Individual Thesis Meeting with Brian Delevie

Problem: Young women in their 20's are constantly battling a bombardment of external influences that degrade their self image, especially their body image, and while people notice these external influences as largely negative, there aren't many existing solutions for these young women to help or protect themselves from these influences. 

Research Question: How can experiential design concepts help young women in their 20's use behavioral modification to improve their perception of their body image?

Using your research conducted to this point, an evaluation of the validity and personal love you have for problem definition and research question.

As a part of the identified group that my thesis, problem, and research question pertain to, there is no question of the validity of them to me, but I feel that I still need to further research the validity of them to other women in the demographic that I have identified. I can with certainty say that there are many external sources that provide influence to young women in their twenties, this certainty is partially due to the research that I have conducted thus far and from personal experience through me and my friends who also belong to this demographic. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I love my topic, but it deeply fascinates and perplexes me in a way that I find continually engaging. I don't love body image issues, but I believe that they desperately need to be addressed, and who better to address them than someone to whom they personally affect? My main goal for this project has been to figure out a way to help people overcome personal challenges so that they can better face the world, as this is a very broad and generalized goal, narrowing it down to the topic I have settled on has been both challenging and satisfying. Now that I have a direction of where I can focus my research and attention, I feel that I can be more successful in my aims to help others.

A summary of what you have learned thus far through your research.   Have your assumption proved to be correct?  Have you learned something surprising that is causing you to readjust your research question or the direction of your ideation process? 

My earlier stages of research were less focused because I didn't yet have the definition of my problem or question at that point, but that research is what ultimately lead me to my current position. At the very least, I validated the assumption that people have behaviors that they want to change, that young women in their twenties engage in multiple platforms of social interaction that provide large quantities of influence to their lives on a daily basis, and I've gained some knowledge behind the psychology of behavioral change and different means to enact such change. So far, I haven't come across any research that has discredited my assumptions, but I still have areas of research to cover that might change that later on. I wouldn't say that I've learned something that surprised me that caused me to change or adjust my research question or direction of my ideation process, at least not yet, but I did come to understand that by applying my focus to helping solve a particular problem, if the solution I create through my research and thesis is effective enough, I can help solve other problems that laterally relate to my topic.

An evaluation of your research process thus far?  Is your research methods and processes yielding the information you need?  If not, where is your research methodology and protocols going astray? Could your process have been flawed at some point? 

Thus far, my research has yielded sufficient result, but there is still a lot left to do. I would say that my research has been effective, perhaps not as effective because it hasn't progressed as far as I would have liked at this point, but that isn't a fault in my research, rather in my work ethic.

A list of questions that you need clarification or direction on to successfully meet the requirements for this project.

I'm struggling to find a DME, it's really a question but some brainstorming might be helpful as to where I should look next.

How completed should we be in our process by the time the semester ends?

I'm sure I'll have more questions once we are in our meeting together