Working solo or with a partner, write an insightful essay of no more than 500 words on the CT Open Communities Alliance Mobility App tool, using our:
- interview guide
- interview transcripts (access restricted to our research team)
- anonymized interview participant summary spreadsheet (shown below):
Focus on either topic A or B:
A) Thematic analysis of interview data, or
How do lower-income residents navigate and interpret results when using the current version of the Housing Mobility app? Look for interesting themes that emerge across the spreadsheet and the transcripts. (Feel free to File > Make a Copy of the spreadsheet to help you code transcripts if desired.) The most insightful themes are those that appear below the surface level, which are not visible to most readers at first glance.
- literal (e.g. findable in a text search), and usually more interesting if you explore who raises it, or when/where/how it is raised, or its frequency in certain settings
- subtle themes (not a specific word, but a concept that requires interpretation)
- unspoken themes (the absence of a specific concept)
B) Housing Mobility App conceptual redesign
Based on our interview data, how would you redesign the website to better achieve the goals of the CT Open Community Alliance? In your recommendations, be specific about different parts of the current tool: user interface, data sets, point and polygon maps, search routines, etc. Feel free to think beyond the current design, but describe and illustrate new ideas so that others may understand them. Recommended: Download the free Skitch screenshot and drawing tool to add visualizations.
For either type of essay, support your insights with persuasive evidence from our interview spreadsheet (such as simple calculations, X% of users) and/or quotes or paraphrasing of transcripts (cite by Participant number).
The audience for your essay is Erin Boggs from CT OCA, who may provide feedback on your instructor’s evaluation of this assignment. Due via Google Docs (shared with jackdrty@gmail.com) by Tues April 28th at 10pm.
Essays (Google Docs may require readers to request access from authors; or authors may grant reading access to anyone with the link, if they desire)
A) Thematic analysis
B) Conceptual redesign