ILLU5060 - The Research Journey

The Research Journey Lecture Notes

An overview of doing a primary research project
Primary research – engaging with different methods which can give deeper understanding of a subject
Research – Finding relevant sources of knowledge about a subject. Establishing a context. Leaning new information to understand.
Research seeks the answer to a question or a solution to a problem.
Research is rooted in theory, and may develop new theory.
Research contributes to the existing body of knowledge on a topic.
Research process – not cleanly linear, interchangeable & mingling stages

1. Initial ideas
2. Finding a specific aim
3. Review the literature
4. Choose a research method
5. Perform your research
6. Write up

Initial Ideas

• Manageable – Word count & Timeframe sensitive
• Original – New perspective/ insights, avoiding covered ground
• Relevant – Within the filed of graphic design or illustration/ visual culture

Worked example:

• Broad topic established.
• Framing a question – focusing topic on a specific inquiry/ aspect/ angle.
  Considerations: Read around the topic, become familiar with existing knowledge.
  Establish and adopt a new perspective.
  Keep the scope narrow to allow a deep dive into a specific area of a topic. Broader scopes dilute the content of a dissertation.
• Preliminary reading around the topic
  Possible avenues of approach – gender, culture, comparison
  Refine topic
• Review the literature – Books, Journal articles, Academic journals
  What has been written about the topic to date
  Relevant theoretical frameworks
  Key texts/ studies in the field
  What methods have been used
• Choosing the method
  How well does it measure what it’s meant to
  Must also be appropriate to the scale of the project

Three Key Methodologies

• Visual - Study of media or artefacts
• Social Science – Surveys, interviews, vox populi
• Practice-based – Research by doing

Visual analysis
Examining & deconstructing case studies of media artefacts
Theory used as a framework to examine case studies – a filter to view artefacts through (Feminism, Semiotics, Narratology, Gender etc.)
Social Science analysis
Methods used in sociology, psychology, and cultural studies to understand humans, their behaviours, and their interactions.
Quantitative vs. Qualitative research
Quantitative

• Number generating results – good for graphs & easily described statistics
• Generalising
• Good for exploring trends
• Good scientific method

Qualitative

• Interviews with open answers
• Individual perspectives
• Deeper insights
• Case studies

Survey considerations

• Where will you research your target participants
• How can you be sure your sample is representative
• Open or closed questions
• Careful phrasing to avoid leading questions

Practice-based
Learning by doing – gaining insight by going through processes
Documenting process
Critical self-reflection
Theory used as framework for analysis
Write Up
Synthesise any primary research with your reading
Develop answer to your research question – your thesis
Plan and write the chapters of your dissertation