Participate

The best way for qualitative researchers to understand a group, a subculture, a setting, or a way of life is to immerse into that world. Performing the same tasks the users would usually do, helps to gain a new, in-depth understanding of their experience and the environment the users operate in.

Changing your perspective and stepping into their situation helps to identify the most pressing pain points and opportunity areas. You can design a participation experience by limiting yourself and taking away any aspect of the users’ experience or ability that you might take for granted.

When following a participation approach, strive to influence the research participants around you as little as possible while being as close as needed. They often consciously or unconsciously behave differently when they feel part of a research environment – even worse when they are photographed.