One of the problems faced by any researcher conducting interviews with participants from a foreign culture is they risk introducing interviewer bias. At the same time, there are often issues associated with the interpretation of responses due to language difficulties.

The Repertory Grid technique is a valuable research tool that can be used to minimise these issues with the added benefit of providing both qualitative and quantitative insight into the thinking of those being interviewed.

This workshop will be a hands-on presentation for all attendees. It will be broken into three separate sections and provides opportunities for discussion and practical examples of how to use the technique.

1) Introduction – what is the repertory grid technique - attendees will be introduced to the repertory grid technique, with a short history of how it was originally intended to be used as well as examples of research where it has since been applied.
2) Elicitation: writing the questions – two different approaches in the questioning technique will be presented. Attendees will be encouraged to think about a project they want to investigate and will be able to workshop the question writing process.
3) Analysis: capturing the data – tools for capturing the data will be presented. Attendees will learn how to manually record information and prepare it for further analysis, identifying major trends and highly valued qualities.

The Repertory Grid technique is a very useful skill that any researcher in the field of user interaction should have as a part of their work kit. It is particularly helpful for identifying and evaluating what it is that participants like or dislike about an object or experience, and being able to support opinions with quantitative data.

To conclude the session we will participate in a brief example of the process as a group project from beginning to end.