[Sigia-l] card sorting: dealing with multiple placements

[Eric Scheid]

On 31/5/03 10:33 AM, "Boniface Lau" <boniface_lau at compuserve.com> wrote:

>> I'm not familiar with how it was used for census punched cards, so I
>> can't argue towards ordering or grouping there. However, I do know
>> that IBM made card sorting popular for IA as a means of grouping.
> 
> As I had commented at the beginning of this thread, IAs are using an
> ordering tool (card sort) for grouping purpose.

I've done "card sorts" with users many times, and never have we used some
mechanical device for processing the cards into some arrangement determined
by intrinsic qualities represented on those cards.

Am I missing something here? I'm not using a "card sorting machine", I'm
facilitating a "UCD grouping discovery exercise" which just happens to have
the apparently unfortunate name of "card sorting".

> Second, regardless of the sort techniques, the ultimate goal of
> sorting is order. Thus, sorting is about ordering, not grouping.

Not quite sure what you mean by "the ultimate goal of sorting".

My dictionary has two definitions for "sorting". The first is "placing
things in categories according to shared attributes", and only the second is
"arranging things in a set order".

e,