Skip to main content

Evaluating Human-Robot Interaction with Ethnography

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Springer Series on Bio- and Neurosystems ((SSBN,volume 12))

Abstract

In the field of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) the concept of ethnography is not unheard of. It is, however, often misunderstood and seen as a methodology that has no scientific validity or it is misused in practice. The aim of this chapter is to offer researchers that are unfamiliar with ethnography a brief overview of the most important aspects of ethnography and guide HRI researchers towards a better understanding and use of ethnography in HRI research. This is done to show that ethnography has a role to play within the HRI field and that it is a scientific methodology with its own quality criteria. A small meta-review of the current status and use of ethnography in the field of HRI is used to guide the chapter and illustrate with HRI based examples, what is being done and what is needed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Young, J.E., Sung, J., Voida, A., Sharlin, E., Igarashi, T., Christensen, H.I., Grinter, R.E.: Evaluating Human-Robot Interaction. Int. J. Social Robot. 3(1), 53–67 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Bethel, C.L., Murphy, R.R.: Review of human studies methods in HRI and recommendations. Int. J. Social Robot. 2(4), 347–359 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-010-0064-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Ohyama, T., Maeda, Y., Mori, C., Kobayashi, Y., Kuno, Y., Fujita, R., Yamazaki, K., Miyazawa, S., Yamazaki, A., Ikeda, K.: Implementing human questioning strategies into quizzing-robot. In: Proceedings of the Seventh Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, pp. 423–424. ACM, New York, NY, USA (2012). https://doi.org/10.1145/2157689.2157829

  4. Kraft, K., Smart, W.D. Seeing is comforting: effects of teleoperator visibility in robot-mediated health care. In: The Eleventh ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human Robot Interaction, pp. 11–18. IEEE Press, Piscataway, NJ, USA (2016). Retrieved from http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2906831.2906836

  5. Kraft, K.: Robots against infectious diseases. In: The Eleventh ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human Robot Interaction, pp. 627–628. IEEE Press, Piscataway, NJ, USA (2016). Retrieved from http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2906831.2907014

  6. Eguchi, A., Okada, H.: If you give students a social robot?—world robot summit pilot study. In: Companion of the 2018 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, pp. 103–104. ACM, New York, NY, USA (2018). https://doi.org/10.1145/3173386.3177038

  7. Hasse, C., Trentemøller, S., Sorenson, J.: The use of ethnography to identify and address ethical, legal, and societal (ELS) issues. In: Companion of the 2018 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, pp. 393–394. ACM, New York, NY, USA (2018). https://doi.org/10.1145/3173386.3173560

  8. Denzin, N.K., Lincoln, Y.S. (eds.): The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, 5th edn. SAGE, Thousand Oaks, CA (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Heath, S.B., Street, B.V.: Ethnography. Approaches to Language and Literacy Research. Teachers College Press, New York (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Charmaz, K.: Constructing Grounded Theory. A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. Sage, London (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Malinowski, B.: Argonauts of the Western Pacific. Dutton, New York (1961)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Radcliffe-Brown, A.R.: The Andaman Islanders. At the University Press, Cambridge (1933)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Brewer, J.D.: Ethnography. Open University Press, Buckingham (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Mead, M.: Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilisation. HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY (1928)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Langness, L.L.: Margaret mead and the study of socialization. Ethos 3(2), 97–112 (1975)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Guba, E.G., Lincoln, Y.S.: Competing paradigms in qualitative research. In: Denzin, N.K., Lincoln, Y.S. (eds.) Handbook of Qualitative Research, pp. 105–117. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Patry, J.: Beyond multiple methods: critical multiplism on all levels. Int. J. Mult. Res. Approaches 7(1), 50–65 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Kvale, S.: Interviews—An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Myers, M.D.: Dialectical hermeneutics: a theoretical framework for the implementation of information systems. Inf. Syst. J. 5(1), 51–70 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Willis, J.W.: Foundations of Qualitative Research: Interpretive and Critical Approaches. Sage, London (2007)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  21. Treharne, G.J., Riggs, D.W.: Ensuring quality in qualitative research. In: Rohleder, P., Lyons, A.C. (eds.) Qualitative Research in Clinical and Health Psychology, pp. 57–73. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke

    Google Scholar 

  22. Lewis, J., Ritchie, J.: Generalising from qualitative research. In: Ritchie, J., Lewis, J. (eds.) Qualitative Research Practice, pp. 263–286. Sage, Londen (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Forlizzi, J., DiSalvo, C.: Service robots in the domestic environment: a study of the roomba vacuum in the home. In: Proceedings of the 1st ACM SIGCHI/SIGART Conference on Human-robot Interaction, pp. 258–265. ACM, New York, NY, USA (2006). https://doi.org/10.1145/1121241.1121286

  24. Forlizzi, J.: How Robotic products become social products: an ethnographic study of cleaning in the home. In: Proceedings of the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, pp. 129–136. ACM, New York, NY, USA (2007). https://doi.org/10.1145/1228716.1228734

  25. Schwartz, M., Schwartz, C.: Problems in participant observation. Am. J. Sociol. 60(4), 343–353 (1955)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Mortelmans, D.: Handboek Kwalitatieve Onderzoeksmethoden. Acco, Leuven (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Spradley, J.P.: Participant Observation. Waveland Press, Long Grove, IL (1980)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Merriam, S.B.: Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education. Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Forlizzi, J.: The product ecology: understanding social product use and supporting design culture. Internal Journal of Design 2(1), 35 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Duysburgh, P., Elprama, S.A., Jacobs, A.: Exploring the social-technological gap in telesurgery: collaboration within distributed OR teams. In: Proceedings of the 17th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing, pp. 1537–1548

    Google Scholar 

  31. Wiles, J., Worthy, P., Hensby, K., Boden, M., Heath, S., Pounds, P., Rybak, N., Smith, M., Taufotofua, J. Weigel, J.: Social cardboard: pretotyping a social ethnodroid in the wild. In: The Eleventh ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human Robot Interaction, pp. 531–532. IEEE Press, Piscataway, NJ, USA (2016). Retrieved from http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2906831.2906962

  32. White, C., Woodfield, K., Ritchie, J.: Reporting and presenting qualitative data. In: Ritchie, J., Lewis, J. (eds.) Qualitative Research Practice, pp. 263–286. Sage, Londen (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Yamazaki, A., Yamazaki, K., Ohyama, T., Kobayashi, Y., & Kuno, Y.: A techno-sociological solution for designing a museum guide robot: regarding choosing an appropriate visitor. In: Proceedings of the Seventh Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, pp. 309–316. ACM, New York, NY, USA (2012). https://doi.org/10.1145/2157689.2157800

  34. Sabelli, A.M., Kanda, T., Hagita, N.: A conversational robot in an elderly care center: an ethnographic study. In: Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, pp. 37–44. ACM, New York, NY, USA (2011). https://doi.org/10.1145/1957656.1957669

  35. Stubbs, K., Hinds, P., Wettergreen, D.: Challenges to grounding in human–robot interaction. In: Proceedings of the 1st ACM SIGCHI/SIGART Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, pp. 357–358. ACM, New York, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.1145/1121241.1121314

  36. Mutlu, B., Forlizzi, J.: Robots in organizations: The role of workflow, social, and environmental factors in human-robot interaction. In: Proceedings of the 3rd ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human Robot Interaction, pp. 287–294. ACM, New York, NY, USA (2008). https://doi.org/10.1145/1349822.1349860

  37. Leite, I., Castellano, G., Pereira, A., Martinho, C., Paiva, A.: Modelling empathic behaviour in a robotic game companion for children: an ethnographic study in real-world settings. In: Proceedings of the Seventh Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, pp. 367–374. ACM, New York, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.1145/2157689.2157811

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to An Jacobs .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Jacobs, A., Elprama, S.A., Jewell, C.I.C. (2020). Evaluating Human-Robot Interaction with Ethnography. In: Jost, C., et al. Human-Robot Interaction. Springer Series on Bio- and Neurosystems, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42307-0_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42307-0_11

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-42306-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-42307-0

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics