P. Luffand and C. Heath
Cambridge EuroPARC, 61 Regents Street, Cambridge CB2 1AB, UK
Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 5XH, UK
Synopsis
In order to address critiques of the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and human-computer interaction (HCI), a number of researchers have begun to look to the social sciences for alternative approaches. Recent developments that reveal the organised and 'situated' nature of social action appear to be particularly appropriate. Therefore, ethnomethodology, conversation analysis and cognate approaches have been applied directly to produce computer models of dialogue and to analyse human-computer interaction. This application of findings from the social sciences has itself been criticised by ethnomethodologists and conversation analysts because it is often based on fundamental misunderstandings of these approaches. In this paper we outline a novel methodological framework that attempts to overcome some of that shortcomings. To develop such a framework we explore one particular screen-based activity: the use of menus. We also introduce a transcription system that is utilised to produce a provisional typology menu uses. Through this typology the screen-based activity is revealed to be continually shaped by and continually shaping the context which it is embedded. We relate our analysis to recent studies in the field of cognitive science that have examined the use of menus and other aspects of HCI. Finally, we conclude with some of the implications our analysis of HCI has for both the design of human-computer interactions and for other research that aims to draw from the social sciences.
Key Words
Ethnomethodology, Interaction Analysis, Conversation Analysis, Human-Computer Interaction, Interactivity, Menus