Design Research Methodology / Task 1: Research Proposal
31/03/2022 - 21/04/2022 (Week 1 - Week 4)
Reagan Val Adelbert Mahadi / 0349177
Design Research Methodology / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
Task 1 / Research Proposal
LECTURES
Week 1
For the first week of this module, Ms. Hayati explained to us the MIB. She then lectured us about research.
What is research?
Research is the systematic and creative investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions. Research can increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humans, culture, and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to divise new applications.
Why should I do research?
Research expands our understanding and knowledge of our academic field. It defines our academic, career, and personal interests. By doing research, we can establish valuable connections with faculty. We can gain academic experiences that help expand our resumes, such as presenting at research conferences, publishing, and working with a research team. By doing research, we can develop critical thinking, leadership, time management, and communication skills.
How should I start?
To start doing research, we have to identify our field of interest. After selecting our field of interest, we have to delve into further research about it to establish an area (research problem) where we are interested to conduct 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 objectives that we would like to achieve from conducting this research.
Week 2
On week 2, Ms. Hayati divided us into different groups according to our selected specialization and gave us feedback on our progress. Ms. Hayati also provided us notes for the lecture.
Problem statement, Research question, Research objective
A problem statement is a concise description of an issue to be addressed or a condition to be improved upon. It identifies the gap between the current (problem) state and desired (goal) state of a process or product. A problem statement paves the way for the reader to understand the research problem.
A research problem is an answerable inquiry into a specific concern or issue. It is the initial step in a research project. The 'initial step' means after we have established the research problem in the form of a statement, the research question is the first active step in the research project. A research question is the ground of the foundation of research.
Writing a good research question means that we have something we want to study. Steps on how we could create a research question:
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
A variable is something that can be changed or varied, such as a characteristic or value. Variables are generally used in psychology experiments to determine if changes to one thing result in changes to another.
By systematically varying some variables and measuring the effects on other variables, researchers can determine if changes to one thing result in changes in something else.
Week 3
On week 3, we were given our feedback on our current progress and Ms. Hayati provided a lecture note as well.
Research
Research is an organized and systematic study of a problem where the researcher attempts to address or find a solution to the problem. In order to properly address the problem, specific questions and clearly defined objectives are important.
Research Question
The research question is an answerable inquiry into a specific concern or issue. It is the initial step in a research project, derived from the problem statement or research objectives. It influences the strategy that is employed in order to either provide answers to the questions or verify/falsify hypotheses.
Research Objective
The research objective is what a researcher expects to accomplish by end of a research project. It is derived from a problem statement or research questions. Without objectives, a researcher is aimless and directionless in conducting the study. The research objective is a clear, concise, and declarative statement. A good objective is S.M.A.R.T.
Inductive Approach
Where there is little to no existing literature on a topic, it is common to perform inductive research because there is no theory to test. The inductive approach consists of three stages:
INSTRUCTIONS
Task 1: Research Proposal
For our first task, we are required to confirm our field of interest and provide rationale with 200-300 words with research evidence. Establish an area (research problem) where I am interested to conduct research.
I am interested in the Entertainment Design specialization and I will be doing research about good character designs.
Fig. 1 Research proposal week 1 draft - PDF
In the second week, we are required to continue on our progress and show our problem statement, research question, and research objective.
After getting feedback from Ms. Hayati on week 3, I finalized my proposal so that I can proceed with making the slides.
Fig. 3 Research Proposal Final Draft - PDF
Fig. 4 Research Proposal Slides - PDF
FEEDBACK
Week 1
Look out for journals or articles for research as it is more reliable. Use google scholar to help with finding them.
Week 2
Ms. Hayati said that my research topic is acceptable. Changing the research problem to the possibility of unattractive characters may discourage gamers' engagement in that game. Look at the articles that the thesis has used. The thesis is a reliable source but it's too long for research. Look at other articles that discuss the same issue. Try to find the most recent articles.
Week 3
A direct quotation needs the page number for in-text citation. I need to put more reliable input rather than my personal perception. Don't be biased with our preferences. What I prefer may not be good or bad for others, so it could be applicable or not applicable.
Reagan Val Adelbert Mahadi / 0349177
Design Research Methodology / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
Task 1 / Research Proposal
LECTURES
Week 1
For the first week of this module, Ms. Hayati explained to us the MIB. She then lectured us about research.
What is research?
Research is the systematic and creative investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions. Research can increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humans, culture, and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to divise new applications.
Why should I do research?
Research expands our understanding and knowledge of our academic field. It defines our academic, career, and personal interests. By doing research, we can establish valuable connections with faculty. We can gain academic experiences that help expand our resumes, such as presenting at research conferences, publishing, and working with a research team. By doing research, we can develop critical thinking, leadership, time management, and communication skills.
How should I start?
To start doing research, we have to identify our field of interest. After selecting our field of interest, we have to delve into further research about it to establish an area (research problem) where we are interested to conduct 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 objectives that we would like to achieve from conducting this research.
Week 2
On week 2, Ms. Hayati divided us into different groups according to our selected specialization and gave us feedback on our progress. Ms. Hayati also provided us notes for the lecture.
Problem statement, Research question, Research objective
A problem statement is a concise description of an issue to be addressed or a condition to be improved upon. It identifies the gap between the current (problem) state and desired (goal) state of a process or product. A problem statement paves the way for the reader to understand the research problem.
A research problem is an answerable inquiry into a specific concern or issue. It is the initial step in a research project. The 'initial step' means after we have established the research problem in the form of a statement, the research question is the first active step in the research project. A research question is the ground of the foundation of research.
Writing a good research question means that we have something we want to study. Steps on how we could create a research question:
- Specify the specific concern or issue
- Decide what we want to know about the specific concern or issue
- Turn what we 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 or too narrow
Research objectives describe what we expect to achieve by a project. Research
objectives may be linked with a hypothesis or used as a statement of purpose
in a study that does not have a hypothesis.
Examples of research objectives:
Examples of research objectives:
- To describe what factors farmers take into account in making such decisions as to 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
For the first example, the research will end the study by being able to
specify factors that emerged in household decisions. In the second
example, the result will be the specification of a pollution reduction
budget. For the last example, the research is to create a picture of the
habitat of the giant panda in China.
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables. It is a specific, testable prediction about what we expect to happen in a study.
For example, a study designed to look at the relationship between sleep deprivation and test performance might have a hypothesis that states, "This study is designed to assess the hypothesis that sleep-deprived people will perform worse on a test than individuals who are not sleep-deprived.“
Unless when we are creating a study that is exploratory in nature, the hypothesis should always explain what we expect to happen during the course of our experiment or research.
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables. It is a specific, testable prediction about what we expect to happen in a study.
For example, a study designed to look at the relationship between sleep deprivation and test performance might have a hypothesis that states, "This study is designed to assess the hypothesis that sleep-deprived people will perform worse on a test than individuals who are not sleep-deprived.“
Unless when we are creating a study that is exploratory in nature, the hypothesis should always explain what we expect to happen during the course of our experiment or research.
A hypothesis does not have to be correct. While the hypothesis predicts what
the researchers expect to see, the goal of the research is to determine
whether this guess is right or wrong. When conducting an experiment,
researchers might explore a number of factors to determine which ones might
contribute to the ultimate outcome.
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
A variable is something that can be changed or varied, such as a characteristic or value. Variables are generally used in psychology experiments to determine if changes to one thing result in changes to another.
By systematically varying some variables and measuring the effects on other variables, researchers can determine if changes to one thing result in changes in something else.
Week 3
On week 3, we were given our feedback on our current progress and Ms. Hayati provided a lecture note as well.
Research
Research is an organized and systematic study of a problem where the researcher attempts to address or find a solution to the problem. In order to properly address the problem, specific questions and clearly defined objectives are important.
Research Question
The research question is an answerable inquiry into a specific concern or issue. It is the initial step in a research project, derived from the problem statement or research objectives. It influences the strategy that is employed in order to either provide answers to the questions or verify/falsify hypotheses.
Research Objective
The research objective is what a researcher expects to accomplish by end of a research project. It is derived from a problem statement or research questions. Without objectives, a researcher is aimless and directionless in conducting the study. The research objective is a clear, concise, and declarative statement. A good objective is S.M.A.R.T.
- S - Specific
- M - Measurable
- A - Attainable
- R - Realistic
- T - Time-bound
A research objective should be relevant, feasible, and unambiguous.
Inductive Approach
Where there is little to no existing literature on a topic, it is common to perform inductive research because there is no theory to test. The inductive approach consists of three stages:
- Observation
- Observe a pattern
- Develop a theory
Deductive Approach
When conducting deductive research, we should always start with a theory (the result of inductive research). Reasoning deductively means testing the theories. If there is no theory yet, we cannot conduct deductive research. The deductive research approach consists of four stages:
When conducting deductive research, we should always start with a theory (the result of inductive research). Reasoning deductively means testing the theories. If there is no theory yet, we cannot conduct deductive research. The deductive research approach consists of four stages:
- Start with an existing theory
- Formulate a hypothesis based on that theory
- Collect data to test that theory
- Analyze the result: does the data reject or support the hypothesis?
Week 4
On week 4, Ms. Hayati briefed us on our final week for the submission. She also briefed us about the task we will be doing this week.
INSTRUCTIONS
Task 1: Research Proposal
For our first task, we are required to confirm our field of interest and provide rationale with 200-300 words with research evidence. Establish an area (research problem) where I am interested to conduct research.
I am interested in the Entertainment Design specialization and I will be doing research about good character designs.
In the second week, we are required to continue on our progress and show our problem statement, research question, and research objective.
Fig. 2 Research Proposal week 2 draft - PDF
After getting feedback from Ms. Hayati on week 3, I finalized my proposal so that I can proceed with making the slides.
Fig. 3 Research Proposal Final Draft - PDF
Fig. 4 Research Proposal Slides - PDF
FEEDBACK
Week 1
Look out for journals or articles for research as it is more reliable. Use google scholar to help with finding them.
Week 2
Ms. Hayati said that my research topic is acceptable. Changing the research problem to the possibility of unattractive characters may discourage gamers' engagement in that game. Look at the articles that the thesis has used. The thesis is a reliable source but it's too long for research. Look at other articles that discuss the same issue. Try to find the most recent articles.
Week 3
A direct quotation needs the page number for in-text citation. I need to put more reliable input rather than my personal perception. Don't be biased with our preferences. What I prefer may not be good or bad for others, so it could be applicable or not applicable.
Reconsider the second objective because understanding the importance of good
character designs goes without saying. What is the quality of good
character, what determines good quality character, or what determines the
value of a good character? Reflect back on what Ms. Hayati said about the
research objective for the research question. For question 2, it is
uncontrollable as different audiences have different preferences.
Don't use websites as critical reviews (unless it is an official website), use new articles instead.
Week 4
-
REFLECTIONS
Week 1
In the first week of this module, I learned about what are the things that we need to do to start out our research. We were given some videos to guide us on doing this. It took me some time to think about what I wanted to do research about in my selected field of interest (entertainment design). I was always fascinated by how the designers work to create a great character design in games or animations. So I decided to pick character design for my research.
Week 2
Week 3
Don't use websites as critical reviews (unless it is an official website), use new articles instead.
Week 4
-
REFLECTIONS
Week 1
In the first week of this module, I learned about what are the things that we need to do to start out our research. We were given some videos to guide us on doing this. It took me some time to think about what I wanted to do research about in my selected field of interest (entertainment design). I was always fascinated by how the designers work to create a great character design in games or animations. So I decided to pick character design for my research.
Week 2
This week, I learned about how to make a research problem and question. We were given examples as well of how to write research problems and questions. I also learned about how to write a problem statement and hypothesis.
I did more research this time and it was quite stressful for me to do this all. I'm still not sure whether I’m on the right track or not but I did follow the guide Ms. Hayati provided.
Week 3
This week’s lecture explained to me further about research problems and questions. After finishing the lecture, I finalized my proposal and was ready to create the slide presentation for submission. I learned from Ms. Hayati that for my research I should not be biased with my personal perception because making it as input could not be reliable as people have different preferences.
Week 4
During this week I learned about in-text citation and also a guide about using the university’s library website. Learning this is very useful for the task that needs to be done in this module.
Comments
Post a Comment