As discussed, my research will consist of a workshop, observations, staff and student interviews and a survey. The latter two will require questions, which I share below both initial drafts, and in some cases, further developed versions based on feedback from my course leader.
Staff interview questions
Studio technician
- What do you think students like about our studio?
- What do you think puts students off working in our studio?
- What do you think students want from our studio space that they don’t currently get?
- What is your experience of professional work settings, what aspects of those do you think it’s valuable to bring into a space like ours, and why?
- Please share any interesting observations about how students use our space
Course leader from another course
- You have a long history of establishing flourishing studio spaces on your course — what’s your secret?
- What activities do students do in your studio space?
- In what ways do you think the [course name] studio space is similar to a professional workplace, and in what ways does it differ?
- What changes have you made over the years which you believe encourage students to use your studio space
- Do students ever have any complaints about studio spaces you have overseen, and how have you addressed them?
Disability support advisor
- What are the most common challenges that students talk to you about when it comes to working in studio spaces at UAL?
- What are the most common recommended adjustments to studio spaces that you and your team suggest to course teams?
- I am particularly interested in the sensory experience of students in studio spaces (touch, sound, sight, taste, smell) — can you share any particular insights or ideas around these areas and how students experience them in studio settings?
- As you have both worked in disability support roles and academic roles, how do you apply what you learnt as a disability support advisor to support your students in academic settings?
- In your view, what is the importance of encouraging students to work in studio spaces on campus, and is this always worth pushing for?
Student interview questions
Having had time to reflect on my interviews with students, I have decided instead to run them as a group interview — this is for several reasons:
- I had several students interested in my project, all of whom were keen to be involved
- It will be interesting to see how they bounce ideas off each other
- While it might be a longer interview if they are all involved, practically it will be less of a time commitment, and less transcription
My initial questions were:
- Where do you spend most of your time working on university or other creative work?
- Why do you work here?
- What things do you like about your main workspace?
- What things do you wish were better about your main workspace?
- What puts you off working in the BA UXD studio?
- Do you have any other thoughts about our studio space?
I sought feedback from my course leader on these questions, who offered me some useful insight. They suggested that some of my questions are a bit leading, and could be re-framed. They suggested shifting the focus to the ‘how and why’ rather than the what, so a question like ‘where do you work’ becomes ‘tell me about how you work’. With a question like that, they will most likely get to the ‘where’, but I will find out much more along the way. This is likely to lead to much richer answers and much more interesting data.
They also suggested reframing the ‘what puts you off’ question to be more general and less specific. Focussing on studio spaces generally, rather than ours specifically. This will help them to think more broadly, and also pragmatically, we don’t especially want to encourage them to dwell on aspects of our studio which are outside our control.
At the moment, as a seperate project, BA UXD staff and students are engaged with discussions with the teams who are developing the new LCC buildings, and my course leader was particularly interested in actionable insights that my research could offer as we consider our new studio spaces over the next few years. They asked me to consider ‘How do we intervene for spaces that we can actually design or modify?’
They also noted that in my survey questions (below), I have focussed heavily on the sensory angle (which they liked), might it be good to also bring this into my interview questions?
With this in mind, I have re-written my questions:
- Tell me about the places you work on your university or other creative work
- What is it about these places that makes you want to work there?
- What are your favourite things about your main workspace?
- What things do you wish were better about your main workspace?
- Consider the senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell — think about these in relation to the places you like to work — the good and the bad, and tell me about your experiences
- Thinking about all the previous things we’ve discussed, tell me about your experiences working on-site at LCC
I hope that these questions are more general and open ended, and will give me wider insights into students workspace preferences, while also still offering ideation around potential interventions in our current BA UXD studio.
Survey questions
My course leader was positive about my survey questions, and we discussed that the sensory elements were all rooted in conversations that I have already had with students and staff during my time working in this space (like the fact that many students want to eat in the space but can’t due to health and safety with the machinery we have, and discussions about what level of music, if any, is appropriate in the space).
The questions follow:
Not including taught sessions, fill in percentage estimates of how much of your creative (university or other design) work time you spend working in the following places (your total should make up 100%):
- [ ] Your bedroom
- [ ] Another room in your own accommodation
- [ ] A friend’s accommodation
- [ ] Our studio
- [ ] The LCC library
- [ ] Another library (specify)
- [ ] Somewhere else in the LCC building (specify)
- [ ] Coffee shops or cafes
- [ ] Public transport
- [ ] Other
Think about the place you work most often: why do you like to work here?
—
The senses…
Sight:
How do you most like to light your work space? (Number your top 3 preferences)
- Daylight
- Florescent overhead lighting
- An overhead light with a standard bulb
- A daylight lamp
- A warm colour lamp
- Other (specify)
Touch:
How do you like to sit (or stand) when working?
- Standing up! I love a standing desk!
- On some kind of special chair (for e.g. kneeling stool, exercise ball)
- Upright on a chair with good back support, feet flat on the floor
- On an upright chair, but I do slouch/cross my legs/lean back
- On a more comfortable relaxed chair, like an armchair or sofa
- Lying down
- Other (specify)
Sound:
Do you like music while you work?
- Yes, I am happy to have music on, and it can be pretty much anyone’s choice as long as it’s nothing too objectionable
- Yes, but only if it’s my choice
- No
What volume do you like music?
- LOUD!
- Medium volume, so I can still have a conversation over it
- I prefer to listen to music through headphones
- No music please!
Do you find other people’s voices distracting
- No, I like to be in a studio that feels busy and chatty
- Depends, if I am trying to concentrate on something difficult I might find them difficult to tolerate, but most of the time it’s fine
- I prefer if everyone keeps their voices low and tries not to talk too much
- I prefer total silence/solitude
Smell:
Do you enjoy things like scented candles, incense etc (We can’t have anything like this at UAL, but I am curious!)
- Yes, I like heavy, strong fragrances
- Yes, I quite like a light scent in the room
- No, I don’t enjoy this kind of thing
Taste:
Do you like to eat while you work?
- Yes, I often eat full meals at my desk while working, as well as snacks
- Yes, I eat snacks while working but prefer to go elsewhere to eat my main meals
- No, I don’t like to eat at my desk at all
What one change would you make to our workspace in T405 to improve it
I am commencing with my interviews this week, and will send out my survey early next week.