Card sorting methods: A List
Posted on 15 December, 2009 – 6:03 PMCard sorting is a simple and useful means of eliciting and aggregating qualitative data, in a participatory manner. Card sorting is also known as pile sorting, in the field of Cognitive Anthropology. This post will try to accumulate a list of documents on this subject.
- How to Sort, by Harloff and Coxon, 2009 and their associated The Method of Sorting website
- Sorting Data: Collection and Analysis by A.P.M. Coxon, Sage, 1999
These sources focus on card sorting for website design, but are nevertheless of wider interest
- Card Sorting: Designing Usable Categories. By Donna Spencer. Rosenfeld Media, April 2009
- Sorting Out Card Sorting: Comparing Methods for Information Architects, Usability Engineers and Other Practitioners. Steven D. Hannah, University of Minnesota Crookston, June 2005
- Card sorting: a definitive guide, by Donna Spencer and Todd Warfel on 2004
See also online card sorting software:
See also this list of resources on card sorting
- Card sorting, by Dey Alexander Consulting. It covers introductory articles, discussion articles, variations, case studies, tools, books and book reviews
Both offer free and paid-for versions of their services. In both cases the paid-for versions are expensive, and hopefully will be come cheaper as more competition emerges
There is also software available for the analysis of the results of physical card sorts, which can be downloaded and used on a desktop/laptop:
Information on specific card sorting methods
- Three pile sorting, by TearFund
- An Oxfam variation of the same method
- Hierachical Card Sorting: A simple tool for qualitative research, by Rick Davies, update 2009
Tags: qualitative,
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One Response to “Card sorting methods: A List”
Here’s a long list of articles etc on card sorting: http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/cardsorting/content/bibliography/
By Donna Spencer on Dec 18, 2009