User-centric methodologies in research

Abstract

This workshop aims to discuss research methodologies in which users are at the center of the process. This type of research raises some interesting questions that will be discussed with workshop participants: How to define users?; How to profile users?; How to involve users in research processes?; How to deal with "vulnerable" populations?; How to take care of ethical aspects?; How to gather demographic data?; How to deal with data privacy issues?; What research instruments are better suited to elicit data from users? The workshop will use examples from existing projects developed within the TransMedia Catalonia research group in the field of media accessibility. Projects such as ImAc have adopted a user-centric methodological approach when designing and testing new access services such as subtitling or audio description. The aim of the workshop is to engage in a lively discussion in which workshop participants are expected to contribute with examples from their current and future research projects.