Chapter 3
"Rainy days work best for us": Lessons from Home-Based Family Interviews
In the spring of 2012 we carried out an interview study with 13 families who live and work in small organic farms. The purpose of the study was to expand the design space for family technologies. However, we found that interviewing a unique demographic also expanded the methodological space for family studies. Based on the challenges we faced in studying farm families, we draw four lessons that can extend beyond the farm to different families in different situations. First, we suggest paying attention to the family’s unique temporal rhythms: growth, seasons, school calendars, work schedules, etc. Second, we propose ways to deal with dynamic interviews where family members come and go, such as dedicating resources to capture a fuller picture of the dynamic environment. Third, we emphasize hearing everyone’s voices for seeing different perspectives of different family members. Fourth, we remind that family life involves conflicts and emotions that might emerge during a study and that the researchers need to face.
