PROBLEM FRAMING IN THE AGE OF DATA ANALYTICS

This paper provides a way to bring together qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate how data analytics could offer an additional perspective to framing social innovation design problems in the classroom. Using data analytics to complement current design research methods could be useful to identify, frame, and address complex societal design challenges more effectively. This methodology can also support design educators who are interested in social issues to frame projects for their students considering real implications and potential impact in an objective way. This paper describes a social innovation studio project sponsored by the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry in North Carolina, in which students applied human centred research to address hydration needs of tobacco seasonal migrant workers in the field, who come to the U.S. from Mexico. The results of this analysis suggest that qualitative methods could benefit from data analytics to develop framing design problems from a comprehensive perspective.