Charlotte Lee

Conducting a User Study of Farmer's Markets

Prof. Charlotte P. Lee, Computer Supported Collaboration Laboratory

Come join us as we conduct a user study of low-income women with children who frequent a farmer’s market in King County. This study will inform potential designs that will facilitate connections between small, local food producers and local consumers who want and need access to fresher, healthier foods. Our goal is to help promote small, local farms, and to encourage a local food system that is environmentally responsible and promotes food justice.

For Spring quarter, we will begin with a crash course on the qualitative research methods where students will learn how to interview people and how to conduct participant-observation research, such as shadowing people as they shop. Students will gain practical experience collecting, transcribing, and organizing qualitative research data. We are looking for motivated BS, MS, and PhD students.

In the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI), the area of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) is increasingly looking at larger and more complex systems. But one type of system that seems to deserve more attention is the food system. Food systems include an amazing variety of things from seeds and soil, to tractors, to farmers and their communities, to consumers and their communities, to people, businesses and factories that grow, package, process, distribute, or consume food. More abstract things like culture and policies can be part of a food system too. Farmer's markets are one part of a larger food system, but are a promising place to start working towards improving sustainable and healthy food practices.

Participants in this research group will enroll for 3-5 credits (CR/NC) through HCDE 596 (for graduate students) or HCDE 496 (for undergraduate students). This research group will meet once per week during the Winter quarter. Time is TBD but it will be sometime Monday through Thursday between 10am and 4pm. Students interested in this research group should email Prof. Charlotte Lee (cplee@uw.edu) by March 17. In your email, please tell me what your interest is in the topic and what experience you may have conducting user studies.

Prerequisite: Students should read the first 5 chapters of Oran Hesterman's book Fair Food: Growing a Healthy Sustainable Food System for All by the end of the first week of Spring quarter. It is a quick read.