anthropology is the study of human behavior through cultures, how people interact with one another, what social values those interactions have, and the motivations for their actions. as fascinating as this is all on its own, it offers a really unique potential for a research method for designers, who are, as always, looking to understand culture and interaction in an attempt to better and more pleasantly serve them. in the words of karl marx, "the philosophers have only interpreted the world, the point, however, is to change it." the same could be said for anthropologists.
tim plowman introduces the notion of the "imponderabilia of actual life," first coined by one of the fathers of anthropology, bronislaw malinowski. imponderabilia is what comes up during the research method of ethnography; it is the indescribable basicness of daily living as it appears to a native, and the goal of ethnographic research is to be able to comprehend that ordinariness that the "natives" can't articulate.
he was the first true anthropologist in that rather than watching and presuming, and getting information secondhand, he chose instead to live with the people he was studying and thoroughly document them.
ethnography differs from surveying in its scope and its depth. surveys can include huge swaths of population, but reveal far less nuance or personality, whereas ethnography focuses on understanding deeply the personal issues of individuals within a culture.
documenting the inexpert, improvisational problem solving utilized by people in their natural habitat can be the most useful method for determining ways to improve their experience. the designer can see what their users are struggling with and help them using outside expertise.
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