Contextual Research Project
How might we use ethnographic studies to improve mental well-being of humans during isolation?
My Role
UX Researcher
Typesetting the Process Book
Introduction
People’s lives took a dramatic turn when the when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 as global pandemic. The pandemic has had a significant impact on the lives of people who are working from home or on the frontlines. Through this Contextual research, project we are aiming to explore the how and to what extent has the pandemic impacted the daily lives of people and what are the kinds of impact caused due to quarantine on overall well-being of people. We have adopted various tools of research to collect data on this subject from surveys to interviews to information and world statistics through publications and news portals. The consolidated data was then organized and categorized for more in-depth analysis. With the aid of different research methodologies and synthesis and analysis techniques, we were able to dissect data and develop insights and design strategies to understand the effects of quarantine on daily lives of people.
The study reveals interesting insights on human psyche and behavioral patterns, which helped us gain knowledge on how people behave under different scenarios under quarantine when faced with uncertainties of future economic and social scenarios. Doing this research while being under quarantine ourselves was especially challenging for the team. We hope this study serves as a valuable tool for designers to understand human behavior and create more informed, human-centered and creative design solution.
Problem Statement
The intention of exploring the topic of our daily behavior and its effects on our wellbeing came up when we noticed a shift in people’s feelings and behavior when the lockdown around the world was announced. Additional research on this topic revealed that the impact of such a unique global situation is manifold. Preliminary stages of research indicated that people’s state of mind directly affects how they feel, and behave in work and social settings. To understand the reasons behind this shift of behavior, our team carried out more in-depth research via interviews and surveys. Information gathered from these methods revealed the factors that contributed towards this shift, the extent and implications of this impact on well-being of people. The aim of this research is firstly, to present and synthesize the empirical study of people’s behavior during quarantine and second to present the opportunities and design strategies based on the insights.
We narrowed our topic down to...
We narrowed our topic down to...
