Penny Tompkins and James Lawley

Stage 2: Gathering information from your exemplars

Types and reliability of information

It is important to distinguish between different types of information gathered from the exemplar. The following five are in descending order of reliability of information:

i. Observed behaviour with sufficient repetitions to indicate a pattern

ii. Observed behaviour with insufficient repetitions to indicate a pattern

iii. 'Relived' descriptions or role-playing by the exemplar of what they do

iv. Explanation by the exemplar (i.e. the exemplar's conscious model of what they do)

v. Second-hand descriptions

Ways to gather information

• 'Live' observation of exemplar achieving their results (by 3rd position observation and 2nd position shadowing)
• Video or audio tapes, or material written by the exemplar which demonstrates achieving the required results
• Face-to-face interview
• Role-plays and mini-scenarios
• Questionnaires
• 'Unofficial' observations
• Written information edited or co-written by someone else
• Description by someone else, e.g. biography
• The general rule is, the closer (and more often) you get to observe the exemplar achieving the results in their 'natural habitat' the better.

While gathering information it is preferable that you model the exemplar's behaviour and description so that you can ask questions from within the logic of their information.

High-quality modelling questions tend to:

• Make minimal presuppositions about the content of exemplar's map
• Be short and contain a minimal number of non-exemplar words
• Be simple and ask for one class of experience at a time
• Invite the exemplar to remain in the appropriate state to demonstrate what they do, i.e. in the 'perceptual present'
• Relate to the project outcome
• Invite the exemplar's attention to move towards the boundary of what they already know, and then to stretch the boundary into areas of yet-to-be-aware-of
• Not ask the exemplar's attention to jump too far (in space or time)
• Not get 'no' or disagreement for an answer.

'Standard' Modelling Questions

Every question directs the exemplar's attention to some where, when or what in their mindbody map. So it is important to know the type or class of information you what (i.e. to have an outcome for each question) and to what your question is inviting the exemplar's attention to do. The following are examples of some commonly used modelling questions.

1. Developing pre-existing information

And is there anything else about ...?

And what kind of ...?

And where/whereabouts is ...?

And what's the relationship between ... and ...?

2. Context(s) where and when exemplar commonly achieves the results?

Where do you ...?

When do you ...?

3. Desrired outcome(s) the exemplar is attempting to achieve at the time

(Also, how is the outcome represented?)

For what purpose do you ...?

4. Operations performed internally and externally to achieve the outcome

(Also, what inputs are attended to while performing these operations?)

How specifically do you do that?

What's the first thing you do ...?

Then what do you do?

What do you do next?

And then what happens?

And what happens just before you ...?

5. Evidence criteria/test of progress toward and completion of outcome

How do you know you are achieving ...?

How do you know you have achieved ...?

What let's you know to ...?

What determines when you ...?

6. Motivation for having outcome and enablers for doing the operations

What's important to you about ...?

What's important about that [answer to previous question]?

What makes it possible for you to ...?

And where does ... come from?

7. Range of choices available to the exemplar

(What does the exemplar do in unexpected situations, when they encounter difficulties, interference or distractions - especially when these might affect whether they achieve their outcome?)

What do you do if it doesn't go well / doesn't work?

How do you know to stop trying to achieve ...?