Can Video-based Qualitative Analysis Help Us Understand User-algorithm Interaction?

There is growing debate in contemporary life over the roles played by algorithms when we browse online. In particular, concerns are raised that algorithmic processes to index, filter and personalise content can ‘manipulate’ user behaviours in ways that lead to detrimental outcomes both online and offline. This short paper reports on ongoing work to examine how users interact with algorithms when undertaking browsing tasks online. Drawing on insights from ethnomethodology and conversation analysis, this video-based approach produces rich and detailed observations of user behaviour and reveals several relevant patterns of interest. Our findings highlight that both user-algorithm interaction and users’ own practical reasoning play key roles in shaping the browsing experience.

Content

Author and article information

Contributors

Helena Webb

Menisha Patel

Conference

Publication date: July 2018

Publication date (Print): July 2018

Pages: 1-5

Affiliations

[0001]University of Oxford

Department of Computer Science

Wolfson Building, Parks Road

Oxford, UK OX1 3QD.

Article

DOI: 10.14236/ewic/HCI2018.141

SO-VID: 14592692-6514-47de-8176-b3e038f6eb64

Copyright statement: © Webb et al. Published by BCS Learning and Development Ltd. Proceedings of British HCI 2018. Belfast, UK.

License:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Conference name: Proceedings of the 32nd International BCS Human Computer Interaction Conference

Conference acronym: HCI

Conference number: 32

Conference location: Belfast, UK

Conference date: 4 - 6 July 2018

Conference sponsor: Electronic Workshops in Computing (eWiC)

Conference theme: Human Computer Interaction Conference

Product

Product Information: 1477-9358BCS Learning & Development

Self URI (article page): https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.14236/ewic/HCI2018.141

Self URI (journal page): https://ewic.bcs.org/

References

For example: World Economic Forum 2016 The State of Artificial Intelligence WEF Online at http://www:weforum:org/events/worldeconomic-forum-annual-meeting-2016/sessions/the-state-of-artificial-intelligence (retrieved 09/11/2017)
For overview see: B. MittelstadtP. AlloM. TaddeoS. WachterL. Floridi 2016 The ethics of algorithms: mapping the debate Big Data and Society 3 2 [Cross Ref]
For example: European Commission 2016 Algorithms and Collusion - Note from the European Union. EC at https://one:oecd:org/document/DAF/COMP/WD(2017)12/en/pdf
E. Pariser 2011 The Filter Bubble: what the Internet is hiding from you Viking London
A. HuntM. Gentzkow 2017 Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election Journal of Economic Perspectives 31 2 11 36 [Cross Ref]
L. Alexander 2016 Do Google ‘unprofessional hair’ results show its racist? The Guardian online 08 04 2016 http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/apr/08/does-google-unprofessional-hair-results-prove-algorithms-racist- (retrieved 09/11/2017)
C. Baraniuk 2016 LinkedIn denies gender bias claim over site search BBC News online 08 09 2016 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-37306828 (retrieved 09/11/2017)
For example: ACM 2017 Statement on Algorithmic Transparency and Accountability ACM at http://www:acm:org/binaries/content/assets/public-policy/2017_joint_statement_algorithms:pdf
B. Shackel 1997 Human-Computer Interaction -- Whence and Whither? Journal of American Society of Information Science 48 11 970 98
R. E. BucklinC. Sismeiro 2003 A model of web site browsing behavior estimated on clickstream data Journal of marketing research 40 3 249 267
M. SpiliopoulouL. C. Faulstich 1998 WUM: a tool for web utilization analysis International Workshop on the World Wide Web and Databases March 1998 184 203 Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
R. CooleyB. MobasherJ. Srivastava 1999 Data preparation for mining world wide web browsing patterns Knowledge and information systems 1 1 5 32
X. FuJ. BudzikK. J. Hammond 2000 Mining navigation history for recommendation Proceedings of the 5th ACM international conference on Intelligent user interfaces Jan 2000 106 112
B. PanH. HembrookeT. JoachimsL. LorigoG. GayL. Granka 2007 In google we trust: Users’ decisions on rank, position, and relevance Journal of computer-mediated communication 12 3 801 823
M. EslamiA. RickmanK. VaccaroA. AleyasenA. VuongK. KarahaliosC. Sandvig 2015 I always assumed that I wasn’t really that close to [her]: Reasoning about Invisible Algorithms in News Feeds Proceedings of the 33rd annual ACM conference on human factors in computing systems April 2015 153 162
H. Garfinkel 1967 Studies in ethnomethodology Prentice Hall NJ
L. A. Suchman 1987 Plans and situated actions: The problem of human-machine communication Cambridge university press Cambridge
P. LuffJ. HindmarshC. Heath 2000 Workplace studies: Recovering work practice and informing system design Cambridge university press Cambridge
A. KoenePerez E. VallejosH. WebbM. PatelM. JirotkaS. CeppiM. RovatsosG. Lane 2017 Algorithmic fairness in online information mediating systems Proceedings of the 2017 ACM on Web Science Conference, WebSci 2017 Troy, NY, USA June 25-28 391 392 [Cross Ref]
C. HeathJ. HindmarshP. Luff 2010 Video in qualitative research Sage London
D. RoweC.P. Puto 1987 Do customers’ reference points affect their buying decisions? Advances in Consumer Research 14 188 192

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] For example: World Economic Forum 2016 The State of Artificial Intelligence WEF Online at http://www:weforum:org/events/worldeconomic-forum-annual-meeting-2016/sessions/the-state-of-artificial-intelligence (retrieved 09/11/2017)

[2] For overview see: B. MittelstadtP. AlloM. TaddeoS. WachterL. Floridi 2016 The ethics of algorithms: mapping the debate Big Data and Society 3 2 [Cross Ref]

[3] For example: European Commission 2016 Algorithms and Collusion - Note from the European Union. EC at https://one:oecd:org/document/DAF/COMP/WD(2017)12/en/pdf

[4] E. Pariser 2011 The Filter Bubble: what the Internet is hiding from you Viking London

[5] A. HuntM. Gentzkow 2017 Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election Journal of Economic Perspectives 31 2 11 36 [Cross Ref]

[6] L. Alexander 2016 Do Google ‘unprofessional hair’ results show its racist? The Guardian online 08 04 2016 http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/apr/08/does-google-unprofessional-hair-results-prove-algorithms-racist- (retrieved 09/11/2017)

[7] C. Baraniuk 2016 LinkedIn denies gender bias claim over site search BBC News online 08 09 2016 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-37306828 (retrieved 09/11/2017)

[8] For example: ACM 2017 Statement on Algorithmic Transparency and Accountability ACM at http://www:acm:org/binaries/content/assets/public-policy/2017_joint_statement_algorithms:pdf

[9] B. Shackel 1997 Human-Computer Interaction -- Whence and Whither? Journal of American Society of Information Science 48 11 970 98

[10] R. E. BucklinC. Sismeiro 2003 A model of web site browsing behavior estimated on clickstream data Journal of marketing research 40 3 249 267

[11] M. SpiliopoulouL. C. Faulstich 1998 WUM: a tool for web utilization analysis International Workshop on the World Wide Web and Databases March 1998 184 203 Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

[12] R. CooleyB. MobasherJ. Srivastava 1999 Data preparation for mining world wide web browsing patterns Knowledge and information systems 1 1 5 32

[13] X. FuJ. BudzikK. J. Hammond 2000 Mining navigation history for recommendation Proceedings of the 5th ACM international conference on Intelligent user interfaces Jan 2000 106 112

[14] B. PanH. HembrookeT. JoachimsL. LorigoG. GayL. Granka 2007 In google we trust: Users’ decisions on rank, position, and relevance Journal of computer-mediated communication 12 3 801 823

[15] M. EslamiA. RickmanK. VaccaroA. AleyasenA. VuongK. KarahaliosC. Sandvig 2015 I always assumed that I wasn’t really that close to [her]: Reasoning about Invisible Algorithms in News Feeds Proceedings of the 33rd annual ACM conference on human factors in computing systems April 2015 153 162

[16] H. Garfinkel 1967 Studies in ethnomethodology Prentice Hall NJ

[17] L. A. Suchman 1987 Plans and situated actions: The problem of human-machine communication Cambridge university press Cambridge

[18] P. LuffJ. HindmarshC. Heath 2000 Workplace studies: Recovering work practice and informing system design Cambridge university press Cambridge

[19] A. KoenePerez E. VallejosH. WebbM. PatelM. JirotkaS. CeppiM. RovatsosG. Lane 2017 Algorithmic fairness in online information mediating systems Proceedings of the 2017 ACM on Web Science Conference, WebSci 2017 Troy, NY, USA June 25-28 391 392 [Cross Ref]

[20] C. HeathJ. HindmarshP. Luff 2010 Video in qualitative research Sage London

[21] D. RoweC.P. Puto 1987 Do customers’ reference points affect their buying decisions? Advances in Consumer Research 14 188 192