formative study
形成性研究：在设计过程早期开展的用户研究，旨在探索问题空间、理解用户需求、为设计方向提供输入。区别于总结性评估（summative evaluation），后者衡量的是已完成的实际设计是否有效。
English Definition
"A type of user research conducted early in the design process to explore the problem space, understand user needs, and inform design directions. It is distinct from a summative evaluation, which measures the effectiveness of a finished design."
用法说明 · 针对中文母语者
在 CHI 等 HCI 论文中，formative study 通常出现在方法学部分，紧接其后往往是 system design 与 user study / field study。注意不要和教育领域的'formative assessment'（形成性评价）混淆。
常见错误
- ·和'formative assessment'（教育领域的形成性评价）混淆
- ·以为它等同于 pilot study（预实验）
真实用例 · 3 条
"Based on a formative study (N=20) using Terms of Service (ToS) as example contracts to study challenges in contract reading, we developed TermSight, an intelligent reading interface to probe the opportunities and challenges of designing augmentations for legal text."
"Our formative study further supplements prior findings by revealing the challenges readers face when navigating the entire ToS and the presence of misleading navigational affordances (§3)."
"In a formative study (N=20) where participants read ToS, we found that these contracts represented the extremes of the difficulties that legal contracts pose more generally (i.e., value-dependent, ambiguous, and legally binding), validating this initial focus."