Design Research Methodology: Research Proposal
WEEK 01 - WEEK 04 (31/03/2022 - 24/04/2022)
Adena Tan Sue Lynn (0345769)
/ Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
Design Research
Methodology
Research Proposal
DIRECTORY
LECTURES
Week 01 (31/03/2022 - Thursday)
Today, Dr Hayati briefed us on the module as well as provide us a lecture.
Firstly, she told us what this class is about. Design Research Methodology allows us, as designers, to gain the ability to be critical, a good reader and digest related articles successfully. In this module, we will have to choose to justify a chosen methodology and articulate our findings through an analysis of data collected.
Dr Hayati also briefed us on the upcoming research we would have to do. Below is a screenshot of the notes I took when she was explaining.
After this, we were given a lecture into research.
What is Research?
Research is the systematic & creative investigation into & study of materials as well as sources, to be able to establish facts and reach new conclusions. It provides the ability to increase the stock of knowledge (knowledge for humans, culture & society) and the use of this knowledge to create new applications. Research is the pursuit of knowledge. Student research is self-directed work in which students from all areas of study work individually or as a team to explore issues of interest. Students & faculty mentors work together to design & implement a research, scholarly, or creative project and communicate the results to others.
Why should I Research?
Research is able to expand one's understanding & knowledge of their academic field. It defines your academic, career & personal interests. One can establish valuable connections with the faculty, gaining academic experiences that will help expand your resume (presenting at research conferences, publishing & working with a research team). One can also develop critical thinking, leadership, time management & communication skills. Finally, one can explore different research techniques by conducting research.
How should I start Research?
Firstly, identify your field of interest. One might be curious about more than one topic through your courses, current events, or by reflecting on things that appeal to you. Reading up writings in some current design magazines might help. After establishing a field of interest/topic, delve into further research to establish an area (research problem) where you are interested to conduct research about. Write a bit more extensively in the form of a statement. Formulate research questions that is derived from the research problem. Identify your research objectives that you would like to achieve from conducting this research.
Week 02 (07/04/2022)
Problem statements are a concise description of an issue to be addressed or a condition which can be improved on. It is able to identify a gap between the current state & desired state (goal) of a process/product. It paves the way for a reader to understand the research problem.
Sample of Problem Statement:
Research Question
Research questions are an answerable inquiry into a specific concern of issue. In a research project, it is the first initial step. The 'initial step' refers to after one has established the research problem in the form of a statement. It is the first active step in the research project.
A research question is the ground of the foundation of the research. Everything in a research project relys on it. Without it, there is no research or discussion. Another note to mention that it cannot be shifty as it will make everything else an issue.
It is important to study how to write a good research question. Below are the steps to write a research question:
- Specify specific concern or issue.
- Decide what is needed to be known about the specific concern or issue.
- Turn what is wanted to be known & the specific concern into a question.
- Ensure that the question is answerable.
- Check to make sure the question isn't too broad/narrow.
Above is the basic process when coming up with a research question. A good question will results in better research.
Research Objective
Research objectives describe what we expect to achieve from a project. It may be linked with the hypothesis or used as a statement of purpose in a study which does not have a hypothesis. Even if the hypothesis did not provide a clear image to the reader, a good research objective allows one to understand the true nature of the research at hand. Research objectives have the ability to guide the activities of research.
Example of Research Objective:
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables. It is a specific and testable prediction about what you expect to happen in a study. Unless it is decided to create a study that is exploratory in nature, the hypothesis should always explain what is expected to happen during the course of your experiment or research.
It is important to note that a hypothesis does not have to be correct. While it is a prediction, the goal of the research is to determine if it is correct or not. While conducting the experiment, researchers might explore a number of factors to determine which ones might contribute to the ultimate outcome. In many cases, the results may not support the original hypothesis. Then, researchers can suggest other options to be explored in future studies when writing the results.
Variables
Variables are something can be changed/varied such as a characteristic or value. They are usually used in psychology experiments to determine if changes to something result in a changes to another. By systematically varying some variables & measuring the effects on other variables, researchers are able to determine if changes to one thing results in changes in something else.
Week 03 (14/04/2022)
Research
Research is an organised & systematic study of a problem where the researcher attempts to address/find solutions to the problem. In order to properly address the issues, specific questions & clearly defined objectives are important.
Research Question
An answerable inquiry into a specific concern or issue. Known to be the initial step of a research project, it is derived from the problem statement or research objectives. It is able to influence the strategy that is employed to be able to provide answers to questions or verify/falsify the hypothesis.
Research Objective
A research objective is the expectations set by a researcher to be accomplished by the end of the research. Usually, it is derived from problem statement or research questions. Without it, the researcher is aimless in conducting the studies.
With that, it is a clear, concise & declarative statement. It is focused on ways to measure variables. A good objective is S.M.A.R.T.
- S - Specific
- M - Measurable
- A - Attainable
- R - Realistic
- T - Time Bound
Which one comes first? Research Question or Objective?
Either way is acceptable, depending on:
- If one is unsure of what they might find at the end of researching (inductive approach*), it is logical to have research questions first.
- If one has an idea (a minimum of one hypothesis) (deductive approach**), then research objectives comes first.
*Inductive Approach = Based on learning from experience. Patterns, resemblances & regularities in experiences (premises) are observed in order to reach conclusions (or to generate theory).
** Deductive Approach = Concerned with deducting conclusions from premises or propositions. It explores a known theory or phenomenon & tests if that theory is valid in given circumstances.
Inductive Approach
Mainly used if there is little to no existing literature on a topic as there isn't any theory to test. It consists of three stages:
- Observation
- Observe a pattern
- Develop a theory
Limitations: A conclusion drawn on the basis of the inductive method can never be proven. Still, the larger the dataset, the more reliable the conclusion.
Example of Inductive Approach:
Example of Deductive Approach:
INSTRUCTIONS
Week 01 - Week 02 (31/03/2022 - 06/04/2022)
After the first class, I spent a while thinking of what to focus on for my research. I kept thinking of things like posters, album covers as well as package design. However, I wasn't sure of what parts of these to focus on. That was until I noticed something.
Just two weeks before, I requested for my mother to buy me a packet of Himalaya sweets. Below is the packet which she had gotten for me.
Then, the following week, after I had finished the packet, I wanted to get myself another. When I went to the candy aisle, I stumbled across another type which were from the same brand and had the same price.
Looking at both of them, I was wondering what struck me to get the Himalaya Vajomba Candy. I didn't have much to go off for the flavour, as mints can refer to the many species of mint (peppermint, spearmint, etc). However, I think it was the fact that the package design felt more exciting and fun than the normal one.
With that, I thought it would be interesting to see how Package Design works in that way. Thus, I got working on my rationale.
Week 02 - Week 03 (07/04/2022 - 13/04/2022)
After our tutorial, we were tasked to add our research problems, problem statements and more. Below is the next draft I had.
Week 03 - Week 04 (14/04/2022 - 20/04/2022)
After receiving feedback again, I changed some things in my proposal.
I also started on my slides! I obtained my slides template from SlidesGo.
Week 04 (21/04/2022 - 24/04/2022)
While doing my slides, I felt like I needed to re-edit some of my text. I also edited the slides to fit the requirements. Below is my updated slides.
FINAL SUBMISSION
FEEDBACK
Week 02 - 07/04/2022 [Thursday]
The way I did my citations are good. However, we are advised to use information from the past five years to demonstrate we are in the know of the latest developments. It also depends what you are writing about. Example, when we talk about historical references & more. Besides that, it is important to understand how design plays a role, rather than people. Something I can look into is use of imagery on packaging design, if I were to look into the celebrity idea. I was also advised to think about my topic ansd the select the area of material I choose to study carefully. Depending on the topic, it might be a niche kind of packaging I am looking at. For references, the latest APA style, it doesn't change the order for Malay & Indian names. Overall, the rationale is fine, but make a problem statement.
For my research questions, Number one is a possibility, but can be refined when ascerting topic. Number two may not be so related right now with the type of feedback given. Number three may not be so suitable. Number four could be a sub-question.
Week 03 - 14/04/2022 [Thursday]
My research problem sounds more like given knowledge, almost like I know this for a fact. Dr Jinchi provided me ways to reword & retructure my research problem, and suggested to use a hypothesis. It is also important to state how I found the hypothesis, by citing. WIth that, the research can prove if it is correct or wrong.
When writing the problem statement, you have to elaborate the research problem. Dr Jinchi stated that the problem statement format provided in the slides only applies if there is a problem for us to solve. In the second paragraph, she advised me on elaborating more about ineffective solutions such as following trends. She also recommend adding some visual examples. For my third paragraph, I was advised to edit it, as well as leave out some things as they weren't suitable/needed for my problem statement.
For research objectives, Research Objective 02 is good, however I will need to think of how to match it. For Research Objective 01, it is too related to number 02's. Dr Jinchi reminded me to not be afraid to have only one research objective/question.
For research questions, both may not be so suitable. They are too wide, for now but it can be held on for conclusion after I have written my research paper later on. For questions, they require to have an analytical mind to use sources to derive an answer. I am to get a better objective and reword the questions.
REFLECTION
Experience
To be honest, I don't think I've ever encountered doing research like this before. All my previous ones felt like I was learning how to swim for the first time. This time instead of a kiddy pool, it was the ocean. I had more times scratching my head, wondering if any of my work was done right. Thankfully, the notes & Dr Jinchi's guidance definitely helped me learn how to paddle through the ocean of doubt.
Observations
Through this course of writing a proposal, I was able to gain more insight of how to write a solid proposal thanks to the lecture notes as well as whenever my peers received feedback. It was interesting to see how different people came up with different topics as the weeks went on, and how even if there was topics that were similar, they were differentiated by having different focuses. I observed the way they work and Dr Jinchi's insight on their topics, and now, I have learnt the different possibilities of research, and how the proposal can be such a huge stepping stone in starting a research project.
Findings
I don't think I've ever cracked my head this much over writing a problem statement or research questions, but I found this process to be eye-opening. I was able to learn so many things about research, and how the approaches you can take while doing it. I am grateful for this experience, as I'm sure it will help me become a better researcher as well as a better designer.
PICTURE CREDITS
