Research Project - Structure, Method and Purpose

Research gives you the opportunity to learn more about a subject and increase your factual knowledge however you will need to go beyond the facts by analysing and interpreting. Before starting the research project you should brainstorm an idea, just writing down anything that pops into your head allows you to get creative. As well as brainstorming it is also very helpful to look at other successful projects or going out of your way to various locations etc because they can fuel inspiration.

Writing down notes on how you plan to find out the information you want to and what sources you plan to use will help you by giving you direction. When you have an idea you can use libraries and online databases for your secondary research in order to find out factual information that you need for your project, it may be difficult at first to find information if the project is quite niche however that is why other types of research are helpful, when it comes down to primary research you should make sure you use your time wisely by conducting interviews to ask a variety of different people questions to get the exact information that you need, it also can provide different perspectives for your research. For my project, I will be focusing on representations and how I would like to use persuasive techniques to overcome stereotypes such as gender, race, class sexual orientation and age, conducting interviews will be helpful for my project because having a range of opinionated views can help me back up my knowledge.

Before starting your research you should really consider what information you should be collecting information for the purpose of answering. Backing up your primary research is important, you should include background information, context and source age. After you have got all the research you need, you should have a clear understanding of how it will help with your overall project.

  

Structure, Method and Purpose for my final project:

Structure:
The research I conduct will be separated from the rest of my work which will make it clear as to which blog posts are focused on the research project. My work will be easily accessible for me and those marking the work.

Method:
Now that I have my final idea I have been considering possible ways I can take part in research. My idea is to make a shoe box for running trainers. The audience for my product are people that have an interest in health and fitness, I need to find a way to collect information that will help me discover how the box can represent the trainers, how I can make it appealing to the target audience and how I can make it creative and different to other competitors. I will need to take part in some primary and secondary research.

Possible primary research methods for my project:

• Observation 
• Questionnaire
• Focus Group
• Surveys
• Sampling 
• Interviews

Possible secondary research methods for my project: 

• Published Statistics
• Published Texts
• Media
• Personal Documents

The secondary research is very important for me because I would need to do research that can educate me considering I haven't had any experience with product design I will need to give myself time to explore the shape and original design of certain products in order to think of possible ways I can put the shoe box together.

Purpose: 
I am doing this research so that my final major project can be done to the best of my ability. Conducting research will allow me to explore different way of creating my design, this might mean that I will change my mind about my product many times but at least each time I am making it better and different to other competitors on the market. Being able to back up my points with the research will demonstrate why I decided to something in a certain way.

Production Target - Research - Harvard Referencing

There are two steps to presenting the sources you have used.
    •    Citing the reference in the test (essay/project)
    •    Using a bibliography by listing the reference at the end of the work

Citing
 
When referencing to someone Else's work you need to site your source by using the author's surname, year of publication and page number in brackets. If you include the author's name in the sentence then you only need to include the year of publication and page number in the brackets.


You need to cite your source when you:


    •    Quote
    •    Paraphrase
    •    Summarise
    •    Refer to someone elses idea

If you are pulling out a quote of a book you should either use a quotation mark or you should have the quote separated from the rest of the text. After the quote you should then use brackets to state the the authors name, the year the book was published and the page number of the quote. For example:


Charlotte instantly becomes introverted, the attention of her friends making her look uncomfortable, a feeling I can easily relate to. (Giovanna Fletcher 2013, p. 19).

If you were to reference the book you would use the following technique:

Author. Year. Book title. Place: Publisher.

Bibliography


Firstly you need to find the first and last name of someone who has written what you are referencing, firstly you put the author's last name then the forename initial. This is followed by the date of publication in brackets. After this comes the title of the book/journal in italics, then the place it was published and then comes the publisher and it is ended with the page number. 


Miles, C. (2015). Pink Ladies. [Blog]. Chloehelenmiles. Available at: http://chloehelenmiles.com/2015/08/24/pink-ladies/ [Accessed 26.01.16]


Last name, First initial. (Year published).  Post title. [Blog] Blog name. Available at: URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year).

It is important to reference because it can support your work and give the reader factual knowledge, it stops from any plagiarism and it can allow the reader to locate where you got your work from. 

Research Project - Ideas

Original ideas

Today I have started to think about what I will do for my FMP. Straight away I wanted to link my idea with topics I will be studying at the University I am hoping to go to. Media and Communications is the course I have applied for which is linked to representations within the industry and multiculturalism, I'll admit that I haven't previously studied these topics in much detail however I would love to learn more about them therefore I believe that it will give me motivation to do as well as I possibly can and it will allow me to prepare myself for certain topics that I will study.
I have not yet decided on the platform of the project however I would like the overall project to be mainly text therefore I have been considering making an ebook, I have recently made an ebook in college which was about my favourite European cities, I enjoyed doing this task however I sometimes find it difficult to use InDesign to a high ability however for the FMP we have a considerably longer time to complete my work so I have a lot of time to practise my skills.

I have always had an interest in learning about representation within the media, I would love to think that one day individuals will be encouraged to overcome stereotypes such as gender, race, class sexual orientation and age. After realising that this is the potential topic I would like to base the project on I began to think that I could possibly make a website to engage people the topic. I looked online and found a website that I would love to take inspiration from:
The Representation Project. 2016. Take the pledge. [ONLINE] Available at: http://therepresentationproject.org/. [Accessed 29 January 16].
I love the fact that this is a movement and allows people to donate in order to make a big difference. Being able to create something similar to this would be a big achievement, I like the idea of possibly making my own branded website on the topic. As I have previously said, making an ebook is another one of my ideas. The book would be based on the persuasive and factual side of media representations.

UPDATE:

In a one to one meeting with my tutor we discussed my original idea, he asked me how much I knew about my topic and if I felt passionate enough about it to spend the rest of my time at college working on this particular project. This made me realise that I should spend more time thinking about what I am interested in and how I could come up with a creative product that is different to the others. Product design is something that came up in our discussion, we spoke about my interest in health and fitness which then led onto the topic of creating a shoe box for some trainers. Originally I thought this was a strange idea, I wondered what I could do to make a shoe box interesting and different to others however product design is something that I would love to try out and it will be exciting to work on this for the time I have left at college. Instead of just making a simple and regular shoe box I would like to come up with an idea that hasn't been used before on this type of product, such as a a multi purpose for the box.

Looking at a book I have found in the college library called Product Prototype has given me the opportunity to explore a range of different packages which has also given me further inspiration on ways to present my product. As I have previously said, I want to make my design different to competitors on the market therefore I have had the idea of including health advice on the inside of the box. Originally I came up with this idea because the shoe box is for exercise trainers and the customers buying the trainers so the customers will have an interest in fitness or are hoping to improve the quality of their lifestyle. Exercising has a massive impact on a healthy lifestyle however what you eat matters just as much therefore I would like to include a diagram of the ideal balanced diet, I am hoping this will give the customer further inspiration.

Research Project - Production Target 1 - Reflect and Explore

Last year for my final major project we were given the task to promote the Bath Chronicle to the younger generation, in order to prepare ourselves for the project we researched what platforms captivate teenagers. I used both primary and secondary research which allowed me to explore opinionated views as well as factual statistics. After the research I explored some ideas, firstly I wanted to make a poster however I realised that it was quite a vague and dull way to advertise therefore I followed the poster up with a podcast which I created to discuss a range of local news stories in Bath. Throughout the process I made sure to blog each step of the way which I believe helped me get the grade I did because it allowed me to show exactly why I chose to present my work the way I did. The research really helped me out because it gave me a clear idea of the type of product I needed to make and what I should include in the product to reach out to the audience. Having work experience with the Bath Chronicle allowed me to use to knowledge to present my findings and use those as examples for my project.

If I could work on my project again I would make sure I left plenty of time to do each assignment because last year I struggled sticking to deadlines and it took me a long time to make a final decision on my final idea therefore I wish I left myself more time to prepare. As well as time keeping, I struggled using the equipment for the podcast because it is the first time I ever even attempted to make a podcast therefore I wish I used the time I had to experiment.

I have been looking over the work I have completed throughout my time at college and picked out a couple that I am particularly proud of:

Recently our print publishing class were given the opportunity to work for a client which was a charity company in Bath called The Nest Project, their aim is to support children and families in Bath and North East Somerset by giving away clothes and equipment to children from the ages 0-5. We were given a brief to create an activity calendar for the children. Each member of the class were given a couple of months to design, I was given June and July, before I began to design these months I had to think about what activities I should include to make it relevant to the months. For June I drew a tree and had the mascot standing on the branches, the activity consists of colouring in the branch. I designed a beach for July and the task was to draw objects you can find on the beach. Using illustrator to design the calendar pages allowed me to experiment with that particular software, I sometimes found it a bit tricky because I am used to using InDesign however they're quite similar in many aspects which made it easier for me.

Working for a client added extra pressure especially considering I am used to doing my college work for my lecturers with their help if it's needed however the client gave us a list of brand guidlines that we had to stick to as well as making the product suitable and appropriate for the company. The pressure was emense but it made us students determind to work to the best of our ability.

Work experience with the Bath Chronicle is something I am proud of because I now have a better understanding of what it is like to work for a media based company, I gained some crucial skills that will help me for higher education and working in the industry, for example, sticking to deadlines and working under pressure. During my placement throughout the second year of college I created a short video showing my personal favourite independent coffee shops in Bath, I followed this up with an article. Working with a friend for this task was helpful because we bounced off each others ideas and combined our skill to produce both a video and written piece. I really enjoyed these tasks because I had the opportunity to come up with my own idea of the work I would produce for the company. Coffee is massively popular therefore the audience for the article and video isn't particularly limited; Personally I love coffee as well so working on a project that I am passionate about makes me even more motivated to do well.

Article: 

What goes best with a cup of coffee? Another cup. 

“Discover, order and pay.”

Queueing is a thing from the past with Ordable, a Bath based app that allows you to order and pay in advance at your local independent cafes and coffee shops. Browse the menu of your favourite coffee shop from the comfort of your own home, or on the go. Place your order and pick it up at a time suitable for you. Ordable will also reward you allowing you to earn loyalty points. 

Whether you don’t have time to wait or simply hate standing in a long line, ordering ahead with Ordable is the solution. 

We were interested in finding out how the idea of Ordable came about so we spoke to Tom, the co-founder of the interactive app, “I had the idea when I was sat in a cafe and I wanted to order something else but noticed that there was a long queue so I thought if only there was a way to send the staff an order using my smartphone.”

The plan is to take the app beyond Bath, Tom highlighted Bristol and London as cities that they would like to include. Ordable received additional investment from Simpleweb, a Bristol based technology development agency and the team at Ordable can’t wait to get it set up in more and more cafes and coffee shops.

Talking about coffee inspired us to visit our 5 favourite independent coffee shops in Bath.   

Established coffee shops can be found anywhere in the UK but looking out for a unique company is something we thrive on. Bath has a lot to offer when it comes to coffee shops so we explored the streets and came up with a list of our 5 personal favorite exclusive shops. As well as being lucky enough to taste a delectable coffee and cake in each shop we went to we were able to experience each individual quirky atmosphere. 

Firstly, we headed into the Society Cafe with a warm welcome from the friendly staff, the cafe has a great social vibe. The coffee is sourced from all over the UK and the company are always finding something exciting and a little different. We had the opportunity to speak to a member of staff who told us about why they think the Society Cafe is different to other competitors, “we make it all about the customer and want to make people happy.”

Mokoko is a friendly pocket-sized cafe close to Bath Spa train station, they provide a choice of coffee, tea, smoothies and cakes. Perfect for when you are in a rush. The staff provide excellent customer service and always serve with a smile on their face.

Afterwards we popped into Boston Tea Party, a modern independent cafe. As we indulged in our locally produced coffee, we noticed that the cafe was flooded with customers which created a lovely atmosphere. An enthusiastic member of staff spoke about the uniqueness of the cafe, “It is all about the relationship with our coffee and knowing our customers.” 

Jacob’s Coffee House provides speciality coffee and the finest cakes close to the Bath Abbey, positioned in the heart of Bath. We particularly enjoyed the quirky layout with the seating upstairs, enjoying a social meeting in a peaceful environment is an aspect that we appreciate.

Finally we enjoyed a hot chocolate and a brownie in The Forum Bath coffee house, the latest addition to the The Forum Venue, Bath's largest auditorium and live venue. They offer a great deal of space within the cafe, the modern feel highlights the independence of the shop. We thought that the location of the coffee shop was spot on, being just round the corner from South Gate, this venue is great for a coffee break. Speaking to the manager allowed us to get a feel of the staff’s passion and love for their coffee shop. “The customers are so nice, it’s like a community.”

Video:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6KeUV9Tl4JXRXRLVGQ0cm15Zlk/view?usp=sharing