[Air-l] Number Fetishism

This is for our friend from Oz who is so keen on quantitative analysis to the exclusion of all else.........Alex Kuskis Alertbox, March 1, 2004: Risks of Quantitative Studies Summary: Number fetishism leads usability studies astray by focusing on statistical analyses that are often false, biased, misleading, or overly narrow. Better to emphasize insights and qualitative research. There are two main types of user research: quantitative (statistics) and qualitative (insights). Quant has quaint advantages, but qualitative delivers the best results for the least money. Furthermore, quantitative studies are often too narrow to be useful and are sometimes directly misleading. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html