Verbal protocol

From EuroVR Knowledge Base

Description

The think-aloud protocol involves the participant vocalising his thoughts, goals, perception, opinions, feelings, and talking about his actions whilst performing a task or generally interacting with the VE. This allows the evaluator to understand how the participant approaches the task and their reasoning when interacting with the interface, as well as gain a better understanding of the participant’s mental model. Any differences between expectations of how to conduct a specific task and the actual sequence of steps required in order to complete the task are highlighted using this technique. The method is well established in psychological research on problem solving, and used in usability testing.

Primary Reference or Source

• Bainbridge, L. (1990) Verbal protocol analysis. In JR. Wilson and EN. Corlett (Eds), Evaluation of Human Work. London: Taylor and Francis.