Design Research Methodology

15.04.2020 - 13.07.2020 (Week 1 - Week 14)
Wong Kai Yi (0340236)
Design Research Methodology

1. LECTURE

Week 1 (13.04.2020)

Dr Hayati and Dr Jinchi gave us a brief on the module. Then, we were given an introduction which includes the topics below:

What is research?

the systematic and creative investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions
It increases the stock of knowledge (humans, culture, society)
Student research is self directed work (from all areas of study work individually / as a part of a team to explore issues of interest to them)
Students and faculty mentors work together to design and implement design research

Why should I do research?

It expands understanding and knowledge of your academic field
defines your academic, career and personal interests
you establish valuable connections with the faculty
you gain academic experiences (expand your resume - presenting at research conferences, publishing, working with a research team)
develop critical thinking, leadership, time management, communication skills
explore research techniques

How should I start?

Identify you field of interest. (under a specialization)
after selecting the topic, delve into further research
write a bit more extensively about the research problem in the form of a statement
formulate a research question that is derived from the research problem
identify research objective(s) you would like to achieve from conducting this research

Steps in Research Problem Formulation:

identification of subject area
problem definition and identification
literature review
selection of research design, subjects and data collection technique(s)
data gathering
data processing and analysis
implications and conclusions
publish and communicate results

Our research topics should fall in either one of these categories: Culture, social, future.
They have to be meaningful towards the society. We are to use the progression sheet in our blogs. For example, how Malaysia can localize graffiti and how can we conceptualize it. We are to choose our specialization and proceed with the topic within the chosen specialization.

Week 2 (20.04.2020)

Problem statement, research question, research objective

Problem Statement

concise description of an issue to be addressed / a condition to be improved upon
identifies the gap between the current (problem) state an desired (goal) state of a process/ product
paves way for the reader to understand the research problem

Research question

an answerable inquiry into a specific concern / issue
it is the first active step in the research project
it is the ground of the foundation of your research
good research question - you have something you want to study
influences the strategy that is employed in order to either provide answers to the questions

Basic process:

specify your specific concern / issue
decide what you want to know and the specific concern into a question
turn what you want to know and the specific concern into a question
ensure that the question is answerable
check to make sure the question is not too broad / narrow

Research Objective

what we expect to achieve by the end of a project
may be linked with a hypothesis / used as a statement of purpose in a study that does not have a hypothesis
even if the nature of the research has not been clear to the layperson from the hypotheses, s/he should be able to understand the research from the objectives
serve to guide the activities of research
derived from problem statement/research questions
without objectives, a researcher is aimless and directionless
clear, concise and declarative statement
SMART - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time bound
relevant, feasible, unambiguous

Examples:

To describe the factors farmers take into account in making such decisions as whether to adopt a new technology or what crops to grow
To develop a budget for reducing pollution by a particular enterprise
To describe the habitat of the giant panda in China

Hypothesis

a tentative statement about the relationship between 2 or more variables
unless you are creating a study that is exploratory in nature, your hypothesis should always explain what you expect to happen during the course of your experiment / research
it does not have to be correct
In many cases, researchers may find that the results of an experiment do not support the original hypothesis. When writing up these results, the researchers might suggest other options that should be explored in future studies.

Variables

something that can be changed / varied

Week 3 (27.04.2020)

Which one comes first? Research Question or Research Objective?

1. If you do not have a clue (inductive approach) - RQ first

When there is no / little existing literature on a topic
3 stages:

observation e.g. is it difficult to obtain information through the website of Etsy due to poor design
Observe a pattern - conduct systematic study on another 10 online shops that pose the same problem
Develop a theory - poor web design of online shops causes difficulty for customers to obtain information

Limitations: A conclusion drawn on the basis of an inductive method can never be proven, but still, the larger your datasets, the more reliable the conclusion

2. If you have an idea - at least 1 hypothesis (deductive approach) RO first

always start with a theory (result of inductive research)
4 stages:

start with existing theory - poor web design of online shops causes difficulty for customers to obtain information
Formulate a hypothesis based on that theory - if the online shops websites are designed well, all customers will be able to obtain information easily
collect data to test that theory - conduct survey to collect data
analyse the results: does the data reject or support the hypothesis - 150 out of 200 survey participants agreed that poor web design hinders them from obtaining information

Limitations: the conclusions of deductive reasoning can only be true if all the premises (statement of argument) set in the inductive study are true and the terms are clear

Student's example:
Graphical elements in website design
Problem statement:

ideal - website visually appealing
issue/problem - designers showing off expertise
approach/solution - 2

Ex of RQ and RO:
importance of graphical elements in conveying message a website? - study the importance of graphical elements in enhancing a website to deliver brand message / concept

Week 4 (04.05.2020)

Online Research Workshop 1-3pm @ TIMeS
Prepare Submission of Assignment #1 research Proposal - Dateline Sunday, 10.05.2020, 12pm (Google Classroom)

2. INSTRUCTIONS

3. PROGRESS

Week 1 (13.04.2020)

I chose graphic design as my specialization. Hence, I decided to go for posters. After some research, I decided to do research on these topics:

1. The use of typography in posters to convey a message.

2. The use of colors in posters to convey a message.

3. The use of colors in marketing and advertising.

Week 2 (20.04.2020)

After receiving feedback from Dr Jinchi, she told me to combine 1&2 under one topic which is under design principles. She added that our research should be fall in either one of the three clusters which are design culture and principles, future purpose and social purpose.

Week 4 (04.05.2020)

General statement:

Paragraphs need continuity.
Do not use "etc" in problem statement.
Citation with: APA style

Proposal:

Fig 1.1 Proposal

Week 5 (11.05.2020) - Week 7 (25.05.2020)

Critical Review

Fig 1.2 Critical Review (7 research journals / articles)

Week 8 (01.06.2020) - Week 12 (29.06.2020)

Research Implementation:

Fig 1.3 Research Implementation

Week 13 (06.07.2020) - Week 14 (13.07.2020)

Assignment 4: Compilation of Updated Proposal, Critical Review & Research Implementation

For this assignment, we have to submit updated proposal, critical review and research implementation along with data analysis. We also have to upload a recorded presentation in Google Classroom (recording is not attached in this blog).

PDF

Fig 1.4 Assignment 4: Final Compilation

Presentation (without video)

Fig 1.5 Presentation

Presentation with video: Presentation (with video) in Google Drive

3. FEEDBACK

Week 2 (20.04.2020)

The first 2 ideas are to be combined as one, under the area of design principles. It is about the application of design principles in posters. I will have to choose a few posters under the subcategories and do my research on them. The subcategories include infomercial, movie, political posters etc. The 3rd one is researched too frequently, so I am told to remove it.

Week 3 (27.04.2020)

State your topic above your problem statement.

Problem statement: 1st paragraph is ok, just need to rephrase/add the resource in each sentence or use "according to..."

2nd and 3rd paragraph needs to be specific to my research, I have to put in the category of posters, include the research topic

Research question and objective: Specific to the topic, how does it work, not how designers design posters (it's the thought process etc)

Week 4 (04.05.2020)

Overall ok, just require minor changes.

Focus on a few genres for movie posters so that I can narrow down the topic to a more meaningful research.

I can do either 3 genres and research on how they defer from each other, how a specific genre is expressed OR I can choose 3 genres where there is a similarity between them and do research regarding the similarity of the design elements used.

I should also read more books on design principles/ elements.

Week 6 (18.05.2020)

I showed one critical review to Ms Jinchi.

The Bibliography is lacking of the journal name and pages.

It is an inductive study, because there is no hypothesis. I can look at the article from various angles (design, anthropology, ecology) and explain.

I am also suggested to change the words that I use in order to get variation. E.g. I use ""better understanding"", which can be replaced with ""better picture/ point a clearer picture""

Besides stating the suggestion, I would also have to explain the reason behind it.

e.g. importance of museum - significant and well known

Before I start a reasoning for a topic, I have to give a brief explanation on it so that the reader gets the context.

downside refers to weakness so I shouldn't put the suggestion. I have to change the sentence structure to get the point across.

Week 8 (01.06.2020)

For the cited text, do not direct quote them. Instead, paraphrase them. Add "Planning" into the last section, where you state your planning with justification of the reasons you choose them. e.g. questionnaires: include age group, open-ended questions; why? try to cite the reasons another example: Why do you choose these posters to be analyzed? For the research, you can use online sources, but choose the right source, e.g. university research websites, specific research websites etc. For the survey, use the same posters that you will use for your visual analysis

Week 10 (15.06.2020)

Combine pros and cons to weaknesses and strengths of the method and write them in paragraph form.

My mistake: Using qualitative method pros and cons for visual analysis (it has some opposing points). Choose what is relevant to the method only.

Planning:

Visual analysis:

For the design principles used (typography, color, tone, imagery) do not use etc because I have to confirm the chosen ones that relates to the research questions.

Online survey:

Put a short introduction when you start your survey (word your research questions). When planning questions, justify (give a reason) for why the question is answered. Make sure that all of them are related to your research questions.

For the 3 movie genres with 2 posters each, ask the same 2-3 questions for each of the posters. Make sure that they are relevant to the research questions and give respondents open-ended and close-ended questions. Collect around 80 responses to start data analysis.

Week 11 (22.06.2020)

The in text citations have to be done correctly, which is (surname, year) unless if its Indian / Malay, use their given name.

Method 2: Online survey

Give the justification for ""famous"" movies, e.g. box office

Some other information can be added into the introduction, such as the information regarding the survey and completion time.

For the questions, give clear instructions for the respondents. E.g. Please answer question 1-4 based on Fig 1

Once the survey is edited, send it out to get as many responses as possible

Assignment 3 submission (5 July 2020):

Visual analysis and proof of survey (as many as I have collected)

Week 12 (29.06.2020)

For the visual analysis is good, remember to number the page. In the justification, describe how this method will answer the research questions.

For the planning of survey, include the data of respondents from the survey that has already watched the movies. I can start doing data analysis on the survey, but I can still open the survey as it will be used in the next semester.

Week 14 (13.07.2020)

Submission will start from Sunday to Wednesday midnight. For the presentation of survey analysis, just provide a summary, no need to show the charts. For the survey analysis (in PDF), just choose the highest & 2nd highest or highest, middle, lowest. Put the question beside the chart, and provide the analysis beside / below the chart.

For presentation, max 20 slides. If there is not enough time, can opt for option 4, to embed the video in the last slide.

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Wong Kai Yi (0340236)