Understanding slot machine gamblers in Vancouver

Problem: Before my arrival at the Centre for Gambling Research at UBC, local slot machine gamblers were taking part in quantitative research, but no one had talked to the players to find out how they played the machines, and what they thought of them.

Solution: I designed a structured interview to obtain qualitative information from participants as part of a quantitative study protocol. Research assistants were trained in carrying out the interview, and data were collected from over 100 individuals. From this we obtained novel information, such as how many times did people change machines during a casino visit, how long did a visit last, did they have a favourite machine, did they use slot machines online or in apps, and did they have a limit on their spending. This gave us valuable information that aids the centre in designing new quantitative research studies, and a report on this information is in preparation using Tableau for visualisation.

Demonstrated skills: Tableau, qualitative research design, leadership, data visualisation.

 

Describing online gambling data

Problem: The Centre for Gambling Research at UBC  had produced a report of online gambling behaviour in British Columbia. This information needed to be presented to multiple stakeholders at the annual meeting, but the report was dense and relatively inaccessible.

Solution: Seeing the problem, I volunteered to assist the report authors by designing  an infographic. I took the key elements of the report, and produced a one-page infographic using Adobe Illustrator. This one-page document conveyed the important findings o the report, allowing meeting attendees to understand the main findings of the report within the shortest time possible.

Demonstrated skills: Data visualisation, science communication, Adobe Illustrator.