{"id":5488,"date":"2019-04-10T10:49:16","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T14:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/?p=5488"},"modified":"2019-04-10T10:49:20","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T14:49:20","slug":"observation-the-fairway-on-e-86th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/2019\/04\/10\/observation-the-fairway-on-e-86th\/","title":{"rendered":"Observation: The Fairway on E 86th"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I<\/strong>NFO 601-02 \u2013 ASSIGNMENT 3 \u2013 OBSERVATION \u2013 MADDY NEWQUIST<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The first item on my list was lemons and I found them\neasily; then I turned up another aisle, and there were more lemons\u2014ostensibly\nthe same kind, but a different price. And although it was easy to realize that\nI had simply been moving too quickly and had initially grabbed organic lemons\nby mistake, it did make me start thinking about signage (and consumer traps!)\nand how the shoppers in a grocery store interpret that signage, and so the\nsetting felt appropriate for this blog post about the observation of an\ninformation environment. I returned to the store a couple weeks later to view\nit as both a shopper trying to make the most efficient use of their time and an\nobserver taking notes on how well I was able to accomplish that task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physical Layout<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Constraints on the environment are perhaps owed to the fact\nthat this is a two-story store with the check-outs and the exit existing only\non one floor\u2014the same as the entrance. And while this is an unchangeable\nfeature of the space, it is absolutely necessary point out how well the\ninternal staircase is camouflaged. (Three elevators line the back wall, but who\nhas the time?) There is one sign and it is easy to miss, especially as it is\npositioned well above most people\u2019s line of sight and is only marked on one\nvisible side. It also only makes note of the meat and fish departments being\ndownstairs, ignoring two larger details: (a) that it is pointing to\/at stairs\nand not just informing people that somehow they need to get downstairs, and (b)\nthat all departments save those for produce and cheese were located downstairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Consumer Navigation<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t find the peanut butter. I\u2019d waited too long to\nask for help and I wasn\u2019t going to fold now\u2014for whatever reason, I needed to\nprove that I could do this in spite of my resistance to ask for or seek out\nhelp at the beginning of my search. Doesn\u2019t that sound familiar? Kuhlthau\u2019s\nInformation Search Process, although primarily applied to students in a\npaper-writing capacity, felt like an apt lens through which to view my, and\nreally anyone\u2019s, travels and travails through a grocery store:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At initiation, I recognized the need for new information so\nthat I could complete my shopping: I had to know where things were in this\nparticular store. At selection, I picked items on my list to begin searching\nfor as a way to become familiar with general navigation. Exploration and\nformulation were the biggest obstacle for me, as well as for Kuhlthau\u2019s\noriginal study subjects, and I could only reach stage five\u2019s collection after\nasking an intermediary or finally locating signage directly relevant for my search.\nI achieve search closure at both the location of each object on my list, and in\nthe check-out line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although upon looking back it maybe shouldn\u2019t have surprised\nme so much, but I did find it surprising how little interaction there was between\nuser and digital technology, unless it\u2019s through an intermediary\u2014cashiers, or employees\nweighing meat or fish behind counters. Intermediaries were available during the\nshopping experience and it was at the discretion of the shopper-user to seek\nthem out. And although there were more employees (and all willing to help)\nvisible than at other grocery stores, none were there just to help direct\nusers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with the sheer amount of signage, despite whether or not each sign actually imparted information, it felt like the store was saying to its shoppers: Why would you need us to help you? Can\u2019t you figure it out yourself? Look at all the signs we made to make it easy for you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Suggestions<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My general difficulty with navigating this information environment\ncame from the overwhelming proliferation of signage. Without sacrificing the\nnecessity of grocery stores to send their users on a bit of a wild goose chase\nin order for them to stock up on items they may not have on their original\nshopping lists, I would suggest a focus on these three action items to start:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • A better typographical system: while real estate\non an individual sign is limited, it is even more difficult to decipher when\ncategories are formatted as run-in lists, separated only by commas, rather than\nby columns which are easily deciphered visually.  The size of the font is also difficult to\nread, and it felt that the aisle number was given superficial importance over\nthis.<\/li>
  • Often supermarkets will have a general index\nattached to the end of each (or every other) aisle, which serve as a quick\nguide for both employees and users. An info guide such as this, or a blueprint\nmap by department (similar to the ones they have in IKEA stores), would be a\nhelpful addition to a user\u2019s experience.<\/li>
  • A clearer labeling of store staples with a typography\nsetting it apart from the other signage would help call out the stairs, elevators,\ncheckout lines with restrictions (e.g. \u201c15 items or less\u201d), and even the\nentrance and exit.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Reflection<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This observation setting could explore Buckland\u2019s\ninformation-as-process (reading and interpreting signs to varying degrees of\nsuccess) definition, but it is also an interesting look at how an information\nenvironment assumes certain inherent knowledge or ability to navigate its\ninternal system from its users. While I\u2019m not sure I can quite claim\n\u201chard-to-reach users\u201d as a factor here, there are some barriers to entry (or at\nleast to efficient use of the space), with increasing specificity: (a) knowledge\nof how grocery stores are generally laid out (i.e. produce near the entrance);\n(b) knowledge of how Fairway (or other chain brand) stores are generally laid\nout; and (c) knowledge of this specific [Fairway] location. This relates back\nto the first two stages of ISP, and can further be applied to suggestions for\nimprovement. Through this observation, I gained a greater appreciation for the\nbalance retail businesses must maintain between helping and leading astray\ntheir users; and I am convinced that there is a way to stabilize that balance\nwithout sacrificing one or the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    References:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Buckland, M. K. (1991). Information as Thing. Journal\nof the American Society for Information Science, 42<\/em>(5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Kuhlthau, Carol (2004). Seeking Meaning: a process\napproach to library and information services<\/em>. London: Libraries Unlimited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For further reading on grocery stores as information\nenvironments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ocepek, M. G. (2017). Passive information behaviors while\ngrocery shopping. Proceedings of the Association for Information\nScience and Technology,<\/em> 54<\/em>(1), 507-510.\ndoi:10.1002\/pra2.2017.14505401058<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    INFO 601-02 \u2013 ASSIGNMENT 3 \u2013 OBSERVATION \u2013 MADDY NEWQUIST The first item on my list was lemons and I found them easily; then I turned up another aisle, and there were more lemons\u2014ostensibly the same kind, but a different price. And although it was easy to realize that I had simply been moving too […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":631,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[396,354],"class_list":["post-5488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-information-behavior","tag-information-environment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/631"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5488"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5493,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5488\/revisions\/5493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}