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7.3: Talk-Aloud Protocols

  • Page ID
    50722
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    Talk-Aloud Protocols

    Talk-Aloud Protocols, or TAP as we’ll refer to them in this section, are a useful way to get a window into what is happening when someone is using a service or document. In the protocol, you ask a user to perform a given task while talking aloud their thought process. The TAP focuses on figuring out how folks interpret what is in front of them and the strategies they use to navigate through a document or service. There is some element of artificiality to TAP because of the self-filtering that happens when your participants talk aloud, and there is also a level of hyper-focus that wouldn’t exist otherwise. With that said, the approach can be extremely useful to figure out how well folks can find a particular bit of information or operate with a document or website or service.

    Structure

    Usually a talk aloud protocol happens in a controlled environment where there are recording tools available. Using a PC, you can often make use of a webcam to track the focus of your participant while they are looking through the text that you’ve chosen or a website. Using a TAP is very common in testing websites in particular.

    The TAP is oriented around a series of tasks that you have chosen for your participant(s). You might ask them to find a bit of information in a website or document. You might ask them to finish a task like registering for a course or event. You could even ask them to locate an item in a store. The task will depend on what you’re hoping to find out.

    As the participant performs the task, you’ll ask that they verbalize their thought process. You may find it useful to model this for them first. The goal is that as they’re searching through a site or document that they’ll explain the rationale behind where they are looking and what they are doing. This type of talking can be useful because it can at times provide a window into the way your audience perceives your text or site and allows you a window into the framework they use for navigation and value making.

    In general, you’ll want to allow your participant to do their own work, though you may need to prompt them with the next step of your protocol as you’re going through, or you may need to assist them if they get frustrated and stuck. The goal here is to keep getting information from your participant, not to make them hate the process and experience.

    Technology

    When you’re carrying out a TAP, you’ll be able to use any number of technologies to assist. Some suits of software are specifically designed for TAP work, including Silverback for Macs. You may also use screen recording tools to track what is going on, or screen casting software to capture both the screen and the participant. In remote research you can often use services like Skype with video chat and screen sharing to see both the participant and your target text as they navigate it. You can also record someone in a physical space if they are navigating a place or a printed text. This relatively flexibility via technology makes TAP work a great choice whenever you need to know how someone would use your text or site or when you need to figure out why folks are getting to the wrong place.

    Interpretation

    When you’re watching a TAP or reviewing the TAP after the fact, you can interpret data from any number of sources. First, you can simply watch the eyes and progress of your participant for valuable information. Where do they look first? What is their natural first choice to solve an issue? Is this the same first choice you’d assumed they would make? Second, you can listen to what they’re putting forward as their logic of navigation. Ideally, they’ll explain where they are looking and why. You can see if this logic matches up with the logic of your text and whether there needs to be a change in the text to match up with or defeat their logic’s appropriateness. (For example, someone might misread a term on your site and use faulty logic from that misreading to take them down the wrong path. In that case you might want to alter the terms on your site so you don’t accidentally mislead folks with terms they interpret differently than you intended).


    This page titled 7.3: Talk-Aloud Protocols is shared under a CC BY-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Adam Rex Pope.

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