Abstract:

Doing empirical research is challenging, and finding (and keeping) participants is one of the most challenging aspects. Throughout my career, I’ve thought quite a lot about whether specific challenges can be mitigated, or whether we simply need to accept that they are an inherent part of doing user research.

In this talk, I’ll share some of my own experiences of recruiting participants for empirical studies of all types, and I’ll also discuss some unique challenges that I would never have anticipated.

The submissions to this workshop provided detailed and thoughtful accounts of challenges that the authors faced in their own research. Using these papers as a starting point, I will map out a “landscape of participant recruitment challenges”, considering the different types of challenges that occur, their characteristics, their potential impact and, in some cases, possible ways of addressing them. Having such an overview should allow us to more easily anticipate where particular “pain points” might occur when we are recruiting participants and, hopefully, be better placed to reflect on ways of addressing them.

Bio:

Judith Good is Professor of Human Computer Interaction at the Informatics Institute, University of Amsterdam. She was previously a professor of Interaction Design and Inclusion at the University of Sussex, and has also held posts at the University of New Mexico, and the University of Edinburgh.

Judith is the director of the Digital Interactions Lab, which looks at the development of smart technologies in the context of health, well being and learning. Judith’s research focuses on how best to enable and empower people through the design of innovative and inclusive digital technologies. Her specific areas of interest are in learning (including game-based learning, and game creation for learning), and in developing technologies which can enhance the lives of disabled people (including autistic individuals and those with ADHD).

Judith has extensive experience of conducting empirical studies of all sorts, involving both children and adults. She also has expertise in participatory design methodologies, aiming to ensure that users have a voice throughout the entire design process.