Think-aloud protocol (or think-aloud protocols, or TAP) is a method used to gather data in usability testing in product design and development, in psychology and a range of social sciences (e.g., reading, writing and translation process research). The think-aloud method was developed by Clayton Lewis while he was at IBM, and is explained in Task-Centered User Interface Design: A Practical Introduction by C. Lewis and J. Rieman. The method was further refined by Ericsson & Simon.
Think aloud protocols involve participants thinking aloud as they are performing a set of specified tasks. Users are asked to say whatever they are looking at, thinking, doing, and feeling, as they go about their task. This enables observers to see first-hand the process of task completion (rather than only its final product). Observers at such a test are asked to objectively take notes of everything that users say, without attempting to interpret their actions and words. Test sessions are often audio and video taped so that developers can go back and refer to what participants did, and how they reacted. The purpose of this method is to make explicit what is implicitly present in subjects who are able to perform a specific task.
A related but slightly different data-gathering method is the talk-aloud protocol. This involves participants only describing their action but not giving explanations. This method is thought to be more objective in that participants merely report how they go about completing a task rather than interpreting or justifying their actions.
Think Aloud in E-learning
Think aloud protocol is a method that allows researchers to understand, at least in part, the thought process of a subject as they use an e-learning program. The think aloud method is widely used in usability studies of all types of software, including e-learning programs, to collect someone’s reports of the experience of interacting with a design so that usability evaluators can find the underlying usability problems and hopefully detect how to fix them. In most think aloud protocols, the evaluator observes while the learner attempts to complete a defined task such as figuring out how to start a learning module or completing a quiz. Ideally, the evaluator only speaks to remind the learner to ‘please keep talking’ should they lapse into silence.
The think aloud protocol approach in intended to elicit the inner thoughts or cognitive processes that illuminates what’s going on in the person’s head during his or her engagement in an e-learning program. While someone engages in an interactive learning activity, the evaluator probes to get the person talk about what the person is thinking as he or she completes the activity.
The theory underlying the use of the think aloud protocol is that concurrent verbal reports do not fundamentally change the cognitive processes involved in learning, although concurrent verbalization does increase the total time to complete the interactive learning activities in the e-learning program. This is a big assumption and so it is important to conduct a think aloud protocol with great care.
General use of a think aloud protocol
This video is showing a general use of think aloud protocol. A person is reading a book and as he is reading through, he is talking out loud about his thoughts.
Table of Contents
What is Think Aloud
Definition of Think Aloud Protocol (Wikipedia: Think Aloud Protocol)
Think-aloud protocol (or think-aloud protocols, or TAP) is a method used to gather data in usability testing in product design and development, in psychology and a range of social sciences (e.g., reading, writing and translation process research). The think-aloud method was developed by Clayton Lewis while he was at IBM, and is explained in Task-Centered User Interface Design: A Practical Introduction by C. Lewis and J. Rieman. The method was further refined by Ericsson & Simon.
Think aloud protocols involve participants thinking aloud as they are performing a set of specified tasks. Users are asked to say whatever they are looking at, thinking, doing, and feeling, as they go about their task. This enables observers to see first-hand the process of task completion (rather than only its final product). Observers at such a test are asked to objectively take notes of everything that users say, without attempting to interpret their actions and words. Test sessions are often audio and video taped so that developers can go back and refer to what participants did, and how they reacted. The purpose of this method is to make explicit what is implicitly present in subjects who are able to perform a specific task.
A related but slightly different data-gathering method is the talk-aloud protocol. This involves participants only describing their action but not giving explanations. This method is thought to be more objective in that participants merely report how they go about completing a task rather than interpreting or justifying their actions.
Think Aloud in E-learning
The think aloud protocol approach in intended to elicit the inner thoughts or cognitive processes that illuminates what’s going on in the person’s head during his or her engagement in an e-learning program. While someone engages in an interactive learning activity, the evaluator probes to get the person talk about what the person is thinking as he or she completes the activity.
The theory underlying the use of the think aloud protocol is that concurrent verbal reports do not fundamentally change the cognitive processes involved in learning, although concurrent verbalization does increase the total time to complete the interactive learning activities in the e-learning program. This is a big assumption and so it is important to conduct a think aloud protocol with great care.
General use of a think aloud protocol
This video is showing a general use of think aloud protocol. A person is reading a book and as he is reading through, he is talking out loud about his thoughts.