2015
Design Research
Strategy
-
Group Project
ONLINE DATING
It is a 14 week project using advanced qualitative research methods to gain an in-depth experience of the research phase to design.
The goal is to understand what peoples' value of relationships based on their online dating experience.
Members of Team Talkative Girls
Jane Park
Sonia J. Lui
Tina Tsung
THE BIG QUESTION
Has online dating changed the way people value relationships? If so, how?
Q1
What was the motivation to start online dating?
Q2
How do people who date online see themselves in the relationship?
Q3
How do people who date online value relationship?
RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES
We choose three research methodologies we designed to gain the best information possible when we interview our candidates.
Time-line
“Please draw the first or most memorable date with someone you met online.”
PROS
Ice breaking
Understanding motivation
Image Deck
“Pick two cards that best represent how you think of relationships before and after online dating.”
PROS
Visualizing relationships
Metaphor
Trade off
“Please arrange different cards to fit in a limited space which represents your ideal relationship.”
The six values
Honesty, equality, commitment, respect, understanding, and time management
PROS
Priority of values
Compromise values
The following interviews based on each exercise
INTERVIEWEES & EXPERT
Jon
“ I just try to make new friends outside of school.”
Jade
“It’s just fun to talk to people online.”
Hsin
“I want someone to lead me in the relationship.”
Austin
“I don’t want attachments of girlfriends right now.”
Tianyi
“I want to have a family eventually.”
“Online dating users have a shopping
mentality when choosing a date.”
Dr. Karen L. Sorensen, PhD
Specializes in clinical psychology
RESEARCH ANALYSIS
We used multiple qualitative research methods which helped us find out design opportunities through discovering key information and patterns.
KJ Exercise
From mind-mapping information we gained from the interviews, we learned to organize them all into categories that created stronger relationships and help us for later analysis.
Takeaways from using the KJ exercise
01
Online dating promotes a superficial culture.
02
Online dating creates a buffer zone for users to process rejection.
03
Online dating apps give users opportunity to re-brand their images.
04
Online dating apps help users expand their relationship intuition bank.
05
Online dating users have major trust issues on the system and other users.
POEMS Analysis
Analyzed the data from KJ exercise by categorizing each of the findings to people, object, environment, message, and system.
User Experience Frame Work
Exploring the five factors - physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and cultural - related the online dating experience of the users.
Ethnographers Question
To consider aspects such as social order, deviations, and rituals that bring a deeper meaning to online dating apps’ users’ world.
INSIGHTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
As a result from analyzing all the research, we came up with eight insights with nineteen opportunities that follow, and I will highlight the four most interesting sets.
01
Online dating promotes a superficial culture which makes users to have a shopping mentality.
1A
Eliminate stereotypes on online dating.
1B
Prioritize personality and values before appearance on the app design.
1C
Alternate shoppers mentality to value “personality more than face”.
02
Shopping mentality leads to missed opportunities.
2A
Change the current hierarchy.
2B
Prioritize personality and values before appearance on the app design.
03
Online dating users re-brand themselves to enhance to find/attract their types.
3A
System provides statistics of the type of people the user attracted.
3B
Allow users to have privacy but not seen as being dishonest.
04
Online communication provides users a mask to be more straightforward.
4A
Have straightforward communication without masking or pretending.
4B
A community of an online dating world the share and exchange experience.
This 14-weeks project focused on learning advanced research methods.
In practice, a process like this would be followed by the design project,
starting with the ideation phase and then concept development, and so on.
THANK YOU
by Team Talkative Girls
Copyright © 2020 Tina Tsung