Who is "I"?: Subjectivity and Ethnography in HCI

Document Title

Who is “I”?: Subjectivity and Ethnography in HCI

Document Information

• Subject Area: Subjectivity and Ethnographic Methods in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
• Keywords: Ethnography, Subjectivity, Reflexivity, Gossamer Walls, HCI Theory, Methodology

Research Background and Issues

• Problems and Challenges:

  • The influence of researchers' subjectivity on the research process and the construction of meaning in ethnographic studies is often overlooked. Traditional HCI research typically emphasizes producing "objective" and "scientific" writing and design insights.
  • Clearly demonstrating the role of researchers' subjectivity in knowledge construction remains a challenge.
  • The "researcher's 'I'" as a core element of ethnography has not been fully explored, particularly in overcoming the tension and anxiety between the individual and the academic community.

• Significance:

  • Subjectivity is at the core of the interpretive nature of ethnographic practice. Understanding and utilizing this subjectivity can expand researchers' perspectives on personal experiences and social interactions, thereby enhancing the overall quality of research.
  • In HCI, developing an awareness of researchers' emotional labor and subjective experiences is an important step toward fostering more human-centered and interpretive design theories.

• Research Motivation:

  • Responding to recent calls for more reflexive and subjective writing.
  • Further exploring how researchers' subjectivity influences ethnographic research outcomes by reviewing the authors' fieldwork in small-scale sustainable agriculture settings.

• Related Work:

  • Inspired by cultural anthropology, feminist reflexive research, and first-person design methods (e.g., autobiographical ethnography), this paper aims to advance HCI research by adopting an ethnographic practice that explicitly embraces subjectivity.

Solutions

• Proposed Methods or Solutions:

  • Introduce sociologist Andrea Doucet's concept of "Gossamer Walls" as a framework for exploring reflexive practices. Doucet's framework identifies three key relationships: the researcher and self, the researcher and participants, and the researcher and their academic/knowledge community.
  • Employ Van Maanen's impressionist ethnographic writing style ("impressionist tales") to vividly present the "subjectivity" and situated experiences of ethnographic research in narrative form.

• Innovative Aspects of the Solution:

  • Emphasize the value of researchers' subjectivity in knowledge construction through personal experiences, emotional labor, and contextual knowledge.
  • Provide an alternative perspective to traditional "scientific" ethnographic writing, encouraging a culture that respects "local knowledge" and "subjectivity."

• Implementation Steps and Key Techniques:

  1. Review Research Context and Iterative Reflection on Data:
     • Revisit the authors' 2020 field notes and interview materials from small-scale agricultural research in Indianapolis.
     • Reprocess this data using Doucet's framework and Van Maanen's narrative style to uncover reflexive subjectivity.
  2. Adopt a "Confessional" Writing Style:
     • Position the "self" as the core of the research, revealing personal emotions, perceptions, and reflections to illustrate ethnographic challenges and experiences.
  3. Organize Reflexive Outcomes into "Impressionist Narratives":
     • Provide specific first-person accounts describing interactions between the researcher and self, participants, and the knowledge community, including the emotional experiences generated in these interactions.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Outcomes:

  • Proposed a methodological framework (Gossamer Walls) supported by impressionist writing to help researchers express subjectivity and incorporate it into the knowledge production process.
  • Presented three detailed case studies analyzing the multi-layered relationships between the researcher and self, participants, and the knowledge community, addressing different aspects of subjectivity:
    1. Researcher and Self: Explored how subjectivity influences research perspectives through "childhood memories" and "sensory perceptions."
    2. Researcher and Participants: Examined how interpersonal interactions in ethnography (e.g., biases and emotional responses) create new knowledge but also introduce complexity.
    3. Researcher and Knowledge Community: Analyzed how academic backgrounds and theoretical frameworks shape researchers' interpretations of participant behaviors and phenomena.

• Advantages and Contributions:

  • The framework is flexible and targeted, suitable for advanced reflexive practices, particularly as a supplement to HCI methodologies in the rapidly evolving digital age.
  • Demonstrated how to shift from traditional data interpretation to a more human-centered, subjectivity-inclusive academic research approach through case studies.

• Experimental or Evaluation Results:

  • By reflecting on fieldwork records and personal notes, the authors showcased how subjectivity dramatically altered the research trajectory while revealing and embracing emotions, biases, and internal contradictions.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  • Limitations:
    • Primarily focused on specific cases of reflexive practice by the authors, with limited validation for broader applications in other contexts.
    • Strong emphasis on subjectivity may face challenges in acceptance within certain academic circles.
  • Future Directions:
    • Further develop theoretical tools and methods to support reflexive and impressionist writing within the broader HCI academic community.
    • Explore how to integrate and promote this subjectivity- and reflexivity-centered research approach in graduate education.

Document Summary

This paper breaks traditional frameworks by treating researchers' subjective experiences as an inseparable part of knowledge production. It not only redefines the role of ethnography in HCI but also provides valuable reflexive tools and practical insights for interdisciplinary fields.