Overcoming HCI4D User Research Challenges by Combining Diaries and Technology Probes
George Hope Chidziwisano · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · 2024
HCI4D largely relies on interviews and focus groups to understand people’s needs and concerns for new technology. These approaches struggle with limited reliability in collected data due to perceived status differences between researchers and subjects that can lead to misrepresentations, such as participants providing socially desirable answers to show politeness. Popular qualitative methods developed to understand users in industrialized areas have proven less effective when applied in the Global South. I provide my experience using the diary study method and technology probes to overcome face-saving misrepresentations in HCI4D. My experience draws from three studies I conducted in Kenya and Malawi to explore the role of sensor-based technologies in supporting domestic activities. Over the course of data analysis, I learned that a combination of diary entries and probes’ data logs can be used to address face-saving misinterpretations. I discuss the merits and shortfalls of using this combination and argue that it can be used as a data verification tool in HCI4D.