Drivers Using Mobile Phones in Traffic: An Ethnographic Study of Interactional Adaptation

This article discusses present research methods in the area of drivers' use of mobile telephones in traffic. The authors first consider studies that used experimental approaches and that are based on a cognitive perspective, noting that these studies have influenced policy and design decisions thus far and discussing why this is problematic. The authors then present preliminary data from an ethnographic study of mobile phone use in traffic. In this type of research, the aim is to investigate the interactional adaptation by which the driver fits involvement with the phone with driving and vice versa. By video recording the activities of driving and handling the mobile phone, details are revealed that could not be found in experimental studies with a constructed setup. The authors conclude by discussing the advantages of this method and how to develop it further.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/10447318
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Special Issue: In Use, In Situ: Extending Field Research Methods
• Authors:
  • Esbjornsson, M
  • Juhlin, O
  • Weilemann, A
• Publication Date: 2007

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Pagination: pp 37-58
• Serial:
  • International journal of human-computer interaction. Vol. 13, no. 2
  • Volume: 22
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Brunel University. Dept. of Design
  • ISSN: 1044-7318

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Adaptation (Psychology); Automobile drivers; Behavior; Driver vehicle interfaces; Human machine systems; Methodology; Mobile telephones; Research; Technology; Traffic
• Uncontrolled Terms: Ethnography
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01056013
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 30 2007 9:47AM