Maps​

This research project uses mixed methods to unpack the meanings and dimensions of community for research participants. One of the methods we're using is spatial analysis. By examining the ways that our research participants use space in Toronto, as well as the ways in which they move through and experience different spaces, we are developing a better understanding of the relevance of space and place in conceptions of community for people who have been diagnosed with psychosis. 

During the interview process our research participants took part in participatory mapping exercises, where they outlined the contours of their activity spaces, highlighted important places in their daily lives and, finally, provided information on the levels of comfort, satisfaction, and social interaction they experienced in these different places.

We are now using a geographic information system (GIS) to visualize this data in the form of maps, which we will use to measure, analyze and display the data we collected. Triangulating these results with quantitative and qualitative analysis of data collected throughout the project will provide valuable insight into some of the various ways that community is conceived and experienced in Toronto.

Study tuned for spatial analysis findings and visual representations of participants' maps!