The walkthrough method: An approach to the study of apps

By Ben Light, Jean Burgess, Stefanie Duguay. New Media & Society, 2018

875 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Software applications (apps) are now prevalent in the digital media environment. They are the site of significant sociocultural and economic transformations across many domains, from health and relationships to entertainment and everyday finance. As relatively closed technical systems, apps pose new methodological challenges for sociocultural digital media research. This article describes a method, grounded in a combination of science and technology studies with cultural studies, through which researchers can perform a critical analysis of a given app. The method involves establishing an app’s environment of expected use by identifying and describing its vision, operating model and modes of governance. It then deploys a walkthrough technique to systematically and forensically step through the various stages of app registration and entry, everyday use and discontinuation of use. The walkthrough method establishes a foundational corpus of data upon which can be built a more detailed analysis of an app’s intended purpose, embedded cultural meanings and implied ideal users and uses. The walkthrough also serves as a foundation for further user-centred research that can identify how users resist these arrangements and appropriate app technology for their own purposes.

Subfields: Sociology and Political Science, Human-Computer Interaction

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/38c22f233963b0cc6af747b91c076707001e8df4

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Sociology and Political Science

1. Diana Zulli
2. Jing Zeng
3. Xu Chen
4. David James Zulli
5. Valdovinos Kaye
6. D. Bondy
7. Joëlle Swart

In Human-Computer Interaction

1. Diana Zulli
2. David James Zulli
3. Joëlle Swart

Citations in the corpus

• The co-evolution of two Chinese mobile short video apps: Parallel platformization of Douyin and TikTok (2020, methodology): “This conception of governance looks at the platforms themselves but also, in a broader sense, how ByteDance manages and regulates user activity according to specific operating models (Light et al., 2018).”
• Extending the Internet meme: Conceptualizing technological mimesis and imitation publics on the TikTok platform (2020, methodology): “The walkthrough method involves three general stages: registration and entry, every-day use, and suspension, closure, and leaving (Light et al., 2018).”
• Experiencing Algorithms: How Young People Understand, Feel About, and Engage With Algorithmic News Selection on Social Media (2021, methodology): “It proposes a qualitative research design combining reflexive in-depth interviews with the concurrent walk-through method (Light et al., 2018) and think-aloud protocols (Charters, 2003) to capture young people’s algorithmic experiences.”