Research Stages
How did I design the research?
On this page you can find details on participant demographics, research methods, focus group session structures, and examples of the data collected.
Preliminary ExplorationTimelining Experiences
Exploring generational differences in sexual & reproductive experiences.
Stage 1Creating Artifacts
Co-designing speculative artifacts of sexual & reproductive futures.
Stage 2
Sharing Speculations
Co-designing how to share the speculative artifacts created in Stage 1.
Preliminary ExplorationTimelining Experiences
Exploring generational differences in sexual & reproductive experiences.
Research Tool:
Interviews with Visual Timeline
This stage consisted of interviews with 9 individuals assigned female at birth to chart their experience throughout their lives.
Participants were asked to place key moments in their sexual & reproductive lives on the timeline. They then talked through those experiences in detail.
Some participants chose to look to the future to consider what they dream of or fear in regards to their sexual & reproductive life.
9
Timelines Created
9
Participants
Ages 20-73
Preliminary Exploration sessions details
Example of a timeline from a participant in their 70s
20s
30s
40s
50s
60s
70+
This research gave me the background information I needed to plan the following stages.
During this research I also learned about how to discuss sexual & reproductive experiences - it can be so awkward! But it can also be emotionally powerful in both upsetting and empowering ways.
Many of these interviews were with my friends and family. This research was a wonderfully surprising way to bond.
Stage 1Creating Artifacts
Research Goal
Imagining future sexual & reproductive experiences to create provocations.
Research Tools:
Exploration Worksheet
Making Artifacts
During Stage 1, 18 participants created 24 artifacts. Eighteen artifacts were individually crafted (with a focus on contraception), while six were group projects exploring various aspects of sexual and reproductive experiences. Among six groups, five focused on sexual pleasure, and one chose menstrual cycles.
Co-design Toolkit
Stage 1 sessions details18
Co-designers
All
assigned
female at
birth
6x
2 hour
sessions
24
Artifacts
Created
Age 18-30
Artifact Making Activity (Individual)
Prompt: make an artifact from the future about ________ Contraception.
I chose contraception as the overall topic for everyone to work with. This provided the greatest accessibility and range of content.
Participants were also asked to pull an adjective from a bag to combine with the topic and inspire some making. These adjectives came from the “Futures Bazaar” (Cuttica & Candy).
After pulling an adjective partcipants were introduced to the co-design toolkit and asked to make an artifact from the future about their contraception prompt.
The participants each created an artifact, wrote a narrative about what they made, and shared their artifact back to the group.
BEAUTIFUL BIZARRE BRIGHT CREATIVE DEPRESSING FAIR FAST FREE GLOBAL GRASSROOTS GREEN HIGH-TECH HILARIOUS INNOVATIVE JOYFUL MUNDANE PLAYFUL QUEER REACTIONARY RECOVERING REGIMENTED RESILIENT SAD SCARY SELFISH SMART THRILLING VOLATILE WILD WISElist of adjectives
+ CONTRACEPTION
artifact examplesArtifact Making Activity (Group)
As the last activity participants were invited to make a final artifact together, informed by the conversations during the worksheet share back.
Prompt: What could ______ be like in the future?
In this activity participants co-designed a potential future within their choice of one of 5 topics.
The activity followed these steps:
Choose a topic as a group
Each fill out an “exploration sheet”
Compare ideas
Make an artifact!
Tag the artifact with a short description/narrative
Fertility
Contraception
Menstrual Cycles x1
Sexual Pleasure x5
Abortion
The exploration sheet was used to get participants thinking broadly about the future in many aspects of our lives. Each participant filled out a worksheet and then we went section by section to talk about their ideas. This worksheet was adapted from the “Futures Bazaar” (Cuttica & Candy).
The first 5 groups chose Sexual Pleasure as their focus.
The last group chose Menstrual Cycles.
Stage 2Sharing Speculations
Co-designing how to share the speculative artifacts created in Stage 1.
Research Tools:
Artifact Ranking
Collective Visioning
In Stage 2, the attention shifted to sharing the artifacts created in Stage 1. This stage considered the intentions behind sharing, the participants involved, and the location and method of sharing. Two different groups imagined a complete journey of encountering the artifacts through a timeline and designed the primary interaction with the artifacts using a prioritization bullseye.
Co-design Toolkit
Stage 2 sessions details2x
2 hour
sessions
9
Co-designers
Age 20-30
All
assigned
female
at birth
2
Collective
Visions
Artifact Selection
Prompt: Which artifacts are the most provocative and/or evocative?
Pick your top 5 artifacts.
This activity served to get participants familiarized with the collection of artifacts from Stage 1 and oriented our conversations toward the provocative intention behind the research.
The image displays the selected artifact cards along with a summary indicating the frequency of each card's selection.
Collective Visioning
Prompt: How should we share these artifacts?
As a group, participants collectively envisioned the ideal way to share the artifacts. Who should be involved? What form should the sharing take? What intention do we have behind how we might share the artifacts?
Participants started by filling out a timeline template with the sections: Awareness, Approach, Interaction w/ Artifacts, Reflection, and Sharing.
They then moved into a prioritization bullseye of just the Interaction w/ Artifacts section to create an in-depth vision of the primary interaction.
Group 1
Timeline and Prioritization Bullseye
Group 2
Timeline and Prioritization Bullseye
