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Narrative Probes in Design Research for Social Innovation

Venkataraman, Hemalatha
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8023-1981
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1524135294341671

Abstract Details

2018, Master of Fine Arts, Ohio State University, Design.
Eliciting multiple stakeholder narratives is a critical factor when designing systems, services or products. This thesis explores the development of a new methodology rooted in the idea of eliciting narratives from stakeholders, with potential use in applied design research, particularly designed for social innovation. Combining my skillset and training as an architect, designer, and an artist, I chose to conduct an exploratory, qualitative research that focuses on people and their stories by creating a new methodology for participatory design research. This methodology makes use of picture postcards as `narrative probes’ to elicit sociocultural narratives from stakeholders through dialogue, and helps build relationships between them before moving to co-design settings. It emphasizes the need for slow design in the process, and seeks to create an immersive process that primes participants for future steps exploring the sociocultural topic of investigation. The narrative probe methodology involves the use of the postcard exchange between a pair of stakeholders as the sole means of communication to discuss the topic in conversation (this research explores what “Home and Community” means to participants) and dialogue, along with process interviews and a generative design research activity. I, the researcher, took part in the process as one of the stakeholders as a remote witness and facilitator to an analog means of communication in the situation of a digital times. Participants responded to the process’s pain points and successful aspects during three one-on-one process interviews. These data were used to analyze the experiences, thoughts, and feelings of the participants as reflected in the iterative interviews. The findings of the exploration research have been recorded in terms of personal narratives of introspection and sociocultural narratives through dialogue. Using narrative probes in research has shed insight on how the co-design processes could potentially benefit from creating avenues for empathetic connection between participants by removing the space for manifestation of implicit biases through slow, immersive design methods. In creating a people-centered process that improves participant(s)-researcher relationships and allows the space for trustworthy connections to be formed, there is a potential for eliciting more honest narratives from participants for social innovation.
Elizabeth B.-N. Sanders (Advisor)
Mary Anne Beecher (Committee Member)
David Staley (Committee Member)
389 p.
Design
social innovation; design; front end of design; generative design research; narrative probes; design research; new methodology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Venkataraman, H. (2018). Narrative Probes in Design Research for Social Innovation [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1524135294341671

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Venkataraman, Hemalatha. Narrative Probes in Design Research for Social Innovation. 2018. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1524135294341671.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Venkataraman, Hemalatha. "Narrative Probes in Design Research for Social Innovation." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1524135294341671

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1524135294341671
363
© 2018, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.