Sedlmair M, Meyer M, Munzner T
University of British Columbia.
IEEE Trans Vis Comput Graph. 2012 Dec;18(12):2431-40. doi: 10.1109/TVCG.2012.213.
Design studies are an increasingly popular form of problem-driven visualization research, yet there is little guidance available about how to do them effectively. In this paper we reflect on our combined experience of conducting twenty-one design studies, as well as reading and reviewing many more, and on an extensive literature review of other field work methods and methodologies. Based on this foundation we provide definitions, propose a methodological framework, and provide practical guidance for conducting design studies. We define a design study as a project in which visualization researchers analyze a specific real-world problem faced by domain experts, design a visualization system that supports solving this problem, validate the design, and reflect about lessons learned in order to refine visualization design guidelines. We characterize two axes - a task clarity axis from fuzzy to crisp and an information location axis from the domain expert's head to the computer - and use these axes to reason about design study contributions, their suitability, and uniqueness from other approaches. The proposed methodological framework consists of 9 stages: learn, winnow, cast, discover, design, implement, deploy, reflect, and write. For each stage we provide practical guidance and outline potential pitfalls. We also conducted an extensive literature survey of related methodological approaches that involve a significant amount of qualitative field work, and compare design study methodology to that of ethnography, grounded theory, and action research.
设计研究是一种日益流行的问题驱动型可视化研究形式，但对于如何有效地开展此类研究，几乎没有可用的指导。在本文中，我们反思了开展21项设计研究的综合经验，以及阅读和评审更多研究的经验，并对其他实地研究方法和方法论进行了广泛的文献综述。基于此，我们给出定义，提出一个方法框架，并为开展设计研究提供实用指导。我们将设计研究定义为这样一个项目：可视化研究人员分析领域专家面临的特定现实世界问题，设计一个支持解决该问题的可视化系统，验证该设计，并反思所学到的经验教训，以便完善可视化设计指南。我们刻画了两个轴——一个从模糊到清晰的任务清晰度轴和一个从领域专家头脑到计算机的信息定位轴，并利用这些轴来思考设计研究的贡献、其适用性以及与其他方法相比的独特性。所提出的方法框架由九个阶段组成：学习、筛选、构思、发现、设计、实施、部署、反思和撰写。对于每个阶段，我们都提供了实用指导并概述了潜在的陷阱。我们还对涉及大量定性实地研究的相关方法进行了广泛的文献调查，并将设计研究方法与民族志、扎根理论和行动研究的方法进行了比较。
