Role: Lead researcher

Context: Collaborative Writing

Study method: Online Experiment

Analysis method: Quantitative + Qualitative (thematic analysis)

Outcome: Design recommendations

Abstract: Collaborative writing is prevalent, yet is rife with issues of discomfort and miscommunication among others despite access to limitless text. Editing, one key activity in collaborative writing, is prone to such issues, and providing rationales could be a promising solution. To understand the efcacy of rationales in this context, we conducted an online experiment pairing 40 participants to co-write two essays on Google Docs—one without rationales (control) and another with rationales (treatment)—followed by post-experiment surveys (N=40) and interviews (N=11) with participants who received edits with and without rationales. Despite no signifcant diferences between conditions in survey results, interviews revealed that most people preferred collaborating with those who provided rationales and perceived them more favorably. All interviewees deemed rationales important in collaborative writing and felt the pros outweighed the cons. We contribute design recommendations with illustrative examples for efective collaborative writing.

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Role: Lead researcher

Context: Music Sharing

Study method: Survey

Analysis method: Quantitative + Qualitative (thematic analysis)

Outcome: Multi-cultural insights, Design recommendations

Abstract: Collaborative playlists (CPs) enable users of streaming platforms to share and discover music through co-curation. Recent studies involving predominantly North American samples have found that CPs are created for a variety of contexts, help users organize and access music, facilitate music discovery, and support social connections. Yet, despite these important benefits, little is known about how CP usage aligns or varies across different cultures. We conducted an exploratory study to better understand the landscape of collaborative music engagement with a focus on Hong Kong, South Korea, Quebec, and the United States. We found that across these cultures, previously established purposes for engaging in CPs apply, yet with different degrees of emphasis. Perceived and expected CP outcomes and broader perspectives on social connection through music also varied by location and CP user type. With these findings we discuss primary similarities and differences across the studied cultures and highlight directions for future investigations to further elucidate how music platforms with CP functionalities—and social capabilities more generally—can better help users achieve their desired goals around music.

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Role: Lead researcher

Context: Music Sharing

Study method: Interview

Analysis method: Qualitative (thematic analysis)

Outcome: Design recommendations + Music Sharing Framework

Abstract: Music sharing is a common social activity that people have long engaged in, from gifting mixtapes to sharing music links. Our practices around sharing music have shifted markedly with the advent of streaming music platforms and social media, and it has remained an important part of our social fabric. Yet there is a dearth of research on how people share music today, and our understanding of attitudes and practices of sharing music across cultures is even more lacking. To understand how people across cultures engage in music sharing, we have conducted interviews with 32 participants from two cultures: South Korea and United States. Through qualitative analysis, we found largely three reasons why people share music, types of music shared, strategy factors considered when sharing music, outcomes achieved, and challenges people experience when sharing music. We present a framework of music sharing that visualizes these components of the music sharing process. From these results, we identify similarities and differences that emerged. We derive design implications for music sharing platforms including providing varied avenues for feedback on shared music, motivating users to share more, and helping users to better manage shared music.

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Role: Lead researcher

Context: Collaborative playlist (Spotify)

Study method: Survey + Interview

Analysis method: Quantitative (e.g., Kruskal Wallis, Wilcoxon Rank Sum) + Qualitative (thematic analysis)

Outcome: Design Implications

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how people come together through technology and engage with music. Collaborative Playlists (CP) have also taken on new roles and value. To understand how CP usage and perception have evolved since the onset of COVID-19, we conducted a mixed-methods investigation of CPs in the United States. Survey results from primarily CP users (N=142) revealed that interest in and usage of CPs have mostly increased since the pandemic, and that the role of music in connecting with others is positively correlated with the perceived impact of COVID-19. Follow-up interviews (N=9) provided additional insights into changing perceptions and usage patterns of CPs during COVID-19 towards being a useful social feature that enables feeling connected.

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Role: Lead researcher

Context: Collaborative playlist (Spotify)

Study method: Monadic survey (exploratory)

Analysis method: Qualitative (thematic analysis)

Outcome: Codebook of Critical Collaborative Playlist Factors

Abstract: Despite the critical role of collaborative playlists (CPs) in digitally connecting people through music, we still understand very little about the needs and desires of real-world users, and how CPs might be designed to best serve them. To bridge this gap in knowledge, we conducted a survey with CP users, collecting open-ended text responses on what aspects of CPs they consider most important and useful, and what they viewed as missing or desired. Using thematic analysis, we derived from these responses the Codebook of Critical CP Factors, which comprises eight categories. We gained insights into which aspects of CPs are particularly useful —for instance, the ability for multiple collaborators to edit a single playlist — and which are absent and desired—such as the ability for collaborators to communicate about a CP or the music contained therein.

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Role: Lead researcher

Context: Social media (Twitter)

Study method: Focus group interview (exploratory) + Sequential monadic survey (experimental)

Analysis method: Quantitative (e.g., t-test, ANOVA, chi-square) + Qualitative (thematic analysis)

Outcome: Quantification + Articulation of reasons + Design implications

Abstract: Simplicity in nonverbal actions may come at a cost to the users. Through two questionnaire-based studies, we found that there was no single dominant reason for each nonverbal action—rather, users were varied in what they felt were the reasons for taking particular online actions. Users also felt more positive about certain reasons more than others, and how one felt about a nonverbal action was found to correlate with their affect for the reason thought to be behind that action. Finally, we found that not being aware of why an action was taken could lead to negative affect for an action. Unexplained nonverbal actions in online platforms evoke more negative affect than those same actions when their reason is known; surfacing rationales could be one way to mitigate the unintended uncertainty and misunderstandings inherent in how indicators of nonverbal online actions are currently designed.

📝 PAPER

Role: Lead researcher

Context: Collaborative playlist (Spotify)

Study method: Survey + Interview (exploratory)

Analysis method: Quantitative (e.g., t-test, FET, Jaccard similarity, linear regression) + Qualitative (synthesis)

Outcome: Interrelationship + Design implications

Abstract: We conducted a two-part study to investigate real-world usage of collaborative playlists (CPs) using an exploratory survey. We queried CP users on characteristics—Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How—and practices around favorite CPs, which serve as concrete examples of successful social music curation on streaming platforms. We found these playlists to vary in group sizes, purposes, listening contexts, engagement behaviors, and content attributes. We also observed significant cross-category interactions; for one, group size led to differences in perceived roles and frequency of actions within users’ favorite CPs. Subsequent interviews confirmed favorite CPs as being exemplary of success, and users further elucidated factors that engender and hinder CP success.

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Role: Lead researcher

Context: Collaborative playlist (Spotify)

Study method: Monadic survey with walkthrough experience (experimental)

Analysis method: Quantitative (e.g., ANOVA) + Qualitative (thematic analysis)

Outcome: Design implications

Abstract: We conducted two studies using online surveys to understand perceived comfort with and hesitation toward the social dynamics embedded in CPs. Differences in collaborators’ ownership perceptions toward CPs and their comfort in interacting with these CPs emerged. We also found a varying desire for situated communication, dependent upon the action taken and perceived ownership (of both a CP and the songs contained), with more users expecting greater comfort when a communication channel exists.

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Role: Lead researcher

Context: Social media (Twitter)

Study method: Monadic survey (exploratory)

Analysis method: Quantitative (e.g., t-test, linear regression, mediation analysis) + Qualitative (thematic analysis)

Outcome: Design implications

Abstract: To better understand factors of fandoms’ collaborative success for arguably unrelated social goals, we conducted a survey focusing on ARMYs’ perceptions of their fandom and their social effort. Most ARMYs viewed the fandom as a community, loosely structured with pillar accounts. They reported trust in each other as well as high team composition, which mediated the relationship between their neutral psychological safety and high efficacy. Respondents attributed their success in #MatchAMillion to shared values, good teamwork, and established infrastructure. Our findings elucidate contextual factors that contribute to ARMY’s collaborative success and highlight themes that may be applied to studying other fandoms and their collaborative efforts.

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🎥 VIDEO

Role: Lead researcher

Context: Social media + Video-conferencing (Zoom)

Study method: Survey + Focus group (exploratory)

Analysis method: Quantitative (e.g., mean difference) + Qualitative (thematic analysis)

Outcome: Design implications

Abstract: We show evidence that unexplained nonverbal actions in online platforms evoke more negative affect than those same actions when their reason is known. Further, through pilots we show that unmanaged nonverbal interaction in video-conferencing can evoke hostile attribution bias. We posit that surfacing rationales behind nonverbal actions will increase empathy and richness in video-conferencing and other online interactions crucial to the future of work. Widespread increases in remote work has amplified the prevalence of these challenges, motivating further study of nonverbal actions online and their consideration in CSCW system designs.

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🎥 VIDEO

Role: Lead researcher

Context: Autonomous vehicle

Study method: Sequential monadic survey (experimental)

Analysis method: Quantitative (e.g., correspondence analysis, principal component analysis, t-test, chi-square)

Outcome: Design implications + Influence diagram

Abstract: Autonomous vehicle (AV) systems are developing at a rapid pace, not only in technological capabilities, but also in human-centered directions. Despite this development, we lack a nuanced understanding of driver preference in decision scenarios that semi-AVs will face, and of possible misalignment between semi-AV decisions and user preference. Using an online survey, we explore how participants would like semi-AVs to act and alert them of the vehicles’ decisions in various scenarios. Participants reported varying levels of comfort with autonomy, desire to takeover control, and desire for AV informing. Individual differences, including level of experience with autonomy and situation awareness, affected perceptions of the vehicle. Our results highlight the importance of considering driver preference in AV decision-making, and we present an influence diagram that situates this factor among others. We also derive five design principles, including that a previous positive AV experience can lead to more harmful consequences for AVs when not aligned with driver preference.

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Role: Lead researcher

Context: Collaborative playlist (Spotify)

Study method: Survey (exploratory)

Analysis method: Quantitative (e.g., Wilcoxon rank-sum test) + Qualitative (thematic analysis)

Outcome: Collaborative Playlist Framework

Abstract: We examine how technologies can enhance interpersonal relationships, specifically through the context of the collaborative playlist (CP). We conducted an exploratory study of CP users and non-users (N=65) and examined speculative and experienced purposes and outcomes of CPs, as well as general perspectives on music and social connectedness. We derived a CP Framework with three purposes—Practical, Cognitive, and Social— and two connotations—Utility and Orientation. Both users and non-users shared similar perspectives on music-related activities and CP user outcomes. Projected and actual CP purposes differed between groups, however, as did perception of music’s role in connectedness in recent years. These results highlight the importance of music-based social interactions for both groups.

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🎥 VIDEO

Role: Lead researcher

Context: Human-food interaction

Study method: Theory building (foundational)

Outcome: Culinary Interactions Framework

Abstract: The significance and interest in food and food-related activities are growing, and along with this movement there is a surge of human-computer interaction technologies in the food industry, also known as human-food interaction (HFI). We introduce Culinary Interactions Framework, which provides a way of positioning and evaluating each HFI product and service in the food subsystem that focuses on the culinary processes. This framework helps understand the HFI technology landscape, and identifies more nuanced points of interactions between human and robot. We also present ideas for future works to develop this framework further, with respect to more sophisticated levels of autonomy, expansion to other food subsystems beyond the culinary processes, and exploration of latent needs around HFI.

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