"Democratizing Research" with Noam Segal
Note: If you arrived here after watching my UXRConfAnywhere talk (thanks for watching!), this conversation is a great compliment to that, as I expand on many of those ideas in more detail and talk about where they came from.
Back in April, Noam Segal was kind enough to host me on his show “UXR Conversations” to talk about democratizing research (one of my favorite topics). As a follow up to the show, I wanted to share a few links to things that I mentioned.
The HCDE Program
In talking about how I ended up in research, I brag about the Human Centered Design & Engineering program at the University of Washington, and specifically working with faculty like Professor Beth Kolko and Professor Charlotte Lee. The program is truly one of the best in the world for developing the skills to think critically about understanding ourselves, so that we can be critical about understanding what we’re building.
Defining “Democratizing Research”
Starting around 9:00, I talk about what “democratizing research” means to me and why it’s so important for us to embrace as a practice. I’ve expanded upon this more in my interview with dscout. Noam rightfully pushes me to make the case against democratization, which I dive into around the 14 minute mark.
People I’m Learning From
At the 37 minute mark, I talk about how I believe anyone can be a researcher, given my own biases and orientation. I call out both Vivianne Castillo and Alba Villamil as two individuals who are bringing new perspectives to our practice and pushing the discipline to be more thoughtful and critical in our practice.
References & Readings
Simulacra and Simulations by Jean Baudrillard (apologies for the highlights)
“Do Artifacts Have Politics?” by Langdon Winner