Abstract
This paper introduces design ethnographic methods—participatory observation and visual mapping activities—used in the discovery phase of a co-design project aimed at optimising blood culture pathways for potentially infectious patients across three NHS trust emergency departments in the UK. By integrating participatory systemic design with ethnographic approaches, the study enabled clinical staff to share their insights and shape service workflows. Their engagement reshapes systemic thinking for blood culture pathways used by clinical staff, enabling researchers to frame co-design workshops and later systemic interventions for the next stage of the research project. This paper emphasises the significance of systemic visual mapping activities as a transitional intermediate research method between participatory observations and co-design workshops in the discovery stage. It provides insights and strategies for design researchers on conducting participatory research activities and engaging with participants through accessible visual materials and participatory data collection tools in complex, high-pressure contexts.
Keywords
systemic visual mapping; accessible visual materials; participation in high pressure settings; participatory data collection
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2443
Citation
Ai, W., and Prendiville, A. (2026) Participatory visual mapping as a systemic data collection method in complex, high-pressure context, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2443
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Participatory visual mapping as a systemic data collection method in complex, high-pressure context
This paper introduces design ethnographic methods—participatory observation and visual mapping activities—used in the discovery phase of a co-design project aimed at optimising blood culture pathways for potentially infectious patients across three NHS trust emergency departments in the UK. By integrating participatory systemic design with ethnographic approaches, the study enabled clinical staff to share their insights and shape service workflows. Their engagement reshapes systemic thinking for blood culture pathways used by clinical staff, enabling researchers to frame co-design workshops and later systemic interventions for the next stage of the research project. This paper emphasises the significance of systemic visual mapping activities as a transitional intermediate research method between participatory observations and co-design workshops in the discovery stage. It provides insights and strategies for design researchers on conducting participatory research activities and engaging with participants through accessible visual materials and participatory data collection tools in complex, high-pressure contexts.