AEIOU
What is it?
AEIOU, acronym of Activities - Environments - Interactions - Objects and Users, is a method for recording and arranging observations during ethnographic studies. By using it you can gather and document data in different categories and easily reach them.
How can I use it?
You can use it simultaneously during the research process, or you can use it later to summarize the data obtained by multiple methods. Collect relevant data under each cluster of the acronym. Activities (What are the participants doing?), Environment (Where are they?), Interactions (What interactions are appearing?), Objects (What objects are there?), Users (Who are the participants?). Afterwards, you can reach the themes by using the affinity map.
When can I use it?
You can apply it when you want to summarize and visualize the wide and scattered information you will obtain in your exploratory research in a holistic way. It is a tool that you can use in your field studies, usability tests.