Design Research Methodology Assignments 1 - 4
29/08/2022 - 11/12/2022 (Week 1 - Week 15)
WONG JUN ZHE / 0353613
Design Research Methodology / B' Creative Media / Taylor's University
Compilation of Assignments
INSTRUCTIONS
Assignment 1 - Research Proposal
Week 1 - 4
For my research proposal, I am required to do the following things:
- Identify a Research Problem within a topic of research
- Write a Research Rational
- Write a Problem Statement pertaining to the research problem
- Identify relevant Research Objective(s) - ROs
- Formulate a Research Question(s) – RQs pertaining to the Research Objective(s) – ROs
- Place a Title of the Research
At first, I had a very vague and bold topic which did not focus on any
specific topics whatsoever. I proceeded to redefine and narrow down my topic
so that it is more specific, as I did not have 3 years but only 1 semester
to complete it.
Besides, I knew that I wanted my topic to have something to do with
character design and some psychology. Additionally, I wanted to base my
research on a video game title, initially the 2018 God of War video game.
However, due to certain reasons, I have decided to change it to Detroit:
Become Human and The Last of Us video game series.
In my research proposal, I have included all the necessary information to
justify my research.
The following PDF is my research proposal:
Assignment 2 - Critical Review
Week 4 - 7
For this assignment, I was tasked the following:
- Select relevant secondary sources such as publications and online journal articles (Total of five articles). Please ensure relevant to your research topics and updated (publication within the last 5 years).
- Write a review critically and synthesise them on these five articles
After watching the recorded lecture videos and reading the lecture notes, I
noticed that a critical review consists of 6 sections: Full bibliography for
all papers, Introduction, Summary, Main Body ( Critique ), Conclusion, and
References.
I was thought how to search for relevant articles, do citations and
references in APA format, use the Mendeley app, etc via two online workshops
as well as from the weekly lectures.
Then, I spent most of my time reading the papers, as they were quite long.
After reading and understanding, I proceeded with my critical review. This
stage has allowed me to look at others' research and increased my
understanding in conducting research in general.
The following PDF is my critical review document:
Assignment 3 - Research Design - Primary Data
Week 7 - 11
For this assignment, I was exposed to various methods, such as
Qualitative – observation studies, interviews, and focus groups, as well as
Quantitative - survey questionnaires to collect primary data for my
research.
My task was to:
- Select and justify suitable primary research methods relevant to the study. A minimum of one method are expected for this stage
- Carry out the research and collect data.
Initially, I wanted to conduct two types of data collection methods, one
quantitative and one qualitative. However, since I have two games that I am
focusing on, I figured that I can have a combination of both methods. So, I
decided to produce an online questionnaire survey via Google Form that
allows participant to answer both qualitative and quantitative questions.
This way, I can accomplish the goal in one go.
Next, I came up with the first version of my survey questions. Below is my
first draft:
This acts as a guideline for my survey questions. Some of the final
questions in the Google Forms are tweaked slightly and restructured to
minimise bias and improve clarity.
Here are the links to the online survey:
The following PDF document is my final research design slides:
Assignment 4 - Research Reflection Report and Recorded Presentation
Week 11 - 14
The final research reflection is a compilation of all the previous
assignments done in this module. Everything should be well organised in the
document. The structure may differ from person to person, as we all have
different approaches.
The following PDF document is my Research Reflection Report:
Upon completion of this document, I was required to simplify and summarise
everything into a Powerpoint slideshow. Then, I had to produce a 5-minute
video of me briefly presenting my research methodology from the start to the
end.
The following is my recorded presentation:
REFLECTION
RES60604 Weekly Progress Reflection Sheet (Week 1 - 14)
Final Reflection
Experience
Throughout this semester, the researcher has learnt a ton about conducting a research. From coming up with an idea, to structuring the research topic, problem statement, research questions, etc., the researcher has truly experience the fun parts and the not so fun parts of research.
In the idea development stage, the researcher had many ideas. The problem is that not all ideas are good, as there might be lack of information to be collected. Dr Hayati, the supervisor for this module, constantly reminded and advised us to choose a topic that the researcher is interested about. Not only that, she said that there is no perfect research, and this particular research is just on a degree level, not at a Master’s or PHD level.
When designing the research itself, the process was very time consuming and tiring. The researcher had to think about all the questions, whether they are relevant or not, as well as the purpose of each question. Furthermore, implementation of the research was also time consuming as the researcher had to look up for suitable groups / communities to send the survey link in. Besides, there are a lot of things to be documented.
Overall, it was a very tiring experience with several nights spent on this module. However, this is to be expected as this is the first official research the researcher has ever conducted. In addition, the researcher has a total of 6 modules to handle this semester, so time management was not well managed. However, it was also a very beneficial one in order to write our dissertations in the next long semester!
Observation
Throughout this module, the researcher has observed one major problem: Time management.
With all the assignments and projects from the other modules, the researcher did not utilize his time to the fullest, as almost all the assigned tasks were submitted late. However, Dr Hayati has given us more time to complete each assignment in order to produce better quality work. Despite this, the researcher still find himself crossing the deadlines. Ultimately, this would certainly act as a hint for the researcher to improve his time management skills and try to do things as soon as possible.
Besides, when it comes to the actual research, the researcher has observed that the five critical reviews are crucial. They have allowed the researcher to further understand the purpose, methodologies, dos and don’ts when conducting a research.
Findings
By reading published researches online, the researcher have discovered various research methodologies in this Design Research Methodology module. The researcher was introduced to the steps of conducting a research, types of data collection methods ( qualitative & quantitative ), data analysis, etc.
As mentioned earlier, the researcher have also discovered that there is no perfect research. Every research has their own pros and cons. However, a responsible researcher should try their best to minimize the flaws and make the research as reliable and as accurate as possible.
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