Micro-Phenomenology as a Method for Studying User Experience in Human-Computer Interaction
Katrin Heimann, Minke Nouwens, Suneetha Saggurthi, P. Dalsgaard
International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems April 25, 2025 DOI: 10.1145/3706598.3714422 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Users of WeUsedTo, a website for sharing experiences related to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key findings | Argues that micro-phenomenological interviews combined with structured analysis can elicit and illuminate experiential aspects of interactive digital systems, demonstrated through a case study of the WeUsedTo website. The authors contend this approach is valuable for Human-Computer Interaction research, particularly for understanding embodiment, temporality, attention, agency, and the systemic nature of experience. |
Abstract
We examine how micro-phenomenology, a qualitative research method developed to attend to, articulate, and analyse lived experience in fine detail, can be employed to study the experience of using digital systems. Micro-phenomenological interviews unpack the specific experiences of interviewees in fine-grained detail and have previously been acknowledged as a potent tool for Human-Computer Interaction Research. More recently, the method has been extended to comprise a structured analysis method to systematically analyse the temporal unfolding and qualitative dimensions of experiences captured by the interviews. This is the first paper demonstrating the combined use of interviews and analysis via a case in which they were employed to examine the experience of using WeUsedTo, a website for sharing experiences related to the COVID-19 pandemic. On this basis, we discuss the potentials of the method for eliciting and understanding experiential aspects of interactive systems, particularly pertaining to embodiment, temporality, attention, agency, and the systemic nature of experience.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualitative thematic analysis of the phenomenology of near-death experiences Cardiac arrest survivors | 2018 | Qualitative study | n = 34 |
| Phenomenology and Sequelae of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine Use Psychiatrists who had taken MDMA | 1992 | Qualitative study | n = 20 |
| A phenomenology of meditation-induced light experiences: traditional buddhist and neurobiological perspectives American Buddhist practitioners | 2014 | Qualitative study | |
| Evoking the ineffable: The phenomenology of extreme sports. Extreme sports participants across three continents, including BASE jumping, big wave... | 2017 | Qualitative study | n = 15 |
| Phenomenology and content of the inhaled N, N-dimethyltryptamine (N, N-DMT) experience. Naturalistic inhaled N,N-DMT experiences posted to the r/DMT Reddit community | 2022 | Qualitative analysis | n = 3,778 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
Cites 5
- The Oxford Handbook of 4E Cognition Oxford University Press eBooks September 13, 2018
- Editorial: Working with others’ experience Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences December 19, 2022
- The lived experience of remembering a ‘good’ interview: Micro-phenomenology applied to itself Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences September 10, 2022
- Articulating Experience: Reflections from Experts Applying Micro-Phenomenology to Design Research in HCI International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems April 21, 2020
- Describing one’s subjective experience in the second person: An interview method for the science of consciousness November 29, 2006