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Design Research Methodology / Research Proposal, Critical Review, Primary Data, Recorded Presentation

30.8.2022 - 29.12.2022 (Week 1 - Week 14)
Takuto Hozumi / 0354047 / Bachelor Of Design (Hons) In Creative Media
Design Research Methodology
  1. Research Proposal
  2. Critical Review
  3. Primary Data
  4. Recorded Presentation
*In this module, the content is consolidated in this one post because the individual tasks are not independent, but rather ongoing projects.

INSTRUCTION

Project Outline

This module "Design Research Methodology" is provided by the Bachelor of Design in Creative Media course and prepares the student's knowledge of the study to reach the Design Research Dissertation. It will introduce students to basic research methodologies relevant to design. It guides students to produce a sound proposal encompassing a research problem, problem statement, research questions and objectives, followed by a critical review of relevant literature, the student's selected and justified research methods and an analysis of data collected.


The module is an ongoing program in which students progress through the following four tasks in sequence. It begins with writing a proposal, reviewing and critiquing existing papers related to each student's own topic, collecting data through questionnaires and interviews, and finally making a presentation recording, all of which must be documented.

Week 1

Task to Do
  1. Research and identify the topic 
  2. Mention the reason why I choose the topic
Progress of Research Proposal
I started by re-examining and defining UI/UX. At this stage, I focused on website conversion rates and tried to find a relationship with color, but could not find any relevant papers, so I abandoned the research.


I did a preliminary study first. However, I was lax in my awareness of resource sources and did not know how to find the best ones as evidence. I felt that it was necessary to improve not only the quality of the content to be researched this time, but also the English language skills at the same time.

This week's Feedback
General Feedback:
Many students were not set on a topic, and some ideas helping to find a topic were given to the whole group. First, the content should be narrowed down to the extent that the research can be completed within this 14-week module. Many students' drafts were too broad in terms of research topics and needed to be scaled back.

Specific Feedback:
No specific individual feedback has been received yet.

Week 2

Task to Do
  1. The research area is too large and should be narrowed
  2. Mention clearly the reason why I choose the topic
  3. Decide the topic on adequate research from reading relevant academic sources
Progress of Research Proposal
In the Week 1 draft, I wrote without any particular formatting in mind, so the information was mixed up. Writing an academic paper is a new experience for me, and I felt it necessary to revisit the material given to me to better understand it.


This week's Feedback
General Feedback:
An explanation was given on how to write a progress sheet. It is required to clearly state in detail, including general/specific feedback, each week's tasks, and the impressions.

Specific Feedback: 
I have pointed out the problems with button design in general, but it is needed to clarify the problem more.
And should be able to clearly explain what can be solved by researching the topic I have set.

Week 3

Task to Do
  1. Clarify objectives
  2. Deepen on the chosen topic
  3. Guidelines published by major IT companies (in this case, about button design) are not very uniform. →What are the problems caused by the lack of uniformity?
  4. Summarize the clear answer and rewrite it to the Rationale.
Progress of Research Proposal
We needed to complete a final proposal for submission according to the original design format (By Sun. Week 4).


I felt that the motivation set for the topic was still small. Fundamentally, I would like to reconsider why this study is necessary. This is not meant to be a thoughtless change of topic, for more as a process to clarify the agenda.

This week's Feedback
General Feedback:
An explanation was given on how to write a progress sheet. It is required to clearly state in detail, including general/specific feedback, each week's tasks, and the impressions.

Specific Feedback: 
I have pointed out the problems with button design in general, but it is needed to clarify the problem more.
And should be able to clearly explain what can be solved by researching the topic I have set.

Week 4

Task to Do
  1. Topic Definition
  2. Documentation for submission
Progress of Proposal
In order to make the survey more precise, this time it's focusing on consumer electronics manufacturers, an industry in which many companies exist in my country and Malaysia as well. Even at this stage, problems such as the Citation rule remained, but were later corrected.


All information to be determined and documented for proposal submission on 25/9/2022. Citations must be formatted in APA7.

In part of Week 4, explanations were given regarding the library, and article management, citation In particular, the detailed instructions on APA7 are useful for writing the reference section of the proposal.

After all, it is difficult to set the range of topics. It seems that the judgment of whether or not a topic can be researched is made based on whether or not there are many papers on the topic. However, I am not sure if it can be called research just by collecting existing papers. But I think this assignment is a very good step for us at this stage in learning the basics of writing a paper.

This week's Feedback
General Feedback:
An example of ex-students was provided by the professor to Google Classroom and so we have got a clear example for the Week 5 Proposal submission. There was an activity explaining the library and Citations. No general feedback because feedback was given individually in this class.

Specific Feedback: 
The topic is too narrow to just be about button design. The fact that few useful papers can be found is evidence of this. Perhaps further research on this topic will make it difficult to draw conclusions due to the lack of information. It was suggested that if I were to change course now, I could focus on the design of the corporate website.

Week 5

Task to Do
  1. Complete the presentation slides for the Research Proposal
Progress of Research Proposal
From this stage, the relevance of the research objective and question will be discussed.


And the final one was decided upon above.

The motivation of this study is to indicate website design methods. One paper reported that the use of Web services has increased by about 60% compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic. In other words, from a business perspective, the importance of Web sites has increased dramatically now. However, many companies aren’t making effective use of their websites. Instead of improving their brand image and increasing their willingness to purchase, many companies are losing credibility due to the inconvenience and lack of information on their websites. Large companies have excellent corporate websites, but small companies often do not.

This week's Feedback
Specific Feedback: 
First, we received feedback on our submitted proposals. There are two main problems with my assignment. The wording of the objectives and questions, and the relationship between them, are unclear. Also, the APA format is incorrect. In particular, the name field must be the family name and the first name has to be initialized.

Week 6

Task to Do
*No Class
  1. Proceed with a critical review
  2. Selection of five papers regarding my topic “Corporate website”
  3. Re-edit once the submitted proposal based on feedback on the week 5 class
Progress of Critical Review

Fig.1: A study on the design optimization in the corporate website

Fig.2: Gestalt Theory in Visual Screen Design - A New Look at an old subject

Fig.3: A Gestalt-like perceptual measure for home page design using a fuzzy entropy approach

Fig.4: Webuse: Website Usability Evaluation Tool

Fig.5: Using Multidisciplinary Design Principles to Improve the Website Design Process

After consideration, it was decided to review the 5 papers.

Week 7

Task to Do
  1. Final consultation for Critical review in class
  2. Q&A on critical review issues in class
  3. Finish writing critical reviews for Sunday's deadline
Progress of Critical Review
Fig.6: Critical Review


Introduction of my Critical Review
People are increasingly searching for information on products through Internet search engines and social networking sites instead of visiting stores. The trend of going online due to the Corona disaster has also pushed this trend, and a variety of information is flooding online. Despite this situation, many companies are not doing well in their online activities. This is not only a problem with the products, but also probably includes many issues with the corporate website. The purpose of this review is to attempt to analyze and connect the information from the website research and analysis materials, as well as from design theory research, in order to scrutinize website issues in UI/UX design.

Summary
The purpose of this review is how design can be leveraged to provide a positive experience for consumers in terms of user behavior. Each of the five papers addressed by this review includes two papers that discuss the relationship between design and UI/UX in corporate websites, two papers that study how to apply the Gestalt principles of design principles, especially those utilized in web design, to design, and one paper that discusses the actual One paper explains the structure of websites used in the field. In addition, each paper establishes evaluation criteria for good UI/UX design, and research is conducted from various angles to help designers maximize user behavior in future website production.

Conclusion
First, I discuss the similarities and differences between papers 1 (Anzai, 2013) and 5 (Karmokar, 2016), which studied how to improve UI/UX in corporate websites. Both of these papers discuss the importance of the basic design phase. Paper 1 (Anzai, 2013) discusses the need for a hierarchy of information on a website based on the principles of user behavior, and paper 5 (Karmokar, 2016) discusses the need to collaborate with users on projects from the earliest stages of the design process. It is desirable to have a unified hierarchical structure based on the concept of information architecture, rather than a disjointed page structure. At the same time, the main navigation line should be defined so that users can smoothly follow the hierarchy. The difference is that paper 5 (Karmokar, 2016) is general information, while paper 1 (Anzai, 2013) focuses on the corporate website of a company dealing with B to B products. In other words, although paper 5 (Karmokar, 2016) claims to involve "customers," it is presumed that the intention is to focus on the "C" customers of B to C. The role of a corporate website is expected to differ greatly between a B to B company that provides products to a limited number of companies and a B to C company with a low-margin, high-sales model. In my next research, I felt that it would be better to set up personas for multiple companies and study them specifically.

Next, I summarize the relationship between Gestalt principle and corporate websites. Paper 2 (Chang, 2002) investigates the efficient use of the 11 rules of the Gestalt principle through one project to keep a website tidy and have a positive impact on viewers. Paper 3 (Shih & Jyh-Rong, 2006) proves that Gestalt principles can be useful in web design as well, from another mathematical approach. So I conclude that these arguments are common, and therefore, utilizing Gestalt principles is definitely a top priority that should be at the core of the design phase of web design.

Finally, I discuss Paper 4 (Thiam, 2003), which guides how to evaluate a well-designed corporate website using the principles of the four papers summarized. As mentioned in the final paragraph of item 4 of the main discussion, this paper describes 24 guidelines that can be used by web designers and developers to not only evaluate the usability of a website but also to build a more usable website. As mentioned in the critique, there is no explicit statement about shifting trends, but I would be able to use this paper as a basis for making good or bad decisions about existing websites for my further research.

This week's Feedback
General Feedback:
A briefing was held on the next issue. The contents and deadlines were explained and the tasks were assigned until the next meeting.

Specific Feedback:
In class feedback, advice was given to me as I was having trouble writing the conclusion section. As mentioned in the document, to find similarities among the five studies reviewed. Integrate them and conclude. Should also focus on the differences. Write in the conclusion why such differences emerged. There will always be a different or in-efferent section in a paper. What methodology was used to conduct the research, e.g., qualitatively, or quantitatively? The flow from the rationale to the conclusion should be understood and validity can be noted. Less valid theories will also be pointed out.

Week 8

Task to Do
*No Class - ILW
  1. Create Draft for Data collection
  2. Decide how to collect the Primary Data for the research
  3. Submit revised Research Proposal
Progress of Primary Data
A survey was conducted for visitors to the website of a consumer electronics manufacturer. Using the research questions considered in the previous tasks as a basis, think about what information is needed and compile it into a list of questions.


Week 9

Task to Do
  1. First consultation for Data collection
  2. Create Questionnaires Draft 
  3. Some modifications on the relationship between Research Objectives and Questions
Progress of Primary Data
Fig.7: Google Form opened


It consists of the following 3 parts.
Part 1. Demographic Study (Total 10 questions) 1-3mins
To gather information on age, gender, and position in the industry or company involved.
To investigate if there is a relationship with user trends.

Q.1 Would you tell me your name? (Pseudonym allowed)
Q.2 How old are you?
Q.3 Please select your gender from the following items. If no suitable option exists, please select "other" and fill in.
Q.4 Please select your nationality. If no suitable option exists, please select "other".
Q.5 Please select your ethnicity. If no suitable option exists, please select "other" and fill in.
Q.6 Which continent / area do you currently live in? If no place in the following option, please select "other" and fill in.
Q.7 What do you do? If no suitable option exists, please select "other" and fill in.
Q.8 What is your position? (This question is only for those who answered in Q.7 that they belong to a company)
Q.9 What industries are you currently involved in?
Q.10 What is your education level?

This part is set up to analyze whether cultural backgrounds, such as nationality and place of residence, and physical attributes, such as race and gender, have an effect on the sense of design examined in later parts.

It will also be used to analyze research on the occasions when websites are used, their importance, and user trends.

Part 2. Design Research (Total 6 questions) 5-10mins
To analyze visitors' visual design preferences.
To determine whether Gestalt theory is useful in corporate website design, as indicated in the critical review article.

Q.1 Based on the above interface of Fig.1 and 2, which menu design is clearer to navigation?
Q.2 Do you think Fig.3's first view design is appropriate?
Q.3 Based on Fig.4 and 5 layouts, please answer the following questions.
Q.4 Fig.6 shows the categorized products on the top page. Do you think this categorization and design is beneficial to navigate to the product page?
Q.5   Based on the above interface of Fig.7 and 8, which menu design is clearer to navigation?
Q.6 Do you think the following designs are suitable as a company information page?

The following Gestalt principles were analyzed in a Critical Review article and cited as effective for website design.
  • Law of Continuation
  • Law of Closure
  • Law of Figure-Ground
  • Law of Focal Point
  • Law of Isomorphic Correspondence
  • Law of Proximity
  • Law of Similarity
  • Law of Simplicity
  • Law of Unity/Harmony
In this section, determine how Gestalt Theory works or not. I will investigate what viewers think about nine particularly important gestalt theories of websites, as presented in the paper.

Items above are the core design principles in web design that were discussed in the paper.
The usefulness of each law is determined based on the example images collected below.

Ex, One of the menus in the choice slightly ignores the Law of Continuation and the Law of Proximity in the survey. I measure the importance of Gestalt Theory by having participants choose one better than the other.

Part 3. User Analysis, Trends & Awareness (Total 12 questions) 3-7mins
To question the impression and significance of the website.
Q.1 When do you visit the Corporate Website?
Q.2 When you visit a corporate website, in what role do you often visit it?
Q.3 What is the most important to you when you are browsing a corporate website?
Q.4 The following options are available to you as reasons for the existence of a corporate website. Please select the option that you think is the most effective role of the corporate websites?
Q.5 If the design quality of the website is high, the reliability of the company is high as well.
Q.6 If the design quality of the website is high, you think the quality of the products is high as well.
Q.7 If the design quality of the website is high, you think negatively that the company seems to spend excessively on advertising.
Q.8 When purchasing a product in a store, you search for the product on the Internet before buying it.
Q.9 When you are researching a product you want, you refer to the corporate website of the seller of the product.
Q.10 When you are researching a product, you trust and refer to word of mouth from your acquaintances more than to the corporate website.
Q.11 You think the corporate site with a lot of animation is gorgeous. (e.g., buttons that move when clicked, slider on index page with constantly changing images, etc.)
Q.12 If the website design is not appropriate, you are concerned that the products may not be good either. (e.g., unfashionable fonts, a large number of pages with similar content, many system bugs, etc.)"

These are questions that express agreement or disagreement on a 5-point scale. This allowed us to calculate the average of the respondents' tendencies.
  • When to use it
  • From what standpoint do they use it
  • What factors important to them as a user are
  • Impact on brand image
  • Impact on product impression

This week's Feedback
Specific Feedback:
It was decided to conduct a survey on the corporate website, but it is not yet fully identified. In particular, it should be established what type of website will be surveyed. Also keep in mind that there is another method of qualitative research.

Week 10

Task to Do
  1. Modify the questionnaire according to specific feedback
  2. Submit questionnaire via telegram prior to publish
  3. Collect more than 80 responses
  4. Analyze the data collected
Progress of Primary Data
Fig.8: For Qualitative Research


This week's Feedback
General Feedback:
For researched results, now we as researchers must be objective, eliminating bias. We must judge the results very objectively, away from our personal preferences and our view as both clients and providers.

What we are doing now could be related to our graduation project. Think carefully about why you are doing this research. Methodology goes to Dissertation and then to the final project. While some students may not be technically mature yet, research needs to be done at the same time. This is also advice to re-energize motivation.

Future employers will judge the originality of your portfolio. Where did the idea come from? Its rationale is important. What are your interests and what makes you an expert in what you do? When asked these questions, if you have a good understanding of your research, you can present it. Merely quoting knowledge from the Internet is not reliable enough. We must be moment-to-moment and maximize what we learned in college. It's difficult to judge whether you are creative or not, or whether you are talented or not, by thinking from one side. Learn to see things from multiple angles.

Specific Feedback:
  • Numbering the questions.
  • Clarifying self-introductions.
  • Re-examine necessary and unnecessary questions.
  • Organize age groups.
  • To consider the use of different buttons.
  • To consider options for 5-step scale questions.
  • Making unclear questions clearer.
  • Explain to the respondent in the explanation box what the intent is.
  • Correct other errors in English.

Week 11

Task to Do
Quantitative Research
  1. Continue to open the survey
  2. Analyze survey results
  3. Compile data by noon on Sunday
  4. Submit through Google Classrooms
Qualitative Research
  1. In addition to the survey, interviews with businesses were suggested
  2. Creation of the question list (at W11 in-class)
  3. Brush up the questions
Result of Primary Data

This week's Feedback
General Feedback:
Regarding the research topic, the previous feedback is not to change the topic. We need to continue to grow the research questions to be researchable and achievable on the topic. This week is the last week of primary research.
Also, as college students, be mindful of moderation. Advised some students to refrain from childish behavior such as cheating on attendance checks (directed only at a few students).

*If any data is received after the submission deadline this weekend, it can be updated even after the deadline.

Specific Feedback:
These are matters that need to be more specific to the list of questions. Suggestions for improvement on what I ask professionals;
What kind of users are visiting, buyers, vendors, etc.?
・What is the purpose of the website's existence, to promote services or products? To establish a brand image? Be more specific.
・What are the KPIs of the visitors? Also, how do you get it, how do you promote it?
・What are the demographics of the users and how do they consistently visit the website?
Is it by design, promotion strategy, advertising?

Week 12

Task to Do
Quantitative Research
  1. Continue and remind the questionnaire for viewers (Until getting 80 at least, better to have over 100)
Qualitative Research
  1. Complete the questionnaire based on feedback
  2. Contact to electric product manufacturer companies
Final Submission
  1. Organize the details of previous assignments
  2. Prepare slides for presentation recording
Progress of Primary Data
Why the Qualitative Research failure?
  • Many questions about trade secrets (Sony and Korean companies were very responsive, including explaining the reasons).
  • They only accepted questions and complaints about products, and were not flexible (especially Japanese companies).
  • Ignored (understandably less important in an e-mail from a student)
  • Customer support suddenly sent me a response completion email in response (Xiaomi)
Reflection
These responses are roughly as expected. If I do next, it should be done with smaller companies or website management agents or developers.

This week's Feedback
General Feedback:
The final assignment was explained. To record a 5-minute presentation of the research done in this module. Presentation slides, narration (MUST BE WITH FACE).

Specific Feedback:
Revision on how to write questions for qualitative research
・Clarify the answer from your company's / general / personal perspective
・Correction of writing style “what measures are you taking to achieve them?”
・Correction of writing style ”Based on this question, please describe in the context of your experiences in the company, whether in the current role or past title, designation and position.”

Week 13

Task to Do
Final Submission
  1. Identify all of  my research through this module
  2. Summarize the content to 20 Slides for presentation
  3. All contents into PDF
  4. All of the information above put into e-portfolio post
Progress of Recorded Presentation

I was preparing a script to shoot a presentation. In addition, the company continues to make progress on data collection.


Also proceeded to compile the data collected so far and prepare slides.

This week's Feedback
General Feedback:
What we learn in this module can be applied to all other modules, future work, and creativity. Although the topic is different for each student, the higher-level thinking skills learned in the research process will facilitate the discussion of things to be done effectively in any project, any theme.

Specific Feedback:
The results of the analysis can be written as a conclusion about the differences in menu design by gender. Since the majority of respondents are Asian, we can conclude that Asian women prefer realistic pictures and men prefer simple icons. For the results about the product introduction section, the analysis of the demographic study did not show such a big difference, but the trend was biased. In the feedback I could assume as my analysis from the results.

Week 14

Task to Do
Final Submission
  1. Identify all of  my research through this module
  2. Summarize the content to 20 Slides for presentation
  3. All contents into PDF
  4. All of the information above put into e-portfolio post
  5. All of the information above put into e-portfolio post
  6. Submit all outcomes until Sunday 12:00 on google classroom and drive
Progress of Recorded Presentation & Final Research Reflection
Fig.9: Recorded Presentation

My speaking was not very comfortable, so I cut the part where I was at a loss for words using Premier Pro.

Recorded Presentation (Final)

This week's Feedback
General Feedback:
It has been said repeatedly that in this module, students are the researchers. Therefore, personal perspectives should be eliminated and objective evidence should be presented based on the responses obtained from the questionnaire or interviews. Be sure to eliminate bias. Do not make it an opinion. If you do not get the expected results by the end of this quarter, you still have a chance. Continue to work on the project until March, when dissertation writing will begin, it will be Beneficial.

Research is unpredictable. The results of the research may not reach the expected conclusions.

Specific Feedback:
  • The cited paper should be selected only 3
  • The last page does not have to be counted in the number of pages. Total of 20 slides are required, but 21 pages are acceptable, including the final page
  • In this presentation, each explanation would be very short; I would have to explain about five slides in one minute.
  • So, the information to be explained should be carefully selected for important parts and important findings.
  • Change the theme description section from 3 to 2 pages

Final Research Reflection Report


REFLECTIONS

Experiences
In this module, students learned about academic writing. It ranged from very rudimentary knowledge for first-time students to ideas for developing critical thinking. I had a very difficult time at first, especially being asked to give complex explanations in English. But for my future career, it is inevitable that I will have to construct my theories in English. In fact, even now as I write my research reflection report, I am a little uncertain whether I am expressing my thoughts correctly in English. However, I feel that my vocabulary as well as my design knowledge has clearly increased throughout these three months. I think this is because I looked up words to read papers in the course of my research and prepared scripts of what I would say in preparation for my presentations. Even though my final outcome is not perfect, it was a very informative module for me.

Observation
One thing the lecturers repeatedly mentioned in their lectures is to be objective. It is important to always maintain an objective viewpoint as a researcher to eliminate bias and to avoid making opinions based on one's own impressions. I know this is equally useful not when discussing design theory or papers, but when creating something, as the professor mentioned. For example, when you draw a picture, no matter how hard you try, if the quality is low, you are considered to be a poor artist. By looking at your work objectively, you will be able to see what is wrong with it, for example, if the perspective is wrong or if the shading is wrong, and by correcting it, you will be able to improve a little.

Findings
There are a few things I thought about throughout this module. First, there are many people in the world publishing various research papers. It is obvious when you think about it, but I have never actually had the opportunity to search for and read papers on Google Scholar or other search engines until now. This being my first time researching, similar papers must exist for reference, but not set up exactly the same topic. So the first research topic setting was very difficult. Also, when I learned that what I had been creating designs with my senses was theoretically proven, I thought it would be more manual and enable me to guarantee quality. I realized again that technique requires not only practice but also knowledge.
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