Reconstructing Intimate Contexts through Data Donation

A Case Study in Menstrual Tracking Technologies

Conference Paper (2022)
Author(s)

A. Gomez Ortega (TU Delft - Internet of Things)

Jacky Bourgeois (TU Delft - Internet of Things)

Gerd Kortuem (TU Delft - Internet of Things)

Internet of Things
Copyright
© 2022 A. Gomez Ortega, J. Bourgeois, G.W. Kortuem
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.1145/3546155.3546646
More Info
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Publication Year
2022
Language
English
Copyright
© 2022 A. Gomez Ortega, J. Bourgeois, G.W. Kortuem
Internet of Things
ISBN (print)
978-1-4503-9699-8
ISBN (electronic)
9781450396998
Reuse Rights

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Abstract

Ubiquitous wearable and mobile technologies generate vast amounts of data from sensors and self-logging applications. This data creates opportunities to better understand people’s behavior and inform research on intimate topics such as menstruation. However, in design and HCI research, reconstructing the context in which data was collected and understanding the lived experience behind the data often requires the active participation of people. In this paper, we augment the concept of data donation beyond data collection to explore the possibilities of actively engaging data donors in the (intimate) interpretation of their data. Specifically, we define and implement a menstrual logs data donation journey. We received data sets from 35 donors over five weeks, 13 of whom participated in reconstructing the context of their data. We translate our experience into a conceptualization of designerly data donation around the data, data donors, and data receivers, which we discuss along with its implications.