{"id":34377,"date":"2022-05-25T14:02:45","date_gmt":"2022-05-25T14:02:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/glosario-digital\/shadowing"},"modified":"2026-09-30T13:56:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:56:14","slug":"shadowing","status":"publish","type":"encyclopedia","link":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/shadowing","title":{"rendered":"Shadowing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Shadowing\"Definition:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shadowing<\/strong> is a contextual research technique in which a researcher accompanies and observes a participant while they perform real activities. Its purpose is to understand actions, decisions, interruptions, tools and conditions that may be difficult to reconstruct through an interview.<\/p>\n

Observation may be supplemented with brief questions and with notes, photographs, audio or video when permission has been granted. It is not covert surveillance or the remote recording of any digital behaviour. It requires a defined purpose, informed consent<\/strong> and clear limits on what will be observed and documented.<\/p>\n\n

How a shadowing session is conducted<\/h2>\n

Research begins by defining an activity, environment and set of questions. The accompaniment should alter the routine as little as possible, although the observer’s presence is never completely neutral. A basic process includes these working stages<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Preparation:<\/strong> Define participants, duration, tasks, consent and the data that may be collected.<\/li>\n
  2. Observation:<\/strong> Record actions, sequences, time, tools, interruptions and environmental conditions.<\/li>\n
  3. Contextual questions:<\/strong> Request clarification without turning the entire activity into an interview.<\/li>\n
  4. Closing:<\/strong> Check initial interpretations and allow the participant to add context.<\/li>\n
  5. Analysis:<\/strong> Organise evidence, identify patterns and separate observed facts from inferences.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The researcher may take a mainly passive role or interact at agreed moments. The choice depends on the task and the risk of disrupting it. In both cases, a time-based record<\/strong> helps connect each observation to its specific situation.<\/p>\n

    Information that shadowing can provide<\/h2>\n

    Shadowing allows researchers to compare what a person says they do with what occurs during the real activity<\/strong>. A difference does not mean that the participant is mistaken: many decisions are automatic or depend on circumstances that are difficult to recall.<\/p>\n