Camera Journal Add/remove

Purpose:

The purpose of the camera journal is to get insights from the users while they are doing their activities without being biased based on your presence, and is a good way to gather data from an extended period of time. 

It is a self-conducted notation technique where the participants keep a written and visual diary of their perceptions and activities related to an experience.

Step by step Facilitating tips Materials needed Goes well with

Tips to include participants who are not able to:

See

If participants are unable to see, do voice recordings instead of note taking. If the participant is not able to take pictures, make sure they have help to cover that part of the documentation or skip photos.

Focus

If participants have trouble focusing on documenting over multiple days without supervision, if they get less motivated etc. take daily meetings discussing their observations for the day.

Speak

If participants are unable to speak, emphasize that the noting should be in greater detail, more thoughts and more added layers like - how did you feel - why did you feel that way? Just remember not to add too many layers so it becomes cumbersome to do the task.

Hear

If participants are unable to hear, emphasize that the noting should be in greater detail, more thoughts and more added layers like - how did you feel - why did you feel that way? Just remember not to add too many layers so it becomes cumbersome to do the task.

Touch

If participants are unable to touch, do voice recordings instead of note taking. If the participant is not able to take pictures, make sure they have help to cover that part of the documentation or skip photos.

Invest

Make sure you have the budget to ensure all materials for the participants to use.

Think

If participants have thinking limitations, getting continuous feedback and reminders of the task from a facilitator might be beneficial. Lower the time spent for the task.

Hold

If participants are unable to hold, do voice recordings instead of note taking. If the participant is not able to take pictures, make sure they have help to cover that part of the documentation or skip photos.

Overview

Input

A problem to be explored

Output

Data for explaining the problem

Complexity

Simple - Moderate

Time

2 days - 1 week

Participants

1

Activity

  • Writing
  • Taking pictures
  • Communicating

Step by step:

  1. Give the user a notepad/book and a means of taking pictures if they do not have it themselves.

  2. Ask the participant to note down thoughts they have when they experience the observed problem/problems they encounter. 

  3. Ask the participant to take pictures relevant to the problem as well

  4. Leave the participant to their daily routines letting them do the documentation.

  5. After a couple of days return and ask the participants to go through and explain their notes and show you their pictures.   

  6. Identify connections and patterns that might explain the issue.

When doing this method you should consider:

  • Make sure to take your time to explain to the participant what you expect from them and to answer any questions they might have
  • Make sure the participant is fully aware on how to use the equipment before leaving them for documenting

Materials needed:

  • Camera/Phone
  • Notepad/book
  • Voice recorder