DHS 304 · IIIT Bangalore
Introduces students to the major forms of qualitative research methods, training them to analyze ethical implications, strengths and limitations, and conditions of use - while designing, collecting data for, and reporting a qualitative study of technology use.
A 4-credit ELECTIVE course taught to B.Tech. and 5-year Integrated M.Tech. students in:
- Computer Science & Engineering (CSE)
- Electronics & Communication Engineering (ECE)
Assessment
The spine of this course is a semester-long group research project - students identify a research question, recruit participants, collect and analyze data, and present findings. Every assessment is built around this project.
Two types of submissions build toward it as they learn the skills required for research in class: Class Exercises involve doing - conducting a usability test, observing a public space, mapping interview data into themes. Research Logs involve reflecting - writing about your process, your decisions, and what the data is teaching you.
Class Exercises are group submissions; Research Logs are individual. The best 3 of 5 exercises and best 4 of 6 logs count toward the final grade.
Exercises & Logs
Exercise Usability Test
Conduct a micro-usability test with a digital product of your choice. Document the target audience, key features, main tasks, and what you observed. Submit with an audio or video recording of the session.
Exercise Non-Participant Observation
Observe people’s behaviour in a public setting without participating. Practice structured field note-taking as a qualitative research method. Include photographs of any handwritten notes.
Research Log Your Research Question
Reflect on your progression from a broad issue to a specific, answerable qualitative research question. Address where your initial interest came from, how you narrowed it, and why your final RQ is answerable through qualitative methods.
Research Log Recruitment & Sampling
Describe the recruitment strategies you employed. Justify your sampling strategy (purposive, snowball, convenience, or other), explain your rationale, and reflect on how the process of finding participants shaped your line of questioning.
Exercise Digital Ethnography
Conduct a digital ethnographic study of an online community or platform. Document platform affordances, user behaviour, and your role as an observer. Reflect on the methodological challenges of doing ethnography in digital spaces.
Exercise IRB Ethics Form
Draft an Institutional Review Board (IRB) informed consent form for your research project. Address participant rights, data handling, confidentiality, and risk.
Research Log Conducting the Interview
Conduct an interview with a target participant. Submit an audio recording, the full transcript, and a preliminary set of codes. Reflect on the interview process - what worked, what didn’t, and what surprised you.
Research Log More Data
Conduct a second round of data collection - interview, focus group, digital ethnography, or anything else that works for your project. Submit the data, full transcript, and an updated codebook marked up in Taguette. Reflect on what new codes emerged, what previous codes did not appear, and what that means for your analysis.
Research Log When Data Surprises You
Reflect on an instance where a piece of data - a quote, an observation, a document - contradicted your initial assumptions. Write a 500-word analysis of what you learned and how it connects to your literature review.
Exercise Affinity Mapping
Transform raw qualitative data from your interviews and observations into evidence-based themes. Submit a report (max 4 pages) documenting the process: a raw data sample, the affinity map itself, and the themes that emerged.
Research Log Reflexivity & Positionality
Write a positionality statement. Document your relevant socio-cultural, economic, and professional identifiers; identify two specific biases your background may introduce into your research and describe concrete methodological steps to address them.
Course Modules
Module I: Philosophical Foundations
Session 1: Why Methods Matter — The Purpose of User Research in Digital Product Design
Session 2: On the Continuum — Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods in UX/HCI
Session 3: Deep Dive into Qualitative Research
Session 4: Developing Research Questions
- Silverman, D. (2017). Ch. 8: Formulating a Research Question; Ch. 9: Choosing a Methodology. Doing Qualitative Research (5th ed.). SAGE.
- Creswell & Poth (2017). Ch. 6: Introducing and Focusing the Study. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design. SAGE.
Session 5: Research Ethics — Informed Consent, Privacy, and Vulnerable Populations
- UXPA Code of Professional Conduct. UXPA International.
- Grimes, J. M., Fleischman, K. R., & Jaeger, P. T. (2009). Virtual guinea pigs: Ethical implications of human subjects research in virtual worlds. International Journal of Internet Research Ethics, 2(1), 38–56.
- The Nuremberg Code. (1996). British Medical Journal, 313, 1448.
- Roberts, N. (2016). Ch. 1: Outsiders. To Be Cared For. University of California Press.
- IIIT-B IRB form.
Module II: Entering the Field
Session 6: Observational Research Methods I — Planning and Direct Observation
- Kuniavsky, Goodman & Moed (2012). Ch. 4: Research Planning. Observing the User Experience. Morgan Kaufmann.
- Hall, E. (2024). Ch. 5: User Research. Just Enough Research. Mule Books.
- Lofland & Lofland (2006). Ch. 2: Evaluating Data Sites. Analyzing Social Settings (4th ed.). Wadsworth.
- Observation — Research Methods [A Level Psychology] [video]
Session 7: Observational Research Methods II — Usability Testing
Session 8: Fieldwork and Contextual Inquiry I — Value and Purpose of Ethnography
Session 9: Fieldwork and Contextual Inquiry II — Designing and Methods
- Lazar, Feng & Hochheiser (2017). Ch. 9: Ethnography. Research Methods in Human-Computer Interaction. Morgan Kaufmann.
- Kuniavsky, Goodman & Moed (2012). Ch. 9: Field Visits: Learning from Observation. Observing the User Experience. Morgan Kaufmann.
- Creswell & Poth (2017). Ch. 7: Data Collection. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design. SAGE.
Session 10: Fieldwork and Contextual Inquiry III — Digital Ethnography
Session 11: Participant Recruitment and Sampling I — How to Do It and When to Stop
- Balboni, K. (2025). A Guide to Sample Sizes in Qualitative UX Research. User Interviews.
- Suri, H. (2011). Purposeful sampling in qualitative research synthesis. Qualitative Research Journal, 11(2), 63–75.
- Buckley, R. (2022). Ten steps for specifying saturation in qualitative research. Social Science & Medicine, 309, 115217.
- Hennink, M. M., Kaiser, B. N., & Marconi, V. C. (2017). Code Saturation Versus Meaning Saturation: How Many Interviews Are Enough? Qualitative Health Research, 27(4), 591–608.
Session 12: Participant Recruitment and Sampling II — Practicalities and The 5-User Rule
- Patton, M. Q. (2002). Module 30: Purposeful Sampling and Case Selection. Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods. SAGE.
- Kuniavsky, Goodman & Moed (2012). Ch. 6: Universal Tools: Recruiting and Interviewing. Observing the User Experience. Morgan Kaufmann.
- Hwang, W., & Salvendy, G. (2010). Number of people required for usability evaluation: The 10±2 rule. Communications of the ACM, 53(5), 130–133.
Module III: Core Data Collection
Session 13: Other Qualitative Methods — Diary Studies and Focus Groups
Session 14: In-depth User Interviews I — Planning and Guide Development
Session 15: In-depth User Interviews II — Moderation and Note-Taking Techniques
Session 16: Visual and Participatory Methods I — Photography and Video Ethnography
Session 17: Photo/Video Ethnography and Surveys
Module IV: Qualitative Data Analysis
Session 18: Qualitative Data Analysis — From Raw Data to Meaning
- What is Thematic Analysis? Definition & Guide. ATLAS.ti.
- Creswell & Poth (2017). Ch. 8: Data Analysis and Representation. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design. SAGE.
- Kuniavsky, Goodman & Moed (2012). Ch. 15: Analyzing Qualitative Data. Observing the User Experience. Morgan Kaufmann.
Session 19: Tools for Qualitative Data Analysis
Session 20: Concept Testing and Card Sorting
Session 21: Thematic Analysis and Affinity Mapping
Session 22: Ensuring Rigor and Trustworthiness I — Credibility, Transferability, Dependability, Confirmability
Session 23: Ensuring Rigor and Trustworthiness II — Positionality and Reflexivity
Module V: Reporting and Recommendations
Session 24: Data Synthesis — Theory and Process
- Framework synthesis, thematic synthesis, meta-ethnography [video]
- Barnett-Page, E., & Thomas, J. (2009). Methods for the synthesis of qualitative research: A critical review. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 9(1), 59.
- Mohammed, M. A., Moles, R. J., & Chen, T. F. (2016). Meta-synthesis of qualitative research: The challenges and opportunities. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy.
- UX Research Synthesis Methods for Actionable Insights. Looppanel.
Session 25: Identifying Insights and Recommendations
Session 26: Presenting User Research — Storytelling and Visualizations
Session 27: Report Writing