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, JOURNAL OF USABILITY STUDIES
Vol. 6, Issue 3, May 2011, pp. 102-116
Discourse Variations Between
Usability Tests and Usability
ReportsErin Friess
Assistant Professor
Linguistics and Technical
Communication
University of North Texas
1155 Union Circle #305298
Denton, TX 76203
USA
erin.friess@unt.eduAbstract
While usability evaluation and usability testing has become
an important tool in artifact assessment, little is known about
what happens to usability data as it moves from usability
session to usability report. In this ethnographic case study, I
investigate the variations in the language used by usability
participants in user-based usability testing sessions as
compared to the language used by novice usability testers in
their oral reports of that usability testing session. In these
comparative discourse analyses, I assess the consistency and
continuity of the usability testing data within the purview of
the individual testers conducting "do-it-yourself" usability
testing. This case study of a limited population suggests that
findings in oral usability reports may or may not be
substantiated in the evaluations themselves, that explicit or
latent biases may affect the presentation of the findings in
the report, and that broader investigations, both in terms of
populations and methodologies, are warranted.Keywords
Usability evaluation, discourse analysis, do-it-yourself
usability testing, evaluator effect, data interpretation,
ethnography, oral usability test reports
11 r--otlng usabilty ccrcepts arc technlqLes worldwide
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Friess, Erin. Discourse Variations Between Usability Tests and Usability Reports, article, May 2011; [Bloomingdale, Illinois]. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc38891/m1/1/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT College of Arts and Sciences.