Two Heads are Better than One: Pair-Interviews for Visualization

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Keywords

Human-centered computing—Visualization—Empirical studies in visualization

Abstract

Visualization research methods help us study how visualization systems are used in complex real-world scenarios. One such widely used method is the interview --- researchers asking participants specific questions to enrich their understanding. In this work, we introduce the pair-interview technique as a method that relies on two interviewers with specific and delineated roles, instead of one. Pair-interviewing focuses on the mechanics of conducting semi-structured interviews as a pair, and complements other existing visualization interview techniques. Based on a synthesis of the experiences and reflections of researchers in four diverse studies who used pair-interviewing, we outline recommendations for when and how to use pair-interviewing within visualization research studies.