Topsight
Subtitle: a guide to studying, diagnosing, and fixing information flow in organizations
By: Clay Spinuzzi
Publisher: [CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform]
Published: 2013
Place of publication: United States?]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 302
ISBN-13: 9781481960069
Subjects: Organizational change; Communication in organizations
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-292).
Table of contents: title: Why we need topsight, and how we'll achieve it : Gaining topsight ; Thinking about organizations systematically : Thinking like a doctor; Thinking like a detective; Thinking systematically ; Field studies : The process; The ground rules ; Activities ; Information resources ; Getting started ; The case study: SEObrate : The organization ; Search Engine Optimization ; SEObrateMax ; SEObrate's workers; title: Phase I. Planning a study; title: Developing a research design : Developing a research question or concern : Types of research questions or concerns ; Vocabulary for research questions/concerns ; Developing a research design : What are methods?; What are data?; Developing the research design matrix ; Examples ; Research questions ; Research design matrix; title: Building in protections : Managing workers' risks: human subjects research guidelines ; Managing managers' risks: human subjects research guidelines ; Managing your own risks: trust building and reciprocity : Trust building through documents ; Trust building through actions ; Examples : Research proposal; Consent forms; Protocol; Site letter; title: Gaining permission : Who can advocate for you within the organization? ; Who gives permission formally? ; Who needs to gives permission informally? ; What arguments can persuade each of these stakeholders? ; How do you pitch your study to stakeholders? ; How do you modify your study? ; Examples : Study description; 30-second elevator pitch and three-minute description; title: Preparing for data collection : Paperwork ; Data collection tools ; Coordinating and organizing tools ; Maintaining confidentiality : Before the visit; After the visit; Rehearsing your materials; title: Phase II. Conducting the study; title: Introducing yourself to participants : Introducing yourself and establishing your role : THe facilitated introduction; The cold introduction ; Presenting the consent forms ; Affirming your role : Introducing yourself to nonparticipants; Bending the rules; title: Observing : Conducting observations and taking field notes ; Taking field notes: general advice ; Taking field notes at the meso (human) level ; Taking field notes at the micro (habit) level ; Taking field notes at the macro (organization) level ; Examples : Field notes; title: Interviewing : Types of interviews ; Structured interviews ; Unstructured interviews ; Semi-structured interviews ; Questions for semi-structured interviews: Opening questions; Observation-based questions; Closing questions ; The interview performance : Have a conversation before turning on the recorder; Pretend you're not nervous; Use body language; Pause and nod; React with your face; Ask follow-up questions ; Example : Interview; title: Artifacts : What are artifacts? ; Artifacts in observations ; Artifacts mentioned in interviews ; Artifacts in the background : Context; History; title: Collecting other sorts of data : Adding a method to get to a research question : Examples : Drawing pictures; Prototyping; Diary studies and systems monitoring ; Substituting a method : Example : Social media; title: Phase III. Navigating data; title: Triangulating data : Triangulating across data types ; Triangulating across data instances ; Hedging ; Letting triangulation do its work; title: Coding : Coding is like tagging ; Types of coding : starter codes; Open coding; Axial coding ; How to code : Coding on paper; Coding with a spreadsheet ; Examples : Coding scheme ; Coding applied to field notes; title: Reporting progress: the interim report : The jobs of the interim report : The interim report provides continuity in your overall argument; The interim report covers the progress that you're made so far; The interim report gives readers an idea of what happens next; The interim report tells readers not to act until you've finished your analysis ; The structure of the interim report : Introduction; Findings; Next steps ; Example : Interim report; title: Phase IV. Analyzing the data : Introduction to the analytical models : Understanding disruptions as symptoms: what's the disease? ; Meso-level models: the human level ; Micro-level models the habit level ; Macro-level: the organization level ; Looking across the models; title: Resource maps : Identifying information resources ; Identifying relationships among information resources ; Developing a resource map ; Detecting discoordinations; title: Handoff chains : Identifying communicative events ; Identifying sequences ; Developing a handoff chain; Detecting discoordinations; title: Triangulation tables : Understanding triangulation tables ; Building triangulation tables ; Detecting discoordinations; title: Breakdown tables : How do you identify operations and breakdowns? ; How do you depict operations and breakdowns? ; False positives; title: Developing activity systems : Developing the activity system ; Detecting contradictions in the activity network ; Developing a consolidated activity system; title: Developing topsight tables : Understanding topsight tables ; Developing topsight tables ; Generating findings from topsight table; title: Phase V. Reporting the results; title: Describing systemic issues : Claims, reasons, and evidence ; Turning your models into claims, reasons, and evidence : Developing the claim; Developing the reasons; Developing the evidence; title: Turning findings into recommendations : From descriptive findings to prescriptive recommendations : Will the recommendation solve the systemic issue?; How will it solve the systemic issue at each level of scope?; Will it create other problems in adjacent parts of the work?; Will it be acceptable to the organization? ; Make sure recommendations match findings; title: Writing the recommendation report : The recommendation report outline as an argument : Developing the report's introduction and methods section : writing the introduction; Writing the methods; Writing the findings; Writing the recommendations ; Example : Recommendation report; title: Beyond field studies : Design work ; Further research; title: Appendix A. Resources : Field studies, methods and methodologies ; Research ethics ; Developing arguments ; Activity theory, actor-network theory, genre theory, and models based on them; title: Appendix B. Rolling your own free, customized, free, multiplatform, and free qualitative data analysis tool, for free : Needs ; Don'ts ; Overview of my system ; Limitations ; How to set it up ; How to search ; How to print.