Kształt powietrza: Badania user experience a wytwarzanie praktycznie użytecznej wiedzy o świecie społecznym
The Shape of Air: User Experience Research and the Production of Practically Useful Knowledge about “the Social”

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to demonstrate how knowledge about social reality can gain practical applicability due to its generativity, i.e. the participation in the production of objects that are then socially recognized as real and worth knowing. At the level of theory, the article draws on the research concerning the generative nature of knowledge, situated within Science and Technology Studies (STS). Empirically, the article uses the data collected within the study of user experience (UX) research, i.e. social research that is employed in designing digital products. The article shows that the productive effects of knowledge about ‘the social’ may be more difficult to obtain than previously assumed. In particular, they may require creating the epistemic objects of a certain shape - actionable and at the same time compatible with the practices and broader contexts in which knowledge is applied. Arguably, these requirements may pose a significant challenge for sociology.

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