December 2009
Volume 52, Number 12
Human Factors Blogs
Blogging About Human Factors/Ergonomics
Whether serving as a platform for advancing ideas and positions or providing commentary on news items, blogs have become an increasingly common method of communicating about a broad range of topics of interest to the general public. In recent years, blogs about science, technology, and medicine (STM), offered by both individuals and organizations, have emerged to promote STM fields and to communicate issues of interest to professionals and laypeople alike.
The recent HFES Communications and Publications Survey asked members to list blogs they read, which produced a lengthy list of science-related blogs (see "What Science and Research Blogs Do Members Read?" also in this issue of the HFES Bulletin). The list included some blogs that directly address HF/E topics. In this article, Communications Department staff posed some questions to the HFES members who created the HF/E blogs shown below, including why they blog, what they post about, and what kinds of responses they receive. Their responses are quoted here.
Why did you start your blog?
Resnick: I am a strong believer in the power of blogs as a communication tool, both one-to-many and many-to-many in the comments. They can create a discussion about important topics in ways that journal and conference publications cannot because in the latter, there is little feedback and not nearly the general accessibility. Blogs also cover a much wider scope - opinion, commentary, speculation - than traditional publications.
From a personal point of view, I think I have some good perspectives, and I was very interested in sharing them. The blog format is a way to share and get feedback on my ideas. Sometimes, the value is in being read and commented on. But often, just writing down your opinions in a publicly accessible medium forces you to develop and organize them better, whether anyone reads the blog or not.
Pak: I am a big news junkie and blog reader. I read many blogs around my interests, such as technology and current events, but there wasn't anything for psychological/human factors back in 2007. My friends and colleagues would send me interesting HF/E-related links and papers, or I'd stumble upon something interesting and forward it to my friends. The blog started as just that - a way to share interesting human factors news or links with the public. Human factors is a topic that many people may not know about but instantly recognize as important when they learn of it. Our original vision for the blog was to do detailed posts on papers and research, but that was just too time-consuming and probably too academic to be of interest to a wide audience.
McLaughlin: I saw so many news stories with a human factors/ergonomics angle, but no one mentioned that part of the story. I thought our blog could be a connection between everyday news and our field.
Shaver: There were several reasons why I started my blog in January 2009. First, it was a way to inform people about the existence of the discipline of HF/E, to educate them about the breadth of work we perform, and to discuss its relevance to everyday life. Second, I wanted to bridge the gulf that exists between the research and business worlds. Each year, HF/E researchers conduct and publish many studies, but unfortunately, much of it goes unread and unnoticed. Regrettably, disseminating HF/E knowledge to the wider world is not our strong point. I hope to address part of this shortcoming with my blog. Finally, it's another avenue to market the consulting services I provide for Benchmark Research & Safety, Inc.
Squire/Kidd/Cades: As a group, we decided to start the blog as an outlet for disseminating human factors/ergonomics research and ideas. Everyone experiences the benefits of HF/E every day, but in general people are unaware of the field. The blog represents an attempt to provide information to other HF/E professionals and the public on topics that might not be appropriate for full experiments or journal articles.
On what information sources do you draw for your posts?
Resnick: Really, just general awareness. I don't always specifically cite blogs and articles in my posts. Sometimes it's just a thought that comes to mind that I think deserves airing. Or perhaps it's a personal experience that is HF/E-related.
McLaughlin: I usually find interesting angles in recent news stories or other blog posts. I'm always looking to add analysis to these, or at to least point out how we can (or do) address the topic in HF/E. I also get good tips from readers and friends who know about the blog. Sometimes they even share pictures of something that caught their eye, such as a confusing sign or a dangerous activity.
Pak: Anything that comes across my blog reading, e-mail, or daily life (we have several posts with photos from our cell-phone camera). I mainly post items that are interesting to me (HF/E, aging, HCI, usability) and tend toward short informational posts. It is balanced by Anne McLaughlin's interests and style of posts. We make a good team.
Shaver: My posts are drawn from a variety of sources, including relevant journal articles, books, magazines, newspapers, current headlines, and discussions with the general public. The impetus for the posts comes from varied sources as well. For instance, on a recent business flight, I was fortunate enough to sit by one of Idaho's state senators. One of many topics we discussed was distracted driving. Given that our legislature is considering putting forth a bill outlawing texting while driving in the 2010 session, this was an opportune time to post on the topic. Thus, I developed a post entitled "Distracted Driving Resources" that brought together relevant online material in one location. I plan to follow this up with a post discussing the current findings on the topic from the HF/E literature in the near future.
Squire: I use two types of information sources: personal and professional experiences, and popular media. The personal and professional experiences are often the result of real-world user frustration I might experience in my daily activities. The popular media sources that I draw upon are news topics that have a human factors perspective.
Kidd: My posts have focused on hot human factors topics or HF/E issues that people could experience in any given day. My posts have been more about provoking thought than providing the reader with a definitive answer to a human factors problem. I am sure, however, to include some HF/E guidelines or results from research in the field for the reader to consider. I have drawn this information from both journals and textbooks. I have tried to avoid using popular media as a basis for my information, though I do consider it when thinking about a topic to post or if the information is pertinent and reliable for a post I am writing.
Cades: The information I post about generally begins with something I encounter or observe through the day. I then add information from my HF/E knowledge base and augment that with the necessary support from articles and textbooks.
Can you summarize the types of comments you receive?
Resnick: Usually, they are specifically about the post topic, adding insights. Sometimes they are specific questions about the topic I am discussing. Rarely do I get anything unrelated, antagonistic, or otherwise negative.
McLaughlin: Sometimes people feel strongly about an issue, so we can get emotional comments as well as analytical ones. We're fortunate that our commentators have kept all dialogue civil, so we don't have to moderate. Personally, I'd love to get more comments to make it more interactive, but I think most people prefer to read rather than interact.
Pak: Many of the comments clarify a point we made by adding information.
Shaver: They include appreciation for posting on a specific topic, clarifications regarding points I've made within a post, links to additional information, and trackbacks.
Squire: In general, the comments are about the post, reinforcing some specific statement made, or provide additional information that we should consider.
Do you feel your blog has helped to raise awareness of human factors/ergonomics, and if so, how?
Resnick: Not by much, because I don't have a large following. But the reposts on Facebook probably do a good job of publicizing human factors/ergonomics to a more general audience. I have several hundred contacts on Facebook, and my reposts go directly to the feed. But blogging has the potential to accomplish this.
McLaughlin: Very recently I had a mathematician from Emory University tell me that he liked our post on how the general public seems to believe users are partially to blame when an accident occurs due to human factors, whereas the victim is blameless if the culprit is a software bug. He said he'd never thought of it that way. So, I like to think we are ambassadors, even if many of our readers are already involved in the HF/E area.
Pak: I certainly hope so. I think it has raised awareness with those who may not traditionally identify with HF/E, such as designers and engineers. Anne McLaughlin and I have also received several e-mails in the course of our blog from students who were interested in HF/E and wanted more information. We do not have detailed audience statistics, but I get the impression that we have a very diverse audience.
Shaver: I believe it has helped raise awareness of the discipline of HF/E, mostly by informing others about the existence of our discipline, by providing concrete examples of relevant research, and by demonstrating the breadth of work performed by our professionals. Of course, there is still significant work to be accomplished. I hope others, including the Society, will take the opportunity to blog in the future. We need more qualified voices heralding the important work our profession is performing on a daily basis.
Squire/Kidd/Cades: What is really exciting about posting to the blog is that we feel we are helping raise awareness of human factors/ergonomics. We do not have many followers at this time, but we hope that as more people discover our blog, the word will start to spread. The goal of the blog is to gain followers, and with followers come momentum and impact. We feel that as technology and Internet connectivity become more mobile, people will become more familiar with blogs and use them more often as an information source.
One advantage that blogs have over traditional methods of disseminating information is that blog posts are short and easy to digest. The reader is able to get to the heart of the problem quickly, rather than having to wade through page after page of a news article. If we can provide our followers with short, easy-to-read posts about relevant HF/E issues, then we will certainly be more likely to gain followers and be more successful in raising awareness of HF/E issues.
The Human Factors Blog: Richard Pak, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Clemson University, where he studies human factors in the use of technology at work and at home. Anne McLaughlin, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychology at North Carolina State University, where she directs the Learning, Aging, and Cognitive Ergonomics Lab.
Human Factors: Marc Resnick, PhD, is principal and senior consultant for Usability Solutions, a consultancy in Miami, Florida, that provides customer strategy and usability engineering services. He has worked in a variety of sectors, including consumer products, Web design, health care, and social networking.
The Daily Human Factor: David Cades, MA, is a doctoral student studying human factors and applied cognition under the direction of Deborah Boehm-Davis at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. His research examines cognitive mechanisms of interrupted task performance in basic and applied setting. David Kidd, MA, is a doctoral student studying human factors and applied cognition under the direction of Christopher Monk at George Mason University. His research interests include driver distraction and dual-task performance. Peter N. Squire, PhD, is a human-system integration engineer with the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, VA. His research interests include automation and attention.
The Human Factor Advocate: Eric F. Shaver, PhD, is a senior consultant with Benchmark Research & Safety, Inc. in Boise, Idaho. He is also an affiliate assistant professor of psychology at the University of Idaho.
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