Finally I am putting together the ‘Field Kits’ to be used as Cultural Probes for my investigation into preventative maintenance.
I am producing 5 kits and have identified a number of people who will act as subjects for the exercise.
They include:
- a woman who owns a horse
- a keen road cyclist
- a semi-professional tailor
- a saxophonist
- a mountain biker
I need the kit to ask a series of questions, but need to be careful that the questions don’t prejudice the answers.
One of the postcards in the Field Kit asks:
how did you acquire the equipment that you use for maintenance?
Originally I had thought to as “how did you come to own the equipment…..”, but changed this as it assumes that the equipment is owned by the person using it and not borrowed or rented. This is a good example of where care needs to be taken over the language used to ask questions.
Gordon Young 