Survey, observational, and qualitative research can all support carmakers' decisions about how to design a dashboard. Photo: insta_photos/Shutterstock
Here's a story about automobile dashboards! After leaning in to designing cars with touchscreen dashboard controls, automakers seem to be heading back to basic buttons. This summary, from the website PopSci.com, discusses the variety of research that went into the decision–all of which fits into Chapter 6.
I thought it was only me who hated the touchscreen in my new car, but I'm not alone:
For years, car safety experts and everyday drivers have bemoaned the loss of the humble button. Modern cars have almost unilaterally replaced dashboards full of tactile knobs with sleek, iPad-like digital displays, despite concerns these alluring devices might be making distracted driving worse. But there are signs the tide might be shifting.
A. Some of the research behind the shift to more dashboard knobs and buttons has been qualitative, as described by this statement about focus groups:
“When we tested with our focus group, we realized that people get stressed, annoyed and steamed when they want to control something in a pinch but are unable to do so,” Ha [a designer at Hyundai] said.
B. Some of the research came from survey data:
A survey of U.S. car owners by JD Power last year found a consecutive two-year decline in overall consumer satisfaction with their vehicles for the first time in 28 years. The main driver of that dissatisfaction was complicated, difficult to navigate touch-based infotainment systems. […] Only 56% of drivers surveyed said they preferred to use their vehicle’s built-in infotainment systems to play audio.
“This year’s study makes it clear that owners find some technologies of little use and/or are continually annoying,” JD Power director of user experience benchmarking and technology Kathleen Rizk, said in a statement.
C. And some of the research came from observational data:
A 2017 study conducted by the AAA Foundation claims drivers navigating through in-car screens to program navigation apps and other features were “visually and mentally” distracted for an average of 40 seconds. A car traveling at 50mph could cover half a mile during that time. Buttons and knobs aren’t totally distraction-free, but research shows their tactile response allows drivers to use them more easily without looking down and away from the road.
Questions:
- Section A. Reread the short section on focus groups in Chapter 6 (pp. 171-173 in the 5th Edition). Ask one specific question about the Hyundai focus group in Section A, above, that would help you determine the quality of the focus group. (For example, I might ask, "how did the focus group moderators inform their participants about confidentiality?" You should ask another question!)
- Section B. Read through Chapter 6's section on survey wording (pp. 150-161 in the 5th Edition). Write two specific questions about the JD Power survey that might help you interrogate the survey's construct validity, and say a bit about why you are asking. Here's one example to get you started:
- Ex: Did JD Power pay attention to the order of questions (p. 155) in the survey? It might matter because if they asked about people's frustrations with their cars first, that might affect their responses to the general question about their overall satisfaction.
- Section C. The story links to two observational studies: one conducted by AAA, and one conducted by a car magazine in Sweden. Select one of these studies and read it. As you read, locate the answers to the following questions:
3a. How many different car models were tested? How did the car models vary?
3b. How many drivers were used to test the car models?
3c. What specific tasks did the study use in order to test the distraction level of touchscreens?
3d. Which car or cars were considered the safest, and which car or cars were considered the least safe, in terms of dashboard controls? What data supports this ranking? That is, how did the study researchers operationalize "good performance"?
3e. What makes this an observational study? Which observational study examples in Chapter 6 seems the closest to the car study? (see pp. 163-164).
3f. Do you think the study was susceptible to observer effects or observer bias? Explain your answer.