3 robust annotated bibliography entries on focused research topic.
"Do the female members of the Nerd Fitness Facebook group perceive increased motivation to adhere to the program when using new/personalized equipment? If so, what equipment caused this effect, and roughly how long does this increase last?"
My idea was that this is a group I have easy access to, that I could probably convince a fair amount of to take a short, multiple choice poll, and that this would lead to qualitative data easier than looking at how/why questions (where a lot of coding is needed to make numbers). Additionally, in Visual Rhetoric, we were just discussing how good aesthetics scientifically make people work better. I'd be curious to see if people report this perceived change with fitness programs as in interface design.
Unrelated to L337 H4X, I would also be interested in the effect of "actual benefit" versus "perceived benefit". That'd take a lot of science and research data I don't have, so this is a smaller, more subjective slice off of that parent interest.
- Who will care about the research you do?
- In all likelihood, just me and the group (with whom I'll probably share my final product, since they'll have been so good as to be my number base). This is (allegedly) already hard science. I'm not breaking hard ground so much as affirming what I saw in one field as fact in another.
- Who will your research affect?
- Maybe no one. My hope, though, is that there is an increase in activity based on good equipment aesthetics, and that'll motivate others to use 'getting what they need' quickly to get themselves un-stuck. Additionally, I'd like to justify my own motivation-based spending habits.
- How will your research affect your own situation?
- I mean, hopefully I'll pass the class. Also, next time someone asks me if I /really/ need a new pair of running shoes, I can have a sweet comeback with data to back it up waiting in the wings.
- What other situations or contexts will your research affect?
- Maybe this will help motivate me and my fitness group to help us help ourselves and get good workout/food-making gear?
- Who does your research need to matter to and why?
- Probably only to my professor, and to myself, but that's okay. Sometimes your research can't be all things to all people. That's a pipe dream, textbook, and you gotta let it go.
Norman, D. A. (2004). Emotional design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things. Basic books.
Right now I have the prologue and chapters one and two, detailing how aesthetics play into better users (like how good aesthetics make people more happy, which makes them more creative, which leads to better problem solving. I haven't investigated the rest of the book and right now, I don't really plan to. If needed, tho, I'm sure the rest of his work will be super helpful in defining how aesthetics changes users.
Hassenzahl, M. (2008). The Interplay of Beauty, Goodness, and Usability in Interactive Products. Hum.-Comput. Interact., 19(4), 319–349. doi:10.1207/s15327051hci1904_2
This study comes the closest to the ideas of the "parent study, where in this case there is a distinction between "goodness" (in usability) and "prettiness". Like the next one down, this is done with usability testing, so it has nice science numbers to back up the testing. I still need to take a deeper read on this one, but it's going to help back up the visual rhetoric I have in the book above and apply it to something other than teapots.
McCormack, G. R., Friedenreich, C. M., Giles-Corti, B., Doyle-Baker, P. K., & Shiell, A. (2013). Do Motivation-Related Cognitions Explain the Relationship Between Perceptions of Urban Form and Neighborhood Walking?. Journal Of Physical Activity & Health, 10(7), 961-973.
This one is also super sciencey, but the result of it is that constructed environments do motivate people to walk outside more. I think this'll help back up the idea that environment gives extra motivation based on how "pleasing" it is to the senses. This is another win for aesthetics, and it has tables too! If we're supposed to worry about data or numbers to give advisers for program funding, this will make excellent back up evidence.
I know we talked about revising your question in class (it's a writing research methods course). So...make analyze how they are talking about motivation in the Fb group?
ReplyDeleteGREAT insight about actual and perceived! And yes, difficult data to gather.
I'd like to see some more details (probably at least another paragraph) for each annotated bibli. Did you read/skin the handout on ABs I shared? It gives lots of prompts for information to include (our readings probably help as well).