Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

New Directions in Third Wave Human-Computer Interaction: Volume 2 - Methodologies pp 25–42Cite as

Autoethnography in Human-Computer Interaction: Theory and Practice

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Human–Computer Interaction Series ((HCIS))

Abstract

Autoethnography is an ethnographic method in which a fieldworker’s experience is investigated together with the experience of other observed social actors. Over the years, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research almost exclusively produced “objective ethnographies”, attempting to generate accurate descriptions of the “world” and the individuals inhabiting it. However, recently HCI community started exploring different forms of observing and describing reality, making the ethnographer regain visibility, and produce reflexive first-person recounts of her work. Autoethnography might be precisely inscribed in this movement, whereby it explicitly attempts to recount the fieldwork from the fieldworker’s point of view, situating the ethnographer as the protagonist of the ethnographic narration. In this chapter, I will outline the anthropological roots of the autoethnographic method, and describe its potential implications for HCI research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Hawkin carried a block of wood within his pocket simulating how would fill like to carry a Palm Pilot always with oneself (Bergman and Haitani, 2000),

References

  • Altheide DL, Johnson JM (1994) Criteria for assessing interpretive validity in qualitative research. In: Denzin NK, Lincoln YS (eds) Handbook of qualitative research. Sage, London, pp 485–499

    Google Scholar 

  • Antle AN, Tanenbaum TJ, Bevans A, Seaborn K, Wang S (2011) Balancing act: enabling public engagement with sustainability issues through a multi-touch tabletop collaborative game. In: Campos P, Nunes N, Graham N, Jorge J, Palanque P (eds) Proceedings of IFIP TC international conference on human-computer interaction – Volume Part II (INTERACT ‘11). Springer, Heidelberg, pp 194–211

    Google Scholar 

  • Bang M, Gustafsson A, Katzeff C (2007) In: De Kort Y, Ijsselsteijn W, Midden C, Eggen B, Fogg BJ (eds) Promoting new patterns in household energy consumption with pervasive learning games. Proceedings of the international conference on persuasive technology (PERSUASIVE ‘07). Springer, Heidelberg, pp 55–63

    Google Scholar 

  • Bassilious E, DeChamplain A, McCabe I, Stephan M, Kapralos B, Mahmud FH, Dubrowski A (2012) Power defense: a serious game for improving diabetes numeracy. In: Extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems (CHI EA ‘12). ACM, New York, pp 1327–1332

    Google Scholar 

  • Bentley R, Hughes JA, Randall D, Rodden T, Sawyer P, Shapiro D, Sommerville I (1992) Ethnographically informed systems design for air traffic control. In: Proceedings of the 1992 ACM conference on computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW ‘92). ACM, New York, pp 123–129

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergman E, Haitani R (2000) Designing the PalmPilot: a conversation with rob Haitani. In: Bergman E (ed) Information appliances and beyond: interaction design for consumer products. Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco, pp 81–102

    Google Scholar 

  • Bochner AP (1994) Perspectives on inquiry II: theories and stories. In: Knapp ML, Miller GR (eds) Handbook of interpersonal communication. Sage, Thousand Oaks, pp 21–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Bødker S (2006) When second wave HCI meets third wave challenges. In: Proceedings of NORDICHI ‘06. ACM, New York, pp 1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Boehner K, Sengers P, Warner S (2008) Interfaces with the ineffable: meeting aesthetic experience on its own terms. ACM Trans Comput Hum Int 15(3):1–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boylorn RM (2006) E pluribus unum (out of many, one). Qual Inq 12(4):651–680

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burawoy M (1998) The extended case method. Sociol Theory 16(1):4–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calleja G (2007) Digital games as designed experience: reframing the concept of immersion. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington

    Google Scholar 

  • Cardano M (2009) Ethnography and reflexivity. notes on the construction of objectivity. Ethnographic Research, NetPaper del Dipartimento di scienze sociali, 1/2009

    Google Scholar 

  • Cecchinato ME, Cox AL, Bird J (2017) Always on(line)? User experience of smartwatches and their role within multi-device ecologies. In: Proceedings of the 2017 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI ‘17). ACM, New York, pp 3557–3568

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Clifford J, Marcus GE (1986) Writing culture: the poetics and politics of ethnography. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Corneliussen HG, Rettberg JW (eds) (2011) Digital culture, play and identity: a world of Warcraft Reader. The MIT Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham SJ, Jones M (2005) Autoethnography: a tool for practice and education. In: The 6th ACM SIGCHI New Zealand chapter’s international conference on Computer-human interaction: making CHI natural (CHINZ ‘05). ACM, New York, pp 1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Debeauvais T, Nardi B, Schiano D, Yee N, Ducheneaut N (2011) If you build it they might stay: retention mechanisms in world of Warcraft. In: Proceedings of the international conference on foundations of digital games (FDG ‘11). ACM, New York, pp 180–187

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Delamont S (2009) The only honest thing: autoethnography, reflexivity and small crises in fieldwork. Ethnogr Educ 4(1):51–63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delpit LD (1996) Other people’s children: cultural conflict in the classroom. W.W. Norton, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Diaz LM, Gaytan-Lugo L, Morales L, Morales C, del Cid V, Enriquez S (2017) Living without a smartphone: using autoethnography to get closer to basic phone users. Paper presented at CHI 2017 symposium on HCI across Borders Denver, May 2017, pp 6–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Dourish P (2006) Implications for design. CHI’06. In: Grinter R, Rodden T, Aoki P, Cutrell E, Jeffries R, Olson G (eds) Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI ‘06). ACM, New York, pp 541–550

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Drennan P (2007) Ethnography of play in a massively multi-player online role playing game: marketplaces, team work and free play. Unpublished PhD thesis University of Queensland, Brisbane

    Google Scholar 

  • Droogsma RA (2007) Redefining hijab: American Muslim women’s standpoints on veiling. J Appl Commun Res 35(3):294–319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis C (2009) Telling tales on neighbors: ethics in two voices. Int Rev Qual Res 2(1):3–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis C, Bochner A (2000) Autoethnography, personal narrative, and personal reflexivity. In: Norman K, Yvonna D, Lincoln S (eds) Handbook of qualitative research, 2nd edn. Sage, Thousand Oaks, pp 733–768

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis C, Adams T, Bochner A (2011) Autoethnography: an overview. Hist Soc Res 36(4):273–290

    Google Scholar 

  • Fine GA (2003) Towards a people ethnography: developing a theory from group life. Ethnography 4(1):41–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldthorpe JH (2000) On sociology. Numbers, narratives and the integration of research and theory. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodall Jr. HL (1998) Notes for the autoethnography and autobiography panel NCA. A paper presented at the National Communication Association (NCA) convention in New York City

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison D, Cecchinato ME (2015) “Give me five minutes!” feeling time slip by. In: Adjunct proceedings of the 2015 ACM international joint conference on pervasive and ubiquitous computing and proceedings of the 2015 ACM international symposium on wearable computers (UbiComp/ISWC’15 adjunct). ACM, New York, pp 45–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayano D (1979) Autoethnography: paradigms, problems and prospects. Hum Organ 38(1):99–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heider K (1975) What do people do? Dani autoethnography. J Anthropol Res 31(1):3–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hilviu D, Rapp A (2015) Narrating the quantified self. In: Adjunct proceedings of the 2015 ACM international joint conference on pervasive and ubiquitous computing and proceedings of the 2015 ACM international symposium on wearable computers (UbiComp/ISWC’15 adjunct). ACM, New York, pp 1051–1056

    Google Scholar 

  • Hooks B (1994) Teaching to transgress: education as the practice of freedom. Routledge, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson R, Rogers Y, van der Linden J, Bianchi-Berthouze N (2012) Being in the thick of in-thewild studies: the challenges and insights of researcher participation. In: Proceedings of CHI ‘12 Conference. ACM Press, New York, pp 1135–1144

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones SH, Adams TE, Ellis C (eds) (2013) Handbook of autoethnography. Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller EF (1995) Reflections on gender and science. Yale University Press, New Haven

    Google Scholar 

  • Kenyatta J (1938) Facing Mount Kenya. Secker & Warburg, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn TS (1962) The structure of scientific revolutions. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Ljungblad S (2009) Passive photography from a creative perspective: “if i would just shoot the same thing for seven days, it’s like... what’s the point?”. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems, CHI ‘09. ACM, New York, pp 829–838

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Macvean A, Robertson J (2013) Understanding exergame users’ physical activity, motivation and behavior over time. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI ‘13). ACM, New York, pp 1251–1260

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Malinverni L, Pares N (2017) An autoethnographic approach to guide situated ethical decisions in participatory design with teenagers. Interact Comput 29(3):403–415

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcengo A, Rapp A, Cena F, Geymonat M (2016) The falsified self: complexities in personal data collection. In: Proceedings of the HCI international conference. In universal access in human-computer interaction. Methods, techniques, and best practices, lecture notes in computer science, vol 9737. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 351–358. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40250-5_34

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Meder M, Rapp A, Plumbaum T, Hopfgartner F (2017) Data-driven gamification design. In: Proceedings of the 21st international academic Mindtrek conference (AcademicMindtrek ‘17). ACM, New York, pp 255–258

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Millen DR (2000) Rapid ethnography: time deepening strategies for HCI field research. In: Boyarski D, Kellogg WA (eds) The 3rd conference on designing interactive systems: processes, practices, methods and techniques (DIS ‘00). ACM, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Neustaedter C, Sengers P (2012) Autobiographical design: what you can learn from designing for yourself. Interactions 19(6):28–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ng BD, Wiemer-Hastings P (2005) Addiction to the internet and online gaming. Cyberpsychol Behav 8(2):110–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Kane AA, Rogers Y, Blandford AE (2014) Gaining empathy for non-routine mobile device use through autoethnography. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI ‘14). ACM, New York, pp 987–990

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Orji R, Mandryk RL, Vassileva J, Gerling KM (2013) Tailoring Persuasive health games to gamer type. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI ‘13). ACM, New York, pp 2467–2476

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Paulson S, Willig C (2008) Older women and everyday talk about the ageing body. J Health Psychol 13(1):106–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pratt ML (1986) Fieldwork in common places. In: Clifford J, Marcus G (eds) Writing culture: the poetics and politics of ethnography. University of California Press, Berkley, pp 27–50

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Pritcherd G, Vines J, Briggs P, Thomas L, Olivier P (2014) Digitally driven: how location based services impact on the work practices of London bus drivers. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI ‘14). ACM, New York, pp 3617–3626

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam H (1981) Reason, truth and history. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rapp A (2013) Beyond gamification: enhancing user engagement through meaningful game elements. In: Proceedings of foundation of digital games 2013

    Google Scholar 

  • Rapp A (2014a) Meaningful game elements for personal informatics. In: Proceedings of the 2014 ACM international symposium on wearable computers: adjunct program (ISWC ‘14 adjunct). ACM, New York, pp 125–130. https://doi.org/10.1145/2641248.2642734

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rapp A (2014b) A SWOT analysis of the gamification practices: challenges, open issues and future perspectives. In Proceedings of the 5th international conference on applied human factors and ergonomics (AHFE 2014). In: Advances in affective and pleasurable design a cura di Yong Gu Ji, Sooshin Choi, Danvers, MA: AHFE conference, pp 476–487.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rapp A (2017a) Designing interactive systems through a game lens: an ethnographic approach. Comput Hum Behav 71:455–468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.02.048

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rapp A (2017b) Drawing inspiration from world of Warcraft: gamification design elements for behavior change technologies. Interact Comput 29(5):648–678. https://doi.org/10.1093/iwc/iwx001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rapp A (2017c) From games to gamification: a classification of rewards in world of Warcraft for the design of gamified systems. Simul Gaming 48(3):381–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046878117697147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rapp A, Cena F (2016) Personal informatics for everyday life: how users without prior self-tracking experience engage with personal data. Int J Hum Comput Stud 94:1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2016.05.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rapp A, Tirassa M (2017) Know thyself: a theory of the self for personal informatics. Hum Comput Interact 32(5–6):335–380. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370024.2017.1285704

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rapp A, Cena F, Gena C, Marcengo A, Console L (2016a) Using game mechanics for field evaluation of prototype social applications: a novel methodology. Behav Inform Technol 35(3):184–195. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2015.104693

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rapp A, Cena F, Hopfgartner F, Hamari J, Linehan C (2016b) Fictional game elements: critical perspectives on gamification design. In: Proceedings of the 2016 annual symposium on computer-human interaction in play companion extended abstracts (CHI PLAY companion ‘16). ACM, New York, pp 373–377. https://doi.org/10.1145/2968120.2968125

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Reed-Danahay D (1997) Auto/ethnography: rewriting the self and the social. Berg, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Rigby S, Ryan RM (2011) Glued to games: how video games draw us in and hold us spellbound. Praeger, Santa Barbara

    Google Scholar 

  • Rode JA (2011) Reflexivity in digital anthropology. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI ‘11). ACM, New York, pp 123–132

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rorty R (1982) Consequences of pragmatism (essays 1972–1980). University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis

    Google Scholar 

  • Runciman WG (1983) A treatise on social theory. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Segal LD, Suri JF (1997) The empathic practitioner: measurement and interpretation of user experience. Proc Hum Factors and Ergon Soc Annu Meet 41(1):451–454

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sundén J (2012) Desires at play: on closeness and epistemological uncertainty. Games Cul 7(2):164–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tedlock B (1991) From participant observation to the observation of participation: the emergence of narrative ethnography. J Anthropol Res 47(1):69–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson D, Baranowski T, Buday R, Baranowski J, Thompson V, Jago R, Griffith MG (2010) Serious video games for health how behavioral science guided the development of a serious video game. Simul Games 41(4):587–606

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Maanen J (2011) Tales from the field. On writing ethnography, 2nd edn. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Weber M (n.d.1904/1949) Objectivity in social science and social policy. In: Shils EA & Finch HA (eds. and trans.) The methodology of the social sciences. Free Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams K (2015) An anxious alliance. In: Proceedings of the fifth decennial aarhus conference on critical alternatives (AA ‘15). Aarhus University Press, pp 121–131. https://doi.org/10.7146/aahcc.v1i1.21146

  • Wright P, McCarthy J (2008) Empathy and experience in HCI. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI ‘08). ACM, New York, pp 637–646

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao X, Ishii H (2016) Inspect, embody, invent: a design framework for music learning and beyond. In: Proceedings of the 2016 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI ‘16). ACM, New York, pp 5397–5408

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Torino, Turin, Italy

    Amon Rapp

Authors
  1. Amon Rapp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Interactive Arts & Technology, Simon Fraser University, Surrey, BC, Canada

    Michael Filimowicz

  2. School of Communications, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    Veronika Tzankova

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Rapp, A. (2018). Autoethnography in Human-Computer Interaction: Theory and Practice. In: Filimowicz, M., Tzankova, V. (eds) New Directions in Third Wave Human-Computer Interaction: Volume 2 - Methodologies . Human–Computer Interaction Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73374-6_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73374-6_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-73373-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-73374-6

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation