097 | Shadowing |
An observational method tracking someone closely through his or her daily routines
- Observing a participant’s activities and decision patterns allows researchers to gather insights through firsthand, real-time exposure.
- Observations should be well documented, with photographs, detailed notes and sketches, or audio.
- Ideally, several team members will complete shadowing exercises across representative users, to begin crafting a general picture of patterns.
- Cooperation is necessary and a respectful distance should be maintained to avoid interruption to natural routines or behavior change as a result of being observed.
- Typically, interactions with the person being shadowed are kept to a minimum, asking pertinent questions about behaviors after the shadowing session.
- Subtle covert shadowing may be utilized to observe public behaviors: for example, following students on campus to determine common pathways.
See alsoBehavioral Mapping • Fly-on-the-Wall Observation • Touchstone Tours
In a study of the relationship between food providers and consumers in creating sustainable food communities, grocery shoppers were shadowed, asked about their decisions, and photographed.
Courtesy of Sarah Calandro © 2011
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