Research For/By Design: Part I
Background
This post will cover part 1 out of 5 parts of this project. I will be collaborating with a group to explore, investigate, study, analyze, and eventually ideate and design interventions for a real-world social phenomenon.
For this part, we will be trying to map and model what we already know or believe about a specific topic that my team has chosen to investigate, and refine, and develop a model that has iterated from various readings, studies, and other secondary sources.
As a team, we created a mess map from what we already do know about our topic. Afterward, spend we spent time researching and start iterating and refining our mess map.
Tools
The tools used in this project were:
- Mural
Topic Selection
For our first step, we needed to select a topic related to a real-world social phenomenon. So we decided to list out all the different social phenomena that we can think about. Afterward, we started discussing each of them. We started the voting process on what we wanted to continue our research on.
Initial Mess Map
Now that we were able to narrow down our topic to “Homelessness.” We start creating our initial mess map. For the initial mess map, we listed out everything we do know or can think of when it came to Homelessness.
Divide & Conquer
Next up, we wanted to start conducting research and test our assumptions related to Homelessness. To make this part easier, we decided to focus on different themes or aspects of Homelessness. They were:
- Population (Statistics)
- History
- Effects
- Reform
- Causes
On my part, I focused mainly on “Causes” and got some interesting facts that could contribute to other themes.
Concept Mapping (Before Research)
Before initiating any research, I provided my thoughts on what are the potential causes of Homelessness. Based on my hypothesis, I believed the causes for Homelessness were:
- Insufficient income and lack of affordable housing
- Unemployment (lost job)
- Substance abuse
- Illness and Disability
Research Question/Process
Next, I wanted to start conducting my research and further understand the various reasons for Homelessness. Out of curiosity, I wanted to understand if there are potential remedies. Looking below, I have defined my research question and process.
Concept Mapping (Before Research)
After going researching, I was able to learn more causes for Homelessness. I have bolded and italicized the 3 additional insights I was able to find throughout my research down below. Also, inside the mess map, I provided more facts based on what I was able to discover in my research.
- Insufficient income and lack of affordable housing
- Unemployment (lost job)
- Substance abuse
- Illness and Disability
- Domestic Violence
- Lack of Trustworthy Relationship
- Personal Hardship
- Eviction
Final Mess Map
Everyone has gone through their process and focused on their sections while going through this mess map. As a result, we were able to finalize our mess map.
Please feel free to view our final mess map and notes that we have taken.
Potential Remedy/Areas of opportunity
While going through the process of trying to understand the causes of Homelessness. I was also able to discover potential remedies or areas of opportunities for those causes.
While conducting this research, I also discovered potential remedies or areas of opportunities for those causes. Individuals who have experienced being homeless for the first time or consider themselves to be “New Homeless” usually have a more straightforward solution than those who have been homeless repeatedly. Some remedies for these individuals can be rental assistance, help negotiate with land, referrals to public benefits or services.
However, individuals who have been Homelessness repeatedly are more likely to need more support for a longer period.
Self Reflection
So far, I enjoyed doing this project; Homelessness is something that I came across every day in my community. Working on a project like this allowed me to be educated more about the Homelessness problem.
What would I have done differently?
One major thing I would have loved to do differently is to conduct primary research on this topic. Looking at secondary research does provide some of the statistics and answers the why towards the research question. However, I believe being able to build that empathy with an individual going through a hard time in their life can provide a lot better insights.
To be more specific, the two research methods I would have wanted to conduct are.
- User interview
- Ethnographic study
Next Steps
Two next steps I would like to do are.
- Narrow down on a specific topic/pain point we want to address
- Conduct further research related to the topic
Contact Information
For any questions or feedback, feel free to send an email at Hi@christopher.kim
Sources
