Week 3

At this stage I am now set on the topic that I would like to design for. It is now time to plan how I am going to tackle the research stage of my project. As my topic is so specific I knew that I would need to target a distinct group of individuals. I thought the best way to gain information was to create a work book with several exercises for participants to complete. I made sure that each exercise wasn't too demanding as I didn't want to put pressure on each individual. I also made it extremely clear that every part is voluntary and participants can stop whenever they like.

Questionnaire

I started to think about what information I would like to find out. I created a small questionnaire that only people who have been diagnosed with OCD would be able to answer.

Question 1.

I would like to reveal what type of OCD is most common whether it be the past or present version.

Question 2.

From this question I would like to gauge the different experience that each OCD theme has

Question 3.

Similar to question 2 it will be interesting to see how each person’s workbook differs compared to each sub theme

Question 4.

I would like to see if there is any methods of meditation or techniques which are natural, also to see if the individual has been taking prescribed medication for OCD as on the social media groups that I am apart of there is a current debate on their effectiveness.

Question 5.

As I know I would like to focus on Pure O it will be insightful to learn how common physical compulsions are in this form of OCD.

---

A day in the life

Another research method that I would like to perform is 'A day in the life of' I felt that this could potentially be a very useful method of research as I know that OCD isn't temporary. Flare ups can happen at any stage of the day and in some cases the whole day. I am using this technique to identify any trends. There may be links between what food the participant consumes and their anxiety levels or if a certain activity triggers an attack.

---

The Person Template

As I am looking into anxiety levels, I thought it was important to discover how mental health impacts the whole body. In this exercise I would like participants to demonstrate on the figure where the OCD affects them. This could impact headaches, bitten fingernails or restless leg syndrome.

---

After these exercises are complete I think it would be useful to interview each participant on their experience of each task. As I have included both writing and drawing tasks it will be insightful to learn how they interacted with each activity and what format they preferred.

---

I have now spoken to my cousin who has been diagnosed with Pure OCD and he is very keen to participate in this project. Therefore, I will create a separate work book for him as our research journey will be longer term. The main difference between the 2 workbooks is that the lengthened one will be the day in a life exercise will be transformed into a 30-day document which is to be completed over a month. Instead of getting an average day in the life, I will receive more information about the highs and lows of life with OCD over a prolonged period of time. I also plan on having a discussion with my cousin through Zoom, I am not going to prepare interview questions, but I will start by asking him about how his OCD affects his life then hopefully we will have a lengthy discussion on the matter, and I will gain some raw insights.

Steps for next week:

- Find participants for work books

- Create separate work book for my cousin

- Conduct an interview through zoom