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According to Salvador, Bell and Anderson (1999), design ethnography is "a way of understanding the particulars of daily life in such a way as to increase the success probability of a new product or service or … to reduce the probability of failure specifically due to a lack of understanding …’ This course will introduce learners to the history of ethnographic research, from its roots in anthropology to its contemporary applications in a number of fields and, especially, in design contexts. Learners will be encouraged to evaluate methods such as participant observation and in-depth interviews and consider other, less tangible elements: the challenges of ‘figuring out’ a socio-cultural context, symbolic meaning or the indeterminacy of meaning. Rapid ethnography, multi-sitedness, research in constrained environments, and comparative ethnographic studies will also be discussed. Learners will be given time to consider the methods and outcomes of ethnography using practice examples, where possible. The course will include short research exercises and will prepare learners to carry our professional design ethnography projects.
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