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Retrospective · reviewing the study a year on

One opportunity tree for the student housing study, then and now

The team's research matrix, my 2025 scaling of the question, and what I'd add now, branched into one board. Each item is tagged with where it came from, so the before and after stay visible.

TEAM 2025Team 13 research matrix and guides ME 2025My question redesign, PESTLE and AEIOU guide (Nov 2025) NOWWhat I'd add reviewing it in 2026 GAPWhere access could fall through
At a glance

The three trees, drawn

Same root problem, three versions. Dashed pink marks where access or health had no real branch.

TEAM 2025Team 13's research questions

Team 13's research questions (2025) Methods Describe user research Methods for this study UR in higher education Key barriers Financial Logistical Social Informational Systemic Suitable accom. Location Safety Cost Culture Provider criteria Students Profile Existing services Bristol market Process of finding Journey Info sources Timing Touchpoints Health Asked once Never answered

ME 2025My scaled question, made after I joined: deeper on barriers and room fit, by course

My scaled question (Nov 2025) Method Ethnographic Attitudinal / behav. Qual / quant Named methods Issue: PESTLE Political Economic Social Health: placeholder Technological Legal Environmental Goal: AEIOU Activity Environment Interactivity Object: desk space Disability access User Who: by course I&E MSc China, India, USA Where Bristol Previous universities When Not a part yet Access: stage 3 only

NOWThe combined tree: both, plus a When part and health and access as real branches

Now: one six-part question Method Autoethnography first Ethnographic tree Interviews, focus group Diary + photo study Survey via SU QA + senior review Issue PESTLE prompts Team categories Health and access Caused by housing Goal Team: suitable AEIOU Access as a goal Searchable room details Who By course Nationality, level By need: disabled Where Bristol market 5 providers audited Competing cities When 5 journey stages Room fit at stage 4 Diary across stages
In detail

The combined tree, item by item

Root question

How might we use user research methods to reduce key barriers for postgraduate international students finding suitable accommodation before starting at the University of Bristol?

TEAM 2025 Goal: reduce key barriers · Issue: finding suitable accommodation · Scope: before starting. "Suitable" = the student's expectations are met when they first see the room in person.

ME 2025 When I joined the team, after its matrix was set up, I re-scaled the question straight away with the template from my previous group: How might we use [method] to [goal] for [who] in [where], then branched each part.

NOW Add a sixth part, [when], because the team's journey stages show timing is where stress peaks.
Branch 1 · How

Method

  • Desk research
    • TEAM 2025Describe user research and its use in higher education; sources log (Universities UK, MEL Research, Emerald, HESA)
    • ME 2025Method tree: ethnographic → attitudinal / behavioural → qualitative / quantitative → named methods, each as its own question
    • NOWMy own secondary research, run per branch (see "If I ran the secondary research again" below)
    • NOWFreedom of Information requests on adjustments, room moves and withdrawals; booking-website audit (done, Nov 2026)
  • Behavioural
    • ME 2025Picked: autoethnography, contextual inquiry, co-creation, card sorting, photo study
    • NOWAutoethnography first, used to test-run every guide before fieldwork
    • NOWDiary study from offer to arrival; photo study (listing photo vs real room); mystery shopping with access questions
  • Attitudinal
    • TEAM 2025Semi-structured interviews: students, a landlord, accommodation staff, Students' Union officers (incl. Equality & Accessibility)
    • TEAM 2025Focus group: co-designed journey map (AEIOU and emotions)
    • NOWSurvey via the Students' Union; card sort of the room details students need
  • Analysis and quality checks
    • GAPFieldwork and coding in the same week; AEIOU lens barely applied; AI-assisted coding dropped the reason behind my case
    • NOWCode between methods; check every guide against the tree; manual search for sensitive themes; human check of AI coding; senior review on top of peer review; keep time and budget for a late lens
Branch 2 · Issue

Barriers

  • The team's categories
    • TEAM 2025Problem statement: information, process, financial
    • TEAM 2025Key barriers: financial, logistical, social, informational, systemic; postgraduate vs undergraduate; online transparency and trust
    • TEAM 2025Coding (desk research): economic, informational, institutional, wellbeing
  • PESTLE, branched into prompts
    • ME 2025Political: council tax, visa work limits, global affairs
    • ME 2025Economic: currency exchange, working hours, credit, cost of living
    • ME 2025Social: cultural norms; health consciousness and health and safety GAPleft as placeholders
    • ME 2025Technological: booking technology
    • ME 2025Legal: new laws, accommodation tax · TEAM 2025Renters' Rights Bill and upfront rent
    • ME 2025Environmental: light, air and water supply; flooding; airborne viruses; fire safety
  • Health and access
    • NOWA pre-existing condition the room doesn't suit
    • NOWHealth problems caused or made worse by the housing (damp, mould, no daylight)
    • NOWFill the health placeholders with questions, then carry them into every guide
Branch 3 · Goal

Suitable accommodation

  • What "suitable" means
    • TEAM 2025Define suitable; what feels safe, affordable and welcoming; cultural expectations; provider criteria; good examples elsewhere
    • ME 2025Facilities, locations, prices
  • AEIOU: does the room fit the person's life?
    • ME 2025Activity: social, health, sport, music, leisure
    • ME 2025Environment: location, facilities, shared vs studio
    • ME 2025Interactivity: flatmates, wider students
    • ME 2025Object: double bed, desk space, bedding, catered, disability access
    • ME 2025User: accommodation, flatmate and coursemate socials
  • Access as a facility goal
    • NOWRoom fit: desk depth, window position and daylight, space for equipment
    • NOWSearchable room details on every listing; a way to ask for adaptations before signing
Branch 4 · Who

Students

  • TEAM 2025All international postgraduates; their profile; postgraduate vs undergraduate; interviewees from several countries
  • ME 2025By course: Chinese, Indian and American students on the Innovation and Entrepreneurship MSc. Course is the segment that lets results be recorded and reported back to target audience profiles
  • ME 2025Coding (user barriers): disabled, couples, mature, faith, dietary, family and other user groups
  • NOWSegment by course and by need: disabled students and students with health conditions as an explicit group; one-year stays
Branch 5 · Where

Place

  • TEAM 2025Bristol's housing market; HESA figures for where the University's students live; existing university services
  • ME 2025Bristol, and students' previous universities
  • NOWFive providers' booking pages audited: Bristol, Bath, UWE, Unite, Casita
  • NOWCompeting universities and cities, to compare what good looks like
Branch 6 · When

The journey

  • TEAM 2025Process of finding: end-to-end journey, information sources, timing, touchpoints, trade-offs; 5 stages from applying to moving in
  • ME 2025PESTLE and AEIOU prompts mapped onto the 5 stages as focus-group activity labels
  • GAPDisability access only appeared as a label at stage 3 (comparing options)
  • NOWAsk about room fit at stage 4, where stress peaks at 6.0 out of 10, and again at stage 5 (moving in)
What the comparison shows

Two methods, mostly the same ground, different blind spots

AreaTeam 2025Me 2025Now
Journey and timingStrongMapped prompts onto itMake it a sixth part of the question
Information and trustStrongUnder technologicalKeep
Breadth of barriersFive categoriesFull PESTLE with promptsMerge both
Room fitNot coveredAEIOU, incl. desk space and disability accessA goal of its own
HealthOne unanswered desk questionPlaceholders onlyA full branch, in every guide
WhoNationality and level of studyCourse, then nationalityCourse and need
Hypothetical · if I did it again now

If I ran the secondary research again

The secondary research was set over half term, after the research matrix and question were meant to be done. I missed that round when I moved team. Here is how I'd run it now with the sources the team already logged: one question per branch, so the desk research feeds the tree instead of sitting beside it.

BranchQuestion to answerSources already in the team's logStill to find
Issue · economicHow do rent, deposits and guarantor rules shut international postgraduates out?HEPI (2023); Unipol rent survey (2023); MEL Research (2024)Bristol-specific guarantor-scheme take-up
Issue · information and trustWhich listing details do students rely on, and which mislead them?Knight Frank / UCAS survey (2024); UKCISA advice; Emerald (2022) on property attributesFraud and misleading-listing data
Issue · institutional and legalWhere do university, council and provider responsibilities leave gaps before arrival?Universities UK (2023); HEPI (2024); Renters' Rights Bill (problem statement)How the Bill's upfront-rent limits play out in practice
Issue · health and accessHow often does a room not suit a health need, and what happens next?GAPNothing in the logReasonable-adjustment guidance for student housing; damp, mould and daylight standards
Goal · suitableWhat do postgraduates (not undergraduates) need from a room?"What do postgraduates want from their student accommodation?" (2021); Emerald (2022)Room-fit details: desk depth, window position
WhoWhich courses and countries do Bristol's international postgraduates come from, how many are disabled or non-disabled, and where do they live?HESA (where students live); Cushman & Wakefield (2025); "Globally Competitive" (2025)Numbers by course and by disability
WhereHow does Bristol compare with other student cities?Bristol renting coverage and accommodation guides; my website audit (2026)Competing universities' pre-arrival support
WhenWhen do students start looking, and when do they commit?MEL Research (2024) on remote decisions; Student House Hunting Behaviour Survey (2025)Timing for postgraduates specifically
Way forward

Who this work is for

The brief was set as a client project. The other organisations are real potential clients in this space; none has been contacted.

The brief's client: University of Bristol

  • Accommodation and international student support
  • Gets: the addendum restoring the access finding, and a free, targeted follow-up to measure it
  • Then: a pre-arrival timeline with a fallback date

Students' Union

  • Student Living, and Equality & Accessibility officers
  • Gets: a joint survey on room-detail and adaptation needs

Housing providers

  • Private halls operators such as Unite and Casita; Bath and UWE accommodation teams
  • Gets: one co-designed listing with searchable room details, tested with students
  • Why it pays: fewer room moves, early exits and refits

Other universities and cities

  • The same tree, re-rooted on their own question
  • Gets: the method, the guides and the quality checks, ready to run

A nationwide report (Fruityard)

  • Consult new student housing developments across the UK, and the universities they serve
  • One report on room fit and access before signing, comparable city by city

A government pathway

  • For home students who can claim Universal Credit while studying, such as some disabled students and students with children
  • Gets: housing that fits their needs, found before the course starts
  • A separate audience: international students usually can't claim it