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The 'Subjective' Researcher

UX Y'all
September 28, 2021

The 'Subjective' Researcher

UX Y'all 2021 Session with Jasmine Stammes

UX Y'all

September 28, 2021
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Transcript

  1. Our Path • What is “Subjective” Research? • How can

    I practice “Subjective” Research?
  2. 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
  3. 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.”
  4. 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
  5. Empathy Empathy is the ability to fully understand, mirror, then

    share another person’s expressions, needs and motivations.
  6. “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.”
  7. Research Ethics Research ethics is the careful consideration of the

    rights, well-being, and dignity of people involved in research activities.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. May your next research engagement be just a little more

    subjective. Jasmine Stammes UX Researcher UrbanFootprint