• As a participant in an interactive multimedia design project, you will observe incidents or listen to reports of incidents which relate to the development and impact of the program. It is important that this kind of anecdotal information be systematically recorded so that the story of the development and outcomes of this project can be understood. Therefore, you should complete an Anecdotal Record Form whenever you witness or hear of a significant incident relating to the progress and accomplishments of project. An anecdotal record is a verbal account which exhibits these characteristics:
  1. Each anecdote should be limited to a single incident.

  2. It should contain a factual, non-inferential description of the observed or reported incident. (For example, "The trainees said 'I've never enjoyed using a computer before.' " instead of "The trainee expressed satisfaction with the training system.")

  3. It should include a description of the situation in which the incident occurs so that the meaning of the behavior can be understood.

  4. It should be written as soon as possible after witnessing or hearing about the incident so that all important details can be included.

  5. It should include a separate section describing your interpretation of or feelings about the anecdote. Your personal evaluation is important because your judgments about the project are valued highly.

DATE: July 23, 1992

PLACE: Beta Site 2

NAME OF OBSERVER: Lucy Schweitzer

Description of the incident: About two hours into the course, one of the trainees suddenly got up and left the class. I followed him out into the hall and asked if anything was wrong. He replied: "I can't waste my time sitting in the class because I don't intend to use the new system." I asked him why and he answered: "Computers don't work for me. As soon as I touch one, the program blows up. You'll be glad I won't use your system because it would just fall apart if I did. It's nothing against you or your course, I just know it won't work."

I tried to talk to him more, but he indicated that he had to make some phone calls and left.

Interpretation: The "(Insert name here.)" course training is innovative and user-friendly in our eyes, but in the eyes of a person with high anxiety about technology, it is just another threatening computer program. I suspect that this person strongly fears computers and that he has an unusually strong degree of "learned helplessness" with respect to them. It may be worthwhile to conduct some sort of a pre-assessment with respect to "techno-phobia" and makes special efforts to help those who express high anxiety. Also, this person indicated before the beginning of the course that he was only there because his boss insisted that he attend. We may need to clarify the enrollment procedures for this and other clients.