Collaborative Writing Research @ CMU

Role

UX Researcher

Team

3 Student Researchers

Timeline

Fall 2023 - Spring 2024

Overview

Young people are facing a mental health crisis. Finding support is more important now than ever before.

The Brief

My team explored the use of distancing and different collaborative writing mechanisms to help young people work through difficult problems they may be facing.

Context

What is distancing?

Psychological distancing uses fiction to allow users to engage in tough topics indirectly. It is commonly deployed in media like video games and stories to explore difficult subjects in a safe way.

My team researched whether distancing can be used to help people work through problems by writing about them through the lens of a fictional narrative and receiving advice through that same narrative. For example, if I was struggling with feelings of inadequacy, I could write a story where a fictional character doesn't feel good enough. Then, a collaborator can add to the story, helping me work through my own feelings of inadequacy through the lens of fictional characters.

Pilot

We conducted pilot tests of collaborative writing between an anonymous Author and Collaborator to gather data and validate the process. The Author picked a fictional world, such as Harry Potter, and a problem to work through. They started the story and introduced the problem, while the Collaborator finished the story and incorporated advice into the narrative

Insight 01

The problems Authors were facing weren't explicit enough to the Collaborators

Insight 02

Collaborators often took the story in a direction that wasn't helpful or validating to the Author

Area of Opportunity

Provide stronger framework for stories and allow the Author and Collaborator to communicate

Authors would still begin the story, but before the Collaborator writes their portion, 3 options on how the story should continue would be provided, similar to a "choose your own adventure" formula. The Authors were also instructed to directly tell the Collaborator the problem they wrote about.

Method 1 - Collaborator provides choices

Authors would write their part of the story. Then, the Collaborator reads the story and gives three broad choices to the author, who picks one for the Collaborator to write

Method 2 - Author provides choices

The Author writes their part of the story. Then, they give three broad choices to the Collaborator, who picks one for themselves to follow as they write

Insight 03

Participants reported the choice methodology as too rigid of a framework, limiting creativity and the ability to give proper advice

Insight 04

The creator of the choices often felt let down if the other participant didn't pick their "preferred" choice

Insight 05

More communication was strongly desired

Method 3 - Quick relay with no choices

Participants wrote brief sections meant for multiple quick hand-offs. We were testing if shorter, frequent interactions and communication would be a more organic alternative to the choice structure

Insight 06

Time constraints and hand-off deadlines negatively impacted participation

Insight 07

Free communication, instead of communicating at hand-off points, is more beneficial

Putting it all together

Recommendation

Our research found that Authors did find the collaborative writing process helpful in reflection interviews. However, providing too rigid of a framework may not bring value to the collaboration. Instead, give them the ability to communicate freely with one another, as most participants had a strong desire to communicate more frequently throughout the writing process. Communication will negate the need for inflexible instructions or timelines.

What I learned

Reflection

A major concern of mine was accidentally causing harm through our research. To negate this, we instructed participants to focus on problems they were comfortable sharing and working through with another writer.

Sometimes research is figuring out what works through the process of elimination. Even though our new methodologies weren't as successful as I'd hoped, they gave us valuable data. Collaboration shouldn't be forced, it should flow naturally with the help of open communication.

Case Studies

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