Participatory Design and Action Research: Identical Twins or Synergetic Pair?

Foth, Marcus and Axup, Jeff (2006) Participatory Design and Action Research: Identical Twins or Synergetic Pair?. In Jacucci, Gianni and Kensing, Finn and Wagner, Ina and Blomberg, Jeanette, Eds. Proceedings Participatory Design Conference 2006: Expanding Boundaries in Design 2, pages pp. 93-96, Trento, Italy.

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Abstract

In this paper we explore the similarities and differences of participatory design and action research in a cross-disciplinary fashion. We briefly outline two distinct studies: (1) a design study that examines mobile interactions of backpackers, and (2) an urban sociology study to better understand social networks of apartment residents. The first study follows a participatory design approach. The second study is guided by action research principles. We reflect on the research practice of these two studies in order to discuss the key methodological features of each. We would like to invite the larger participatory design community to continue the comparison and exploration we have begun here. By outlining the tools and techniques, and the application thereof we hope to promote the usefulness of action research for participatory design projects and vice versa.

Item Type:	Conference Paper
Status:	Published
Keywords:	action research; new media; urban neighbourhoods; mobile information sharing; social networks; mobile ethnography; H5.1. Multimedia Information Systems: Methodology; D2.1. Requirements / Specifications: Methodologies
Subjects:	400000 Journalism, Librarianship and Curatorial Studies > 400100 Journalism, Communication and Media > 400104 Communication and Media Studies 280000 Information, Computing and Communication Sciences > 280100 Information Systems > 280112 Information Systems Development Methodologies 370000 Studies in Human Society > 370100 Sociology > 370104 Urban Sociology and Community Studies 280000 Information, Computing and Communication Sciences > 280100 Information Systems > 280104 Computer-Human Interaction
ID Code:	4347
Deposited By:	Foth, Marcus
Deposited On:	09 January 2007
Alternative Locations:	http://www.pdc2006.org/
Copyright Owner:	Copyright 2006 Marcus Foth and Jeff Axup
Copyright Statement:	This volume is licensed (2006) by the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Creative Commons License. For details see http:// www.creativecommons.org.