Development of a Visual Media Tool: Constructing a New Methodology for Observational Research

在开发、改进和使用视觉媒体工具的过程中，以及在传播视觉媒体工具以供实际使用的过程中，人们清楚地看到，视觉媒体工具的传播功能对观察研究的方法论基础具有多么大的变革性。在促进基于文字的思维和视觉思维之间的相互交流方面，这种媒体工具不仅仅是在记录的数据上添加书面或口头注释，它的应用通过促进观察者对关键场景的视觉理解的实时记录来支持观察的即时性和重要性。在进行这项研究时，很明显这在多方观察后视频会议分析会议期间如何促进严格的讨论，允许包含不同观点和观看的讨论。

What became clear in the process of developing, improving and using a visual media tool, as well as in the process of disseminating it for practical use, was how transformative its communicative function can be to the methodological foundation of observational research. In furthering the intercommunication between word-based thinking and visual thinking, this media tool does not simply add written or verbal notes to recorded data, its application supports the immediacy and importance of what isobserved by facilitating the real-time recording of an observer’s visual understandingof critical scenes. In doing this study, it became clear how this does much to furtherrigorous discussion during multi-party, post-observational video conferencing analysis sessions, allowing a discussion that embraces diverse points of view and of viewing.