On the handling of impedance factors for establishing apprenticeship relations during field studies in industry domains
Petra Björndal, Maria Ralph · 2014
The process of trying to understand users' perspectives and their mental model is inherently challenging, as anyone who has been involved in conducting field studies and interviewing users can attest to. At the heart of this process is the need to create trust between the interviewer and the interviewee in order to build bonds which facilitate richer information exchange. Building apprenticeship relations is one approach which sees the interviewee as teacher and the interviewer as student/apprentice. However establishing these relations, particularity within a short time frame and within an industrial domain, can be difficult. This paper therefore addresses some of the challenges associated with building these relationships and how researchers can strengthen their connection with the users they interact with.