Winter 2025
Community Maternal Health Resource (CMHR) Study Analysis
Instructors:
- Dr. Julie Kientz, DRG Supervisor
- Leslie Coney, DRG Lead
In the spring and summer of last year, PhD Candidate Leslie Coney, along with a community partner, conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 Black birthing people about their experiences seeking and using community-based resources during pregnancy and postpartum in WA State. In this DRG, we will be analyzing the interview data using thematic analysis and synthesizing our results.
We are looking for individuals who are eager about being a part of a hands-on qualitative research experience, hold a cultural understanding of the Black community, and work well in collaborative environments. It is also a plus if you have experience with Atlas.ti.
You will receive 2 credits for the completion of this DRG and authorship credit for any publications produced from the analysis. If you have any additional questions, please reach out to Leslie Coney via email at lesconey@uw.edu.
Enrollment information
This DRG is full and no longer accepting applications for Winter 2025.
- Meeting time: Wednesdays, 2 p.m. PST
- Credits: 2
- Anticipated notification date: Participants will be notified by Tuesday, January 14, 2025.
- Questions? Please email Leslie (lesconey@uw.edu) to indicate interest and a meeting will be set to discuss project fit.
Winter 2025
Exploring Photography and Social Media Guidelines in Childcare Institutions
Instructors: Meghna Gupta, Julie Kientz
Photography and social media sharing in childcare institutions has become widespread, serving diverse purposes such as documenting educational activities, capturing moments of fun, promoting the institution, and providing parents with visual updates. However, these practices raise significant ethical considerations around consent, privacy, and digital safety — particularly in how they intersect with children’s agency, parental expectations, and the responsibilities of childcare workers.
This DRG aims to investigate how childcare institutions navigate these complexities through both formal policies and informal practices, examining the structural frameworks of institutional guidelines as well as the lived experiences of childcare providers, parents, and children.
The students will be expected to assist in conducting the following activities over the course of the DRG (tentative):
- Analysis of Institutional Policies: We will crowdsource and collaboratively analyze institutional policies and practices around photo-taking and social media sharing.
- Semi-Structured Interviews with Providers and Parents: We will conduct semi-structured interviews or focus groups with childcare providers and parents to gather deeper insights into their understanding of institutional policies, the challenges they face, and the strategies they use to navigate expectations around photo-taking and sharing practices.
- Participatory Design Activities with Children: We will use participatory design techniques to capture children’s views and experiences.
Enrollment information
- Meeting time: To be determined based on student availability.
- Credits: Students will receive 2 credits for successful completion of the DRG which will be determined by active participation in course discussion and completion of the project.
- Who should apply: We are looking for 2-4 undergraduate or graduate students. Ideal students will have completed basic coursework in HCDE, undergraduates or graduates, experience with conducting user studies, qualitative analysis, interest in digital safety, child-computer interaction, and social media.
- This DRG counts toward the directed research requirement for PhD students.
- To apply: Please complete this Google Form.
- Questions? Contact Meghna Gupta (megupta@uw.edu)
Winter 2025
Designing a Desktop App for Storing Virtual Memories
Led by: Nisha Devasia, PhD student
Advised by: Julie Kientz, HCDE Professor
Long distance relationships are becoming increasingly common, typically because one partner is pursuing educational or employment opportunities. Anywhere from 25-50% of college students report being in a LDR. People in LDRs often play video games together as a way to stay connected, and the facilitators have run a study investigating these dynamics. In a DRG last spring, students used these findings to prototype a digital diary app that couples could use to store virtual memories made together. This DRG will be focused on building that app and user test it with couples. The facilitator (Nisha) is a former software engineer and has partially built out some of the functionality, and a REU student has created a working Figma prototype that we will be recreating.
Enrollment information
- Meeting time: To be determined based on student availability
- Credits: 2-3 credits (e.g., 6-9 hours total of meeting and outside work)
- Who should apply:
- 2-4 students (undergraduate or graduate)
- Extensive experience with EITHER frontend or backend software engineering. Fullstack ideal but not required.
- To apply: Fill out this Google Form.
- Questions? Contact Nisha at ndevasia@uw.edu