Individual Task - Poster Vignette Method

4.10.1.1 Positives

Interaction. The use of posters provided the students with interesting resources to visually interact with. This fuelled the activity so that they could describe the device and also the emotions and thoughts which were evoked by the medical device images. This supports the findings of the literature where the methods are suggested to be fundamental to the success of the data collection activities.

Focus. The rationale for introducing the devices in a visual manner was that it provided the students with an interesting resource for the warm up activity but minimum opportunity for them to be distracted by the physical demonstration devices at the start of the workshop. This was found to be effective, with students maintaining focus on the activities for the duration of the lesson.

134 Efficient. The tactic of using sticky notes as a means of participants recording their views proved to be a quick and efficient way for them to record their responses and appeared to be an effective method of capturing first impressions. Participants understood immediately what was expected and they did not require any prompting or encouragement to complete this task.

Figure 4.15 Adolescent participants taking part in Task 1 of workshop

Anonymity. Students could anonymously document their thoughts on the sticky notes without broadcasting their views if they wished, therefore providing them with an opportunity to express their views without influence or scrutiny by other participants.

Development. During the task students often expanded on the specification by providing opinions and reasoning in their sticky notes responses. This provided extra challenges for the analysis of the data but added insight into the abilities and expectations of adolescent’s research participants. They provided responses which not only described the devices, but also expressed their own subjective critiques.

Range of Data. By allowing a free rein for participants this activity enabled a diverse breadth of information to be obtained from the students.

Enjoyment. This technique was a novel method of working for all participants, differing from the usual classroom routine and procedures. The feedback from staff and students was that this task was enjoyed. The evidence of which was that the pupils contributed enthusiastically and the quantity of data far surpassed the expectations of the author and the teaching staff.

135 Figure 4.16 Adolescent participants taking part in Task 1 of workshop

4.10.1.2 Limitations

Repetition. The students sometimes entered into discussions, despite the encouragement for individual working. This behaviour was particularly used more by the girls in the class. However it was not wholly unexpected as individuals of this age are used to working together, particularly within the school environment. The result of this was that some sticky note responses on the device posters were repetitions of what participants’ peers had written, as opposed to the individual providing their own words and comments. This behaviour removed the element of personal response which was thought to be important in the design of this task. However the affect of these conversations may not be entirely detrimental to the task if the collusion helped to stimulate ideas amongst participants.

Range of data. Although the diversity of information was beneficial for these exploratory workshops, the volume and variety of information provided by the students presented a significant challenge for analysis. The recommendation for this method is that it is particularly appropriate for early stage and scoping research.

Ambiguity. There were responses given which are purely descriptive, such as

‘colourful’ or ‘technical’. Such single word answers do not provide any indication of whether participants feel the aspect is good or bad for the design

136 of the device. Future use of this technique may see a more prescriptive specification about the task requirements and outputs.

Information Provision. During this activity (as suggested in the pilot study) it became apparent that some students wanted more detailed information about the devices in the posters. This was particularly true of the older students.

Despite the parameters of the exercise being explained, that it was a simple warm up activity, their natural curiosity resulted in questions regarding the use of the device and the conditions it was used for. Future use of this method could be modified to provide additional information to older participant groups if required. However it was expressed by teaching staff supervising, and substantiated by the lack of additional questions from younger participant groups, that additional information early on in the workshop might not be useful for some age ranges.

Embarrassment. Some students were reticent to attach written answers on the posters in front of their peers. A possible reason for this which was reported by the teaching staff was that those participants may be self-conscious about their handwriting. A possible solution to this could be to provide printed cards for students to pick out and assign to the posters, however this would mean that responses would be pre-determined by the researcher rather than the participants and thus not facilitate the grounded theory approach which underpinned these methods.

Figure 4.17 Example outputs from Task 1 of the workshop

137