Artifact Elicitation as a Method of Qualitative Inquiry in Engineering Education.

Many qualitative research studies in engineering education use semi-structured interviews as an approach to inquiry. However, traditional semi-structured interviews do not always enable participants to answer questions in deep and meaningful ways. Recent research in engineering education has successfully drawn upon the inquiry method of photo elicitation, which uses photographs as interview prompts to elicit "thick description" from participants. Some studies have extended the methodology of photo elicitation to artifact elicitation, in which research participants are asked questions about artifacts (physical, virtual, etc.) that they have previously created and bring to the interview. Artifacts are similar to photos in that they embody the knowledge, skills, and attitudes held by the artifact creators. In this paper, we will provide examples of two current studies in engineering education that use artifact elicitation. Through these examples we demonstrate how artifact elicitation can elicit new meanings not possible through traditional interview techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]