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Table 1. Motivational classifications
Motivation 1. Awareness:
Desire to stay
current, to keep oneself informed in general.
Examples: scanning for new e-mail and checking
news sites.
Motivation 2. Time Management:
The desire
to be efficient, manage projects, or get things done.
Examples: looking up an address; checking traf-
fic maps; looking for supplies/ jobs/ roommates;
getting class assignments.
Motivation 3. Curiosity:
The interest in an
unfamiliar topic, often based on a tip or chance
encounter. Examples: looking up information
about a country of interest; looking up informa-
tion to settle a friendly bet in a bar.
Motivation 4. Diversion:
The desire to kill
time or alleviate boredom. Examples: browsing
favorite sites; checking social networking sites.
Motivation 5. Social Connection:
The desire
to engage with other people. Examples: arranging
to get together; sending e-mail; posting to social
networking sites.
Motivation 6. Social Avoidance:
The desire
to separate oneself from others, to appear occu-
pied so as not to be bothered. Examples: using
cell phone activity as a “cover” to prevent others
from striking up a conversation.
Utilitarian
Hedonic
1. Awareness
3. Curiosity
2. Time Management
4. Diversion
5. Social Connection
6. Social Avoidance
after each use, and then at the end of the five-day
period took part in an individual semi-structured
90-minute retrospective interview based on the
content of their own voicemails and on general
usage-related questions.
For our initial data analysis we used the con-
stant comparison methodology from Glaser's
grounded theory of qualitative analysis (Glaser,
1965). A team of six researchers each analyzed
data from a subset of participants. The team then
collectively devised the classification scheme
based on the motivations and behaviors observed
from the voicemail entries and interview sessions,
coded their participant's data using the agreed
upon scheme, conducted a cross comparison with
two other researchers' data sets, and collectively
revised the scheme. We conducted eight rounds
of cross comparison and concurrently made revi-
sions to the scheme and coding to arrive at 100%
agreement amongst the researchers.
Classification of Behavioral Data
The classification of behaviors adapted several
stationary-Web information-monitoring catego-
ries from Kellar et al. (2007) to describe the mobile
behaviors that we observed: Information Seeking
(fact finding, info gathering, and browsing); and
Information Exchange (transaction, communica-
tion). In addition, we added Status Checking as an
Information Seeking behavior and created a new
category, Action Support, with the two subdivi-
sions of Planning and In-the-Moment.
Behavior 1. Status Checking:
Checking a
specific piece of non-static information. Examples:
weather; news; sports scores (during a game).
Preliminary Findings, Part One
This work conducted in Part One yielded the clas-
sification scheme for motivations, behaviors, and
contexts described below.
Classification of Motivational Data
For motivations, we divided Kim's broad charac-
terization of utilitarian and hedonic (Kim et al.,
2002) into finer classifications to accommodate
the complex patterns of motivation we observed.
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