Following the development of my research question, I reviewed my interview survey to make sure each question still supported the direction of the project.

My current research question is:

How might design reduce barriers preventing autistic adults from accessing independent international travel?

Some of the original questions focused heavily on whether travel had been memorable or transformative. Although this remains part of the wider context of the project, these questions were no longer helping me identify the specific barriers that design could respond to.

I therefore changed the questions to focus more directly on:

• how participants define independence when travelling
• which parts of international travel they find difficult
• whether barriers affect their confidence or willingness to travel
• which stages of the airport journey create the most difficulty
• what information or support could make the experience easier

For example, the question about whether international travel had changed the participant was replaced with a question about whether barriers had affected their confidence, independence or willingness to travel.

I also added a specific airport-related question:

Which parts of the airport journey do you find most difficult, and what information or support would make them easier?

This question will help me understand whether areas such as security, check-in, wayfinding, crowds, noise or asking staff for support should inform the possible development of an app.

Reflection

Reworking the survey has made the primary research more closely connected to my working question. The revised questions are less focused on proving that travel is transformative and more focused on identifying genuine problems experienced by autistic adults.

This should help ensure that any future design response is based on participant evidence rather than my own assumptions.