Research Methods

+PDF RESEARCH ANALYSIS
Consisted of in-home interviews, cooking diaries, online conversations, spontaneous cooking ‘happenings’ and participatory culinary activities. The in-home interviews consisted of active cooking participation with the interviewee. This allowed a level of intimate engagement that would have otherwise been impossible. Cooking with the individual helped me gain a deeper understanding of the meaning behind their processes and see cooking through their eyes. +PDF RESEARCH BIBLIOGRAPHY
Included readings of cultural commentary, ethnographical studies, critical theory on capitalist food systems, cultural consumerism and linguistic and psychoanalytic theory. Because this thesis came out of an interdisciplinary program, sources for inspiration and knowledge of the topic originated from a wide selection of sociological, psychological and cultural texts. The range of opinions and insights gathered through this research helped place the more subjective insights found in the primary research into a larger, more objective perspective. Many of these readings were referenced as support for findings in the primary research. The goal of the human-centered research I conducted was to experience the various ways in which people approach cooking and understand how they become inspired and motivated to engage in culinary activities. Through this research I learned how cooking is intimately tied to social and family hierarchies, body image, personal histories, emotions, and moral and ethical values which allowed me to develop a framework through which I could focus my design work and was critical in understanding how design could be used to encourage and support a continued practice of everyday cooking among individuals of varying skill levels. Participants in my research included individuals ranging in age from 25-36. They come from a variety of cultural, professional and socioeconomic backgrounds. Based on review of the demographic information available on this group, they are typically open to alternative modes of engagement and quick to embrace non-traditional methods. They enjoy learning new skills and prefer a hands-off approach when in an educational setting. They are perceptive and able to adapt to change easily. Since the primary goal of this thesis is to present cooking as a set of possibilities and encourage exploration and experimentation, this group served as an excellent audience to test my design ideas.