Author: Shraddha Kumbhar & Lydia Prince

Part of: Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Course: Design Research Methods II, Spring 2021

Duration: 4 weeks

Assignment outline: Prototyping research methods

In this project you will design a test-run for research with a method chosen randomly in class. Everyone will share the same general topic, or focus, of research: kitchens (a site of food preparation, consumption, a social space, a site of familial activity)

Consider the following aspects as you develop your research approach:

• Observe and articulate the problem space: Where is this space (indoors, outdoors, in proximity to other places, etc)? What are its characteristics? What are its challenges or missed opportunities?
• Understand your assigned research method and determine what your research question should be. In other words, relate your problem space to the research method through your line of questioning.
• Based on your method and question, how would you develop your research? What are the characteristics of this research? Do you require participants? Do you require ethical considerations? How would you organize and plan the steps? What will you need to know in order for your research to be successful?

Your final presentation and document should include:

1. Summary of the proposed research approach
2. A short paragraph of the area of inquiry, or research focus. In other words, the purpose of the study. Include your research question.
3. A description of the research design. Describe your approach and the characteristics of the research — in other words, how the research is organized and conducted.
4. The details of your test run. Conduct the research, using each other as researchers and participants. What is successful about your research approach? What did it reveal? Where can it improve for its next iteration? Did the outcomes of this test change your research question? If so, what is your revised question? You may need to include charts, diagrams, photographs, or other visual documentation to illustrate your work.

Summary

Observation as a method can be applied in numerous ways. We chose to focus on observation through the five senses. Our research seeks to understand the role of sight, sound, taste, hearing and touch play in shaping social experiences within kitchen settings.

We have outlined steps and considerations in conducting research using sensory observation as a method. Primary and secondary research plays a huge role in the success of the research and must be tailored to ensure the success of the project. Data gathered should reflect how the senses of each participant were stimulated and ultimately evoked responses, behaviors and emotions. Successful research should give the researcher(s) insight into how multisensory stimuli shape social experiments.

Two experiments were conducted, using our sensory observational method, in which we observed unique kitchen settings as participants in the role of diners that shaped our experience. We followed sensory observation and ethnographic methods to understand:

Area Of Inquiry

To answer the question, one must unpack experiences through an examination of sensory stimuli in the immediate environment. Our focus is kitchen settings as social experiences. Our research question has prompted us to ask: how do we observe through the five senses? And, what is a kitchen?

The Five Senses

Observations tend to be limited to what is seen and not extended to information gathered through all senses. There is little understanding of how all senses add to a rich experience. A single moment in the human experience can have multiple sensory stimuli that ultimately are ingrained in our memory. Sight, sound, taste, hearing and touch all play a role in social experiences in kitchen settings.

Research Design

To practice observing through the five senses, researchers must understand what sensory observation is and define what a kitchen setting they will focus on. Primary and secondary research will help further develop the research project’s goals.

The research project will ultimately be shaped by budget, timelines, participants, safety and ethical considerations and project goals. Data gathered should reflect how the senses of each participant were stimulated and ultimately evoked responses, behaviors and emotions. Successful research should give the researcher(s) insight into how multisensory stimuli shape social experiments.

Primary & Secondary Research

Researchers must conduct secondary and primary research to develop the scope of sensory observation projects. This ongoing research will help define administrative requirements, develop the project goal and analyze the qualitative research data.

Secondary Research

Secondary research should answer the initial questions of:

• What makes each kitchen unique?
• Is it the food, ambiance, people, culture, aesthetics, aroma, music, location or privacy?
• What can we observe in a kitchen?
• How do people connect with one another?

Examples of secondary research can include literature, documentaries, conferences, videos and public archives; this will help researchers complete the following objectives:

• To identify the factors that affect the human experiences in the kitchen
• To understand how five senses play a role in the formation of the experience
• To recognize the patterns that motivate people to bond with each other
• To synthesize and analyze the qualitative research data
• Identify the kitchen settings and choose a specific location

Primary Research

Defining the steps and key details in your primary research is critical to the success of a sensory observation project.

Participants

Participants’ observations are critical to sensory observation in kitchen settings. Several key safety and ethical considerations require ethics board approval before the project is completed. The following questions should be asked:

• Is the kitchen location public? If so, should observes (those being observed) be notified of data gathered on them?
• Do the researchers need permission to observe in the space?
• Is the time of day important to the project goal?
• If participants are in the preparation area, do they have proper safety certifications?
• How many participants will be in each part of the kitchen?

These questions should be asked well in advance and approved by the appropriate ethics board before the start of the project. Participants will require they give consent and are given proper notice in advance of the planned project.

Noting Observations

While onsite written notes should be taken that outline what participants are experiencing through their five senses and any emotions or thoughts provoked by their senses being stimulated, notes should answer the following guiding questions:

1. Sight: This can be anything from a color to the actions of other participants.

• What are participants seeing?
• Is the participant relying on another sense because they are unable to use this sense?
• Do they dis/like what they currently see?
• Is there something they aren’t seeing that they were expecting?
• Does it evoke any emotion or thought?

2. Smell: This can be any smell that stimulates the participant’s nose.

• What do participants smell?
• Is the participant relying on another sense because they are unable to use this sense?
• Is it un/pleasant?
• Is there something they aren’t smelling that they were expecting?
• Does it evoke any emotion or thought?

3. Hearing: This is anything the participant hears.

• What do participants hear?
• Is the participant relying on another sense because they are unable to use this sense?
• Is it loud or soft?
• Is it un/pleasant?
• Is there something they aren’t hearing that they were expecting?
• Does it evoke any emotion or thought?

4. Taste: This is anything that participants taste.

• What do participants taste?
• Is the participant relying on another sense because they are unable to use this sense?
• Does it have a name?
• Can they taste a specific ingredient?
• Is it spicy, tangy, bland, etc.?
• Is it un/pleasant?
• Is there something they aren’t tasting that they were expecting?
• Does it evoke any emotion or thought?

5. Touch: This is anything that participants feel.

• What can participants feel?
• Is the participant relying on another sense because they are unable to use this sense?
• What does it feel like?
• Does it have a texture? What is the texture?
• What is the material (steel, wood, glass, skin, etc.)?
• Is it un/pleasant?
• Is there something they aren’t tasting that they were expecting?
• Does it evoke any emotion or thought?

6. General feelings, thoughts, and observations should also be noted, as these can give further insights into each participant’s experience.

Data Analysis

To reveal underlying themes based on experiences, researchers can use affinity mapping. Begin with categorizing an experience (drinking tea, eating pie, etc.), then grouping similar experiences to understand key sensory observations that made up that experience.

The Experiments

We conducted two test runs using a simplified version of the research design. The test runs took place at two public kitchen settings, a café and a restaurant.

Primary & Secondary Research

We focused mainly on primary research due to accessibility and time constraints.

Participants

We chose to only include ourselves as participants, which impacted our data set and the type of kitchens we could access.

Considerations

We considered ethical issues that could arise if we included the observations of other participants and decided only to include our own observations. However, we did understand that when observing in each setting, other people are unknowingly involved in the process. This is an area that would need further exploration if we were to continue the research.

The Observation Method in practice

Our experiments took place at the Prado café and Fets Whiskey Kitchen. Both locations were located on Commercial Drive, which is a bustling Vancouver neighborhood. These experiments helped us better understand the scope, limitations and ethical considerations needed for future experiments.

Prado Café

We began our observations in the afternoon at Prado café. We played the role of customers while observing others as they went about their patron, server, cleaner, and helper roles. Our seats gave us an open view of part of the kitchen prep area. The café was fairly busy when we arrived. We noted our experiences from the taste of our chai latté and strawberry mine tea to the feel of the wood table on which we placed our smooth glass cups. The observations revealed insights on feelings that were provoked and ultimately shaped our experience at the café. We began as observers but eventually found roles reversed when another café patron decided to observe us instead. This experience brought up conversations about safety for all participants, including ourselves as researchers.

Fets Whisky Kitchen

Our second experiment took place in the evening at Fets Whiskey Kitchen. Again, we played the role of customers while observing others as they went about their roles of patron, server, cleaner and helper. The arrangement in this setting didn’t allow us to directly observe the kitchen prep area, but we took notes on what we could see: the dining and bar area. Our notes in each experiment were varied. Our senses provoked responses we weren’t initially expecting, such as the anxiety we experienced by sitting near hundreds of whiskey bottles stacked on the walls around our table.

Insights

Using affinity mapping, several themes emerged from our observations:

The data gathered allowed us to understand how each sense provoked responses, behaviors and emotions that shaped our experience in each setting. Accessibility played a huge role in our research design and data set.

Challenges

Ethical Considerations

Questions about ethical practices came up before, during and after our experiments. Questions such as:

• Should we notify others that we were observing them?
• How can we ensure that our safety as researchers is considered when observing?
• How can we better prepare and act on ethical considerations before conducting more experiments?
• We recognized that it wasn’t realistic to ask everyone in each public setting to sign a waiver form and decided to continue with our experiments but this is an issue that we would consider in future experiments.

Accessibility

Our main challenge was access to types of kitchens. We looked at various types of kitchens in our initial stages, both in public and private settings. We chose to focus on public settings. We understood that there are kitchen safety protocols that businesses must follow; which ultimately limited the type of observation test runs/experiments we could conduct. As a result, we could not observe within the kitchen preparation areas or participate in the role of cook or helper in some of these settings.

Future Considerations

Culture

One aspect that we could explore is how culture shapes the expectations of each kitchen and how it limits observation through senses. A specific example would be the culture of privacy in some kitchens that separates the preparation area from the dining area; we could not see the person preparing our food or make a connection through this simple act of placement.

Time

Future experiments could involve participating in the same setting at different times of the day to understand if this impacts observations.

Other Types Of Kitchens

We were limited in time, budget and would have liked to explore other types of kitchens. However, as mentioned previously, we were unable due to safety.

Participants

We had considered the possibility of including many participants, however, this would only be possible in future experiments and research ethics board approval.

Data Analysis

The use of multiple methods to synthesize and analyze our notes could have allowed more insights of social experiences in the kitchen. For example, unexpected emotions that resulted from the experience could be further analyzed and explored to better understand how and why each sense provoked such a response.

Documentation

Other than photographs and written documents, other types of documentation techniques such as audio and video recording should be considered after taking the participants’ consent.