Undergraduate Research

Mask Tracks: An On-Campus Observation of Style, Function, and Behavior

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Abstract

As COVID-19 rapidly spread through the globe amid the 2020 Spring semester, students across the United States were challenged with the sudden implication and necessity for masks when returning to in-class instruction and on-campus living in Fall 2020. This exploratory, qualitative ethnographic research utilized a research team formed by 8 undergraduate students to observe, code, and analyze data based on non-reactive observations of the campus population. By using the FEA model, dimensions of social expressiveness, aesthetics, and functional performance were included in the observation. Frequency and ANOVA were used in data analysis. Overall, the results show that university students were highly compliant with mask policies even during changing advice and political climate. Also, studies of this type provide an opportunity for fashion students to engage on topics of social importance while learning basic research skills.

Keywords: Observation, Mask wearing, Covid-19 pandemic, University campus, Fashion

How to Cite:

Navarro, M., Liang, Y. & Hustvedt, G., (2022) “Mask Tracks: An On-Campus Observation of Style, Function, and Behavior”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 78(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.13780