BIB_12: Vatrapu, R., & Pérez-Quiñones, M. (2006). Culture and usability evaluation: The effects of culture in structured interviews. Journal of Usability Studies, 1(4), 156-170.

This is another article examining the effects of participants' cultural backgrounds on methods of usability studies. The authors reports a controlled study comparing the results of interviews with two groups of participants, one Indian and the other Anglo-American conducted by two groups of interviewers from the corresponding cultural groups of the participants. The results led the authors to conclude that culture (both on the participants' side and the interviewers' side) is a significant variable in international user testing and usability studies.

This article echoes the work of Hall et al. (2004). These are useful finding for researchers and practitioners to design their research and minimize bias that results from the lack of consideration of the participants' and the researchers' cultural background or identification, as well as the nature of the research questions.

BIB_12: Hall, M., De Jong, M., & Steehouder, M. (2004). Cultural differences and usability evaluation: individualistic and collectivistic participants compared. Technical Communication, 51(4), 489-503.

In this article, Hall et al. concern examine the effects of the participants' cultural background characteristics on usability evaluation. The authors draw on Hofstede's cultural dimensions--masculinity vs. femininity, strong vs. weak uncertainty avoidance, high vs. low power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, and long-term vs. short-term orientation--to classify the participants' cultural characteristics. They then conducted a study comparing two groups of participants' evaluation of a website using think aloud protocol. The results led the authors to conclude that cultural background of the participants is a relevant variable that may affect the feedback from the participants collected using various usability methods. It is also a factor that affect the discrepancy between behavior and self-reported results.

This is an interesting article. Actually, it support my criticism of the article by Donker-Kuijer et al. that examines the effect of color temperature on web usability. This article should be read with Vatrapu & Pérez-Quiñones's (2006) article that also looks at the cultural factors that affect the rigor of usability studies and choice of methods.