Alltagsquellen

Alltagsquellen is a German term used mainly in media studies, sociology and design to denote information, data or inspiration drawn from everyday life rather than from formal, institutional, or expert sources. The concept emphasizes the value of ordinary experiences, practices, and artifacts as legitimate sources for understanding social reality, user needs, or cultural phenomena. The word is composed of alltag (everyday life) and quellen (sources).

In practice, Alltagsquellen can include personal observations, conversations with non-experts, diaries, blogs, forums, product reviews, user-generated content, consumer practices, street photography, and everyday objects as artifacts.

Applications of the concept appear in ethnographic research, human-centered design, journalism, and cultural analysis. It supports approaches that seek to understand how people actually live, use products, and interact with technology in real-world contexts.

Limitations include biases and non-representativeness, subjectivity, and challenges in verifying information. Ethical considerations regarding privacy and consent are important when drawing on private or semi-private everyday material. There is also a need to triangulate findings with other data sources to strengthen reliability.

Alltagsquellen relate to, but differ from, formal expert or institutional sources. They often complement other methodologies such as interviews, participant observation, or archival research, offering grounded insights into everyday practices and vernacular knowledge. Related areas include ethnography, participatory design, and user experience research.