exercises

9. evaluation techniques

EXERCISE 9.2

What are the benefits and problems of using video in experimentation? If you have access to a video recorder, attempt to transcribe a piece of action and conversation (it does not have to be an experiment - a soap opera will do!). What problems did you encounter?

answer

The benefits of video include: accurate, realistic representation of task performance especially where more than one video is used; a permanent record of the observed behaviour.

The disadvantages include: vast amounts of data that are difficult to analyse effectively; transcription; obtrusiveness; special equipment required.

By carrying out this exercise, you will experience some of the difficulties of representing a visual record in a semi-formal written format. If you are working in a group, discuss which parts of the video are most difficult to represent, and how important these parts are to understanding the clip.

Other exercises in this chapter

ex.9.1 (ans), ex.9.2 (ans), ex.9.3 (ans), ex.9.4 (ans), ex.9.5 (ans), ex.9.6 (tut), ex.9.7 (tut)

all exercises for this chapter