Studying at Home Observations
Secondary Research: Identities
Before going forward with my blog, I would like to situate myself as a designer and acknowledge how my identities shape how I will be observing my space at home. These identities will hinder, but also aid me in my research.
I Am A:
- Black individual
- Queer individual
- Woman
As a Result…
Based on my position as a black and queer woman, my research might be limited because my experience within a lot of spaces is usually focused on safety and comfort. Those two factors will likely play a large role in how I interact with and perceive the space I am in. These identities might also deepen my research because I am able to speak from the perspective of an individual who is in a marginalized group. I believe this is beneficial to my research because it gives me several lenses I could look from while observing my space.
Auto-Ethnography
Since the space that I am observing is my own home, I took an autoethnographic approach to my research. I usually struggle with this type of research since I often get overwhelmed, not knowing where to begin. However, one way I’ve solved this issue is by asking myself a series of questions in order to focus my observations on one area. While studying in my apartment, I asked myself multiple questions such as:
- How does the physical space affect my studying? Does it help or hinder it?
- What kinds of noises do I hear? What do I feel while I am studying?
- Are there any specific things I do in order to focus more?
- Do I find myself being able to study one subject better than another while in my space? If so, why?
- What kinds of things distract me the most while studying? What factors help me focus more?
- How do I study at home compared to when I study outside?
- Is there something I could change that would improve my studying?
- What are the interactions with others like while I am studying?
After writing down these questions, I went ahead with my observations. Here is what I found:
After asking myself these questions I then visited my domain again, took photos, and then wrote notes. I focused on these 7 aspects of my domain while doing this:
Space: This is where I do the most amount of studying. I usually study inside my bedroom on top of my bed. The space is small but I am the most comfortable and familiar with it.
Actors: The main actor in this research is me. Secondary actors would be my roommate who shares the bedroom with me, Valerie, and the two other roommates who share the apartment with me.
Objects: The physical things that are present in the space are my bed, laptop, sketchbook, desk, chair, and lamp.
Interactions: Listening to music would be a huge interaction for me. I also look up videos on youtube if I am struggling with an assignment and need help. Sometimes my roommate will come into my room and I will vent to them about how I am struggling.
Flow: Studying at home usually starts with me getting all of the materials I need to complete my assignment, these materials are usually my laptop, sketchbook, or a pencil. I then bring everything to my bed and sit down in it. If the lighting is dim then I turn on my led lights because my regular lights are too bright for me to focus. Then I find a playlist for me to listen to and I put that on so I can study with music in the background. I then dive right into doing my assignment in order to minimize the likelihood of getting distracted by something else. Eventually, often an hour into studying, I do get distracted by my phone and scroll through Twitter or TikTok for a while. I will either give in to the distraction and stop doing my work or continue to study after an hour of social media.
Needs: My domain aims to satisfy my comfort and to help me complete my assignment.
Feeling: My emotions while studying at home are a combination of stress and focus. I am trying my hardest to not get distracted and to complete my assignment on time. I also have the added stress of the potential of getting distracted by something else.
Ecosystem Map
After observing the 7 aspects of my environment, I realized that a common denominator in my studies was centered around distractions. I often found myself not doing my work due to scrolling through social media, or listening to music. Once I realized this, I decided to create an ecosystem map to visualize how one can understand distractions in studying environments through research.
