity of people involved in research activities. 

Background ● Nuremberg Code ● Thalidomide ● Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932- 1972) ● National Research Act (1974) 

How can I practice “Subjective” Research? 

Practice #1 Position yourself ● Take a moment to list and reflect on your identity. ● Understand the way in which your lens impacts your work. What are the benefits and disadvantages and how can you mitigate. ● Don’t try to escape your identity -- lean into your identity and do the internal work to escape the -isms instead. 

Practice #2 Practice Empathy ● Learn to be a good listener. ● Improve your observation skills. ● Don’t be afraid to ask other people for input. ● Be mindful of your own attitude. ● Learn how to adopt humility. ● Do your research. 

Practice #3 Be ethically grounded in your research practice. ● Be respectful to your users; Honor participants’ limits and value their comfort. ● Be responsible to your users; act to protect people’s current and future interests. ● Be honest with your users; Be truthful and timely in your communication. 

May your next research engagement be just a little more subjective. Jasmine Stammes UX Researcher UrbanFootprint