Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ethnography Through the Digital Eye: What Do We See When We Look?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Refiguring Techniques in Digital Visual Research

Part of the book series: Digital Ethnography ((DIETH))

  • 770 Accesses

Abstract

Eye-tracking technology is opening up more detailed ways to study what people look at and for how long, particularly in complex and dynamic visual environments, due to developments in mobile eye-tracking devices. However, while we might know where people’s eyes are directed, this does not tell us what they notice, how they make sense of what they see, or the surrounding spatial contexts in which this knowledge is constituted. Here, we consider two case studies that used mobile eye-tracking to understand decision-making when composing photographs. Together, these case studies suggest that visual design may be context dependent, and open new research directions in investigating what we see when we look.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Batty, C., A. Dyer, C. Perkins, and J. Sita. 2016. Seeing Animated Worlds: Eye tracking and the spectator’s experience of narrative. In Making Sense of Cinema: Empirical Studies into Film Spectators and Spectatorship, ed. C.D. Reinhard, & C.J. Olson, 165–186. New York: Bloomsbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boeriis, M., and J. Holsanova. 2012. Tracking Visual Segmentation: Connecting Semiotic and Cognitive Perspectives. Visual Communication 11 (3): 259–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boerman, S.C., E.A. Van Reijmersdal, and P.C. Neijens. 2015. Using Eye Tracking to Understand the Effects of Brand Placement Disclosure Types in Television Programs. Journal of Advertising 44 (3): 196–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogomolova, S., H. Oppewal, J. Cohen, and J. Yao. 2015. How the Layout of a Price Label Influences Unit Price Visual Attention and Choice During Grocery Shopping, May 25. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2610063 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2610063.

  • Dyer, A.G., B. Found, and D. Rogers. 2006. Visual Attention and Expertise for Forensic Signature Analysis. Journal of Forensic Science 51: 1397–1404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forrest, E. 2016. 12 Exploring everyday photographic routines through the habit of noticing. Digital Photography and Everyday Life: Empirical Studies on Material Visual Practices, 193–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gergle, D., and A.T. Clark. 2011. See What I’m Saying? Using Dyadic Mobile Eye Tracking to Study Collaborative Reference. In Proceedings of the ACM 2011 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW’11), 435–444. New York: ACM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grasseni, C. 2007. Introduction: Skilled Visions: Between Apprenticeship and Standards. In Skilled Visions, ed. C. Grasseni. Oxford: Berghahn.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, J.M., J.R. Brockmole, M.S. Castelhano, and M. Mack. 2007. Visual Saliency does not Account for Eye-Movements During Visual Search. In Real-World Scenes. Eye Movements: A Window on Mind and Brain, ed. R.P.G. Van Gompel, M.H. Fischer, W.S. Murray, and R.L. Hill. Oxford: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horsley, M. 2014. Eye Tracking as a Research Method in Social and Marketing Applications. In Current Trends in Eye Tracking Research, 179–182. Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horsley, M., M. Eliot, B.A. Knight, and R. Reilly. 2014. Current Trends in Eye Tracking Research. Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Itti, L., and C. Koch. 2000. A Saliency-Based Search Mechanism for Overt and Covert Shifts of Visual Attention. Vision Research 40: 1489–1506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jovancevic-Misic, J., and M. Hayhoe. 2009. Adaptive Gaze Control in Natural Environments. Journal of Neuroscience 29: 6234–6238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kustov, A.A., and D.L. Robinson. 1996. Shared Neural Control of Attentional Shifts and Eye Movements. Nature 384: 74–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Land, M.F. 2006. Eye Movements and the Control of Actions in Everyday Life. Progress in Retinal and Eye Research 25: 296–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Land, M.F., and M. Hayhoe. 2001. In What Ways do Eye Movements Contribute to Everyday Activities? Vision Research 41: 3559–3565.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Land, M.F., and D.N. Lee. 1994. Where we Look When we Steer. Nature 369: 742–744.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Land, M.F., and B.W. Tatler. 2001. Steering with the Head: The Visual Strategy of a Racing Driver. Current Biology 11: 1215–1220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Land, M.F., and B.W. Tatler. 2009. Looking and Acting: Vision and Eye Movements in Natural Behaviour. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Martinez-Conde, S., S.L. Macknik, and D.H. Hubel. 2004. The Role of Fixational Eye Movements in Visual Perception. Nature Neuroscience 5: 229–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mele, M.L., and S. Federici. 2012. A Psychotechnological Review on Eye-Tracking Systems: Towards User Experience. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology 7 (4): 261–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Navalpakkam, V., and E.F. Churchill. 2014. Eye Tracking: A Brief Introduction. In Ways of Knowing in HCI, ed. Judith S. Olson, and Wendy A. Kellogg, 323–348. New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Navon, D. 1977. Forest Before Trees: The Precedence of Global Features in Visual Perception. Cognitive. Psychology. 9: 353–383. doi:10.1016/0010-0285(77)90012-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Navon, D. 1991. Testing a Queue Hypothesis for the Processing of Global and Local Information. Journal of Experimental Psychology 120: 173–189. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.120.2.173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nodine, C.F., C. Mello-Thoms, H.L. Kundel, and S.P. Weinstein. 2002. Time Course of Perception and Decision Making During Mammographic Interpretation. American Journal of Roentgenology 179: 917–923.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olk, B., and R. Kappas. 2011. Eye Tracking as a Tool for Visual Research. In The Sage Handbook of Visual Research Methods, ed. E. Margolis, and L. Pauwels, 433–451. London: Sage.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Parkhurst, D., K. Law, and E. Niebur. 2002. Modeling the Role of Salience in the Allocation of Overt Visual Attention. Vision Research 42: 107–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pink, Sarah. 2013. Doing Visual Ethnography, 3rd ed. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pink, Sarah. 2015. Doing Sensory Ethnography, 2nd ed. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reingold, E.M., N. Charness, M. Pomplun, and D.M. Stampe. 2001. Visual Span in Expert Chess Players. Psychological Science 12: 48–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sprague, N., D.H. Ballard, and A. Robinson. 2007. Modeling Embodied Visual Behaviors. ACM Transactions on Applied Perception 4 (2): 11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tatler, B. 2007. The Central Fixation Bias in Scene Viewing: Selecting an Optimal Viewing Position Independently of Motor Biases and Image Feature Distributions. Journal of Vision. doi:10.1167/7.14.4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thiele, A., M. Henning, K. Buischik, and P. Hoffman. 2002. Neural Mechanisms of Saccadic Suppression. Science 295: 2460–2462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weibel, N., A. Fouse, C. Emmenegger, S. Kimmich, and E. Hutchins. 2012. Let’s look at the Cockpit: Exploring Mobile Eye-Tracking for Observational Research on the Flight Deck. In Proceedings of the Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications, 107–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, K., D.A. Hanauer, N. Weibel, and Z. Agha. 2015. Computational Ethnography: Automated and Unobtrusive Means for Collecting Data in Situ for Human–Computer Interaction Evaluation Studies. In Cognitive Informatics for Biomedicine, 111–140. Berlin: Springer International Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

    Shanti Sumartojo, Adrian Dyer, Jair García & Edgar Gómez Cruz

Authors
  1. Shanti Sumartojo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Adrian Dyer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jair García
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Edgar Gómez Cruz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shanti Sumartojo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Digital Ethnography Research Centre, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

    Edgar Gómez Cruz

  2. Digital Ethnography Research Centre, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

    Shanti Sumartojo

  3. Digital Ethnography Research Centre, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

    Sarah Pink

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Sumartojo, S., Dyer, A., García, J., Cruz, E.G. (2017). Ethnography Through the Digital Eye: What Do We See When We Look?. In: Gómez Cruz, E., Sumartojo, S., Pink, S. (eds) Refiguring Techniques in Digital Visual Research. Digital Ethnography. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61222-5_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61222-5_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-61221-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-61222-5

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation