How research works in the CAT LAB
Every day is research — and it’s yours to join.
An invitation, not an obligation.
A Lab that studies itself — to improve itself.
The CAT LAB is not only a place to use technology. It is an ongoing piece of research into how to make technology open to everyone — and its subject is itself. We watch how people learn here, ask what helped and what got in the way, and change the Lab in response.
This is reflexivity: the Lab turning its attention back on its own practice. Every workshop, every project, every visit is a chance to learn something about learning — and to make the next one better. That reflexive loop is why we ask you anything at all.
“Every day is research in CAT LAB.”
Two kinds of data — kept completely separate
Running the Lab
Bookings, safety, who’s trained — what keeps the Lab working and getting better.
We simply do this, openly. It never leaves the Lab.Operational · disclosedCreating knowledge
Learning how to teach and democratise technology — and sharing it with the world.
This is a choice you make. Anonymised before it is ever published.Research · your consentResearch is always separate from running the Lab — and always your choice.
Research is an invitation
Four promises that make your “yes” truly free.
You choose
Nothing is assumed. You opt in, study by study.
Never bundled
Research consent is separate from signing up or booking anything.
Withdraw anytime
Change your mind whenever you like — your data comes back out.
No strings
Rewards are for helping the Lab run, never for saying yes to research. Your choice stays free.
What we measure
A few honest questions — plus how the room itself shapes learning.
Enjoyment
Did you enjoy your time here?
Learning
Did you gain skills you’ll actually use?
Confidence
before → after: how much more confident?
Belonging
Did you feel part of a community?
The space
Do heat, noise or crowding affect learning? Measured for the room — never tracking you.
Every answer becomes grouped numbers — never a story about any one person.
How we protect you
Your name drops away at each step. The last step can never point back to you.
Your record
Has your name. Runs the Lab. Never published.
Research data
A code stands in for your name. Ages become bands.
Published findings
Grouped numbers only. Nobody can be picked out.
The key linking code → you is held by the Director alone.
k = 5 — we never report a group smaller than five people.
Ethics and your rights
Every study is checked
University of Westminster research ethics approval and a Data Protection Impact Assessment — before any data is collected.
Pre-registered: we write down what we expect to find before we look at the data.
Your rights, always live
- See what we hold about you
- Withdraw at any time
- Ask to be forgotten
- Ask the Director anything
Taking part never changes the support, access or grades you’d get anyway.
Join the endeavour.
The CAT LAB has always been a living laboratory — a place that studies itself to get better. When you take part, you help democratise technology for the next person through the door.
“Every day is research in CAT LAB.”