[Sigia-l] card sorting

[Boniface Lau]

> From: sigia-l-admin at asis.org [mailto:sigia-l-admin at asis.org]On
> Behalf Of Eric Scheid
>  
> On 4/6/03 10:00 AM, "Boniface Lau" <boniface_lau at compuserve.com>
> wrote:
> > So, to substantiate your claim, please walk us through your
> > process of sorting items into groups to demonstrate that there is
> > indeed no need to observe order.
> 
> Here is the process I have used many times:
> 
> ---------
> I have a bucket of unsorted cards, I take one off the top of the
> pile, I look at it. If there is no pile I feel it should go into I
> put it onto a blank space. If I see a pile it should go into I put
> it there. Repeat.
> 
> The position of the piles on the tableaux is ad hoc and irrelevant.

The position IS relevant in the sense that it is where you would
return to add cards belonging to that group.


> A casual observer would not discern any special sequence or order,

That is irrelevant. What counts is that you yourself return to that
position to add to that group.


> and I know I certainly don't consciously arrange them in that
> manner.
> 
> Occasionally I might notice I have a lot of individual cards in
> which case I would stop, examine some them, and make decide whether
> I want to re-assign any of them or create new a new, broader
> classification, pile.
> 
> Occasionally I might notice that one pile has grown quite large
> compared to the others in which case I might consider breaking that
> pile up into smaller piles.

You are just revising the order part way through the process. That new
order becomes the order that has to be observed when dealing with
subsequent cards.


> ---------
> 
> The core process is: I have a card in hand, I look for a pile, if I
> see a relevant pile I put it there. 

Finding a relevant pile requires that you observe the existing order.


> It's as simple as that.

Observing order can indeed be very simple. But it can be complicated,
depending on various other factors.


> 
> Actually, thinking this through a bit more right now I realise that
> to attempt some sorting of the groups actually be premature, as I
> have not yet assigned names or other group level identifiers to
> these piles. I know each pile according to the contents of each pile
> and a vague sense of the commonalities of the members of that pile.
> 
> That's what works in practice. As curious as your theoretical
> pontifications may be, until they are proven in practice they remain
> just that.

Sorting is probably one of the most well-studied fields. Countless
research have been done in that area. What I have stated here is not
something new.


Boniface