[Joona Laukkanen]

Hi all,

I will be running a user study to evaluate a window manager prototype that I have been designing. I will be recruiting (Windows 7) expert users for the study but what is the best place to find such users? I have no particular criteria for 'expert' and you may simply consider it to mean experienced and active computer and Windows 7 users.

Thanks in advance,
Joona

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If you have no particular criteria then you will end up with a whole motley bunch, some of whom fit the bill and others who only think they fit it.

Also you need to define "recruit" - is there financial (or other) compensation for this? Or are you expecting people to give something for nothing?

Lastly a bit more information on "window manager prototype" will be helpful. I work with Windows 7 daily and would class myself as an expert, but unless I know a bit more about it I probably won't bother taking the time to participate.

Hope that helps some.

Cheers.

[Troy]

If you have no particular criteria then you will end up with a whole motley bunch, some of whom fit the bill and others who only think they fit it.

Also you need to define "recruit" - is there financial (or other) compensation for this? Or are you expecting people to give something for nothing?

Lastly a bit more information on "window manager prototype" will be helpful. I work with Windows 7 daily and would class myself as an expert, but unless I know a bit more about it I probably won't bother taking the time to participate.

Hope that helps some.

Cheers.

[Essexboy]

Same here I am a regular win 7 user - but what exactly are you after ?

[Joona Laukkanen]

Valid questions, although not ones you would necessarily need to know to answer the original question; someone may well have known for example the best forum to find a lot of Win 7 users in general, which could have been also a good place for finding expert/heavy users. So I just decided to keep the post vague in case I would end up asking folks here at geeks to go, some of who may have found this particular thread already. Also, I do not have all the answers to your questions; not sure about compensation and not even sure what criteria would be used to assess who would qualify. If enough people would decide to take part in the study, assesment could perhaps be based on a questionnaire about computer usage habbits. So, the original question stands; what would be the best place to find expert (experienced / active) Win 7 users? Maybe geeks to go would be such a place? What forum would you go to if you wanted to find experienced win 7 users?

Thanks again.

[Troy]

We definitely have expert users here on board but whether you are able to convince enough to sign up is another story. You may need to look at recruiting from multiple forums if you have a number requirement for your study.

So far I would say right where this thread is would be the proper place to define the study and ask if anyone is interested in participating.

Computer usage habits is getting a bit more definitive and I would like to see some examples of the questions as I may be interested myself.

[Joona Laukkanen]

Thanks for the pointers. Posting to multiple forums definately sounds like a good idea. I suppose I could just post to a number of forums but if you would like to suggest some specific forums, I would be happy to consider them. If you know something about the user demographics of these forums, even better.

As for relevant computer usage habits, things like avg. hours spent on the computer a day might well be of interest. Familiarity with multiple OS's. Things like that.

Oh and indeed, thanks for the interest for participation but a) the study will not be running just yet and b) since I've already been discussing the study here (even if very vaguely) I may start from other forums when I really start looking for the participants. If I'm having trouble finding any, I might still come back here, too

Thanks again.

[Troy]

No worries, just remember to be as definitive as possible so you can get the users you are looking for to participate, and not just some random range.

There are plenty of other forums out there if you go looking but as far as I'm concerned this one is home.