D E S I G N R E S E A R C H M E T H O D O L O G Y
Sept 4 '18 - Dec 11 '18 (W1-W14)
Jaslyn Tjhai (0333039)
Design Research Methodology
W E E K 1
September 4 2018
On the first week of class, Dr. Hayati briefed us on the module outline for this semester. After explaining the module outlines and everything, she gave us a few minutes break before asking us to choose a topic of research that we wanted to work on, and gather as a group based on the topics that we chose and discuss amongst ourselves. I thought of doing a research between web design and development and film studies. I ended up with web design and development during class and I'm the only one who chose that so I have no one to discuss to.
Dr. Hayati then go to each of the group to kind of give us an idea on what kind of topics we might want to do a research on. I was also looking up some topics online to kind of gave me an idea on web design and development research topics. Here's what I found from a few sources.
- Typography on web design
- Minimalist/flat design
- Responsive design
- Browser compatibility
- Parallax scrolling
- Infinite scrolling
- CSS animations
- Ambient video backgrounds
- Value of content in web design
- Web design vs web development
- Unpredictable SEO
While the idea that I have if I were to choose film studies would be about Wes Anderson's concept on film making. I've always loved how he has this certain color scheme for each movie that he produced as well as the way he directed the movie, the camera angles, the way the actors acted and everything.
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| Fig. 1.a. The Grand Budapest Hotel |
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| Fig. 1.b. Isle of Dogs |
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| Fig. 1.c. Moonrise Kingdom |
One of the YouTube filmmaker that I followed was also inspired by Wes Anderson and therefore he has the same style on his filmmaking projects.
Other than that, I was also suggested to do a research on how Studio Ghibli movies are always highly rated for their stories as well as their art. It's amazing how Hayao Miyazaki is able to produce works of such quality.
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| Fig. 1.d. Stray Dog |
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| Fig. 1.e. The 56 Year Old Boy |
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| Fig. 1.f. Tick Where It Hurts |
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| Fig. 1.g. Studio Ghibli films |
September 7 2018
On the second class of the week, Dr. Hayati clarified and explained more about the module outline to us in order for us to have a clear idea on what we're going to do. On the second hour of class, Dr. Hayati asked each of us to present what we decided on and what we wanted to research on.
I presented what I wanted to do a research about and also explained a little about my findings, where I decided to change from web to either film studies or animation, because I don't really know which one my research currently belongs to. Dr. Hayati then asked me which one I wanted to focus on as my future career or future artwork to make sure I can narrow down and be clear on my research. I then explained how I wanted to do a research on Studio Ghibli. Films from Studio Ghibli always manage to impress audiences from all over the world, so I wanted to do a study on what makes Ghibli different from other animation studios. Is it the way they narrate the story? Or is it because of the way their films are animated? I somehow also mentioned about the comparison between Studio Ghibli and Disney or between Studio Ghibli and works by Makoto Shinkai (director of Kimi no Nawa). Then Dr. Hayati told me that it's a good research because there's methodology in it where I'm actually doing like a comparative study. But Dr. Hayati wanted me to be clear about what I'm researching, particularly on what I'm going to do with the result of the study afterwards. Since it's definitely not a good thing to waste time doing research on something and not being able to do anything with the result of the study.
As class ended, I went back and tried to think about the area that I wanted to focus on. I decided to look more into both film and animation side. On the film side, director of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, explained how all his stories are told in a way where the viewers are allowed to have different perspective and interpretation of the films on their own. He wanted to create a film where there is no "yes" and "no" answer to how they think the film ended.
I came to focus on the animation side, where I look into the process of Studio Ghibli's animation. I also wanted to focus on how Studio Ghibli is able to create iconic characters where by just looking at the character, people can somehow know that 'that' is a Studio Ghibli character. Where as from my research, I was hoping it could help animators, character designers design a character that's unique on their own, and that reflects their style.
I presented what I wanted to do a research about and also explained a little about my findings, where I decided to change from web to either film studies or animation, because I don't really know which one my research currently belongs to. Dr. Hayati then asked me which one I wanted to focus on as my future career or future artwork to make sure I can narrow down and be clear on my research. I then explained how I wanted to do a research on Studio Ghibli. Films from Studio Ghibli always manage to impress audiences from all over the world, so I wanted to do a study on what makes Ghibli different from other animation studios. Is it the way they narrate the story? Or is it because of the way their films are animated? I somehow also mentioned about the comparison between Studio Ghibli and Disney or between Studio Ghibli and works by Makoto Shinkai (director of Kimi no Nawa). Then Dr. Hayati told me that it's a good research because there's methodology in it where I'm actually doing like a comparative study. But Dr. Hayati wanted me to be clear about what I'm researching, particularly on what I'm going to do with the result of the study afterwards. Since it's definitely not a good thing to waste time doing research on something and not being able to do anything with the result of the study.
As class ended, I went back and tried to think about the area that I wanted to focus on. I decided to look more into both film and animation side. On the film side, director of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, explained how all his stories are told in a way where the viewers are allowed to have different perspective and interpretation of the films on their own. He wanted to create a film where there is no "yes" and "no" answer to how they think the film ended.
I came to focus on the animation side, where I look into the process of Studio Ghibli's animation. I also wanted to focus on how Studio Ghibli is able to create iconic characters where by just looking at the character, people can somehow know that 'that' is a Studio Ghibli character. Where as from my research, I was hoping it could help animators, character designers design a character that's unique on their own, and that reflects their style.
W E E K 2
September 14 2018
On the second week of class, Dr. Hayati clarified once again on what we need to do and gave us a lecture on how to write a problem statement as well as a lecture on research process. Dr. Hayati also asked us to start reading a lot of articles and literature that supports our topic of research. Before class ended, a few other classmates who hasn't presented to Dr. Hayati last week presented in front where Dr. Hayati directly provide feedback.
W E E K 3
September 21 2018
On the third week of class, there was no lecture. Instead, we had a session with the librarian to learn about information literacy. We were taught on how to search for articles, ebooks, journals, etc. on Taylor's library portal. We were also taught on referencing and how to do citation.
W E E K 4
September 24 2018
In today's tutorial class, Dr. Hayati consulted each of us to ensure that we are clear on our problem statement and to look at our first rough draft. Dr. Hayati mentioned that my research topic (which I chose to do a research on animation, studying the art relating to human emotions through Studio Ghibl) is too time-consuming where my topic is more of a phD and Master's student's. So I was asked to narrow down my topic where I told Dr. Hayati that I wanted to also study about character design of Studio Ghibli so I was asked to go with that instead. Since I'm going to focus my study on Studio Ghibli's character, I was asked to do a compare and contrast research on characters designed by Studio Ghibli and also by other production studios to see what are the key elements that make Studio Ghibli different from the others. Then we were all told to look for articles and literature that supports our topic for us to write on our research proposal brief and also to help us on our research.
September 28 2018
On Friday's class, we were given a lecture on data collection, critical review, and eight step process. Dr. Hayati then reminded us on what we needed to submit for this Sunday, which is our research proposal. I read through a lot of articles for my research proposal where Dr. Hayati asked me not to forget to put it as reference and cite it.
W E E K 5
October 1 2018
On tutorial class, Dr. Hayati consulted each of us one by one to ensure once again that we are really clear on what we wanted from this research. We were also asked to start looking at journals to read for our research where by next week, we should present at least 2 critical review of the journal that we read.
October 2, 2018
On lecture class, Dr. Hayati gave us a lecture.
W E E K 6
October 8 2018
Critical Review Presentation Slide
W E E K 7
October 15 2018
During this week I was trying to finish all my critical reviews where we were required to do at least 10 and at most 12 reviews. I manage to do 12 critical reviews and was hoping to do literature review but due to time constraints I was unable to arrange a time for me to do so. Moving on from the critical reviews itself we were briefed for our next step which is to start thinking about the people that we wanted to involve in our research for us to gather primary data. I thought of approaching all the researcher who's research was reviewed by me. Other than that, I was thinking about which animator to approach.
W E E K 8
October 22 2018
During this week itself was the submission for critical review which I manage to finish it in the end.
Critical Review Document
After my critical review, I started to think about the methods that I wanted to use to gather my primary data where I started preparing possible questions that I can ask the participants that I wanted to approach. Based on Dr. Hayati's feedback, I somehow already manage to grasp and understand what I needed to do. I was only asked to try to reshape some of the questions because they sound biased. Another thing I was asked to do was to segregate and put together all the questions in a more organized way for the participants that I wanted to involve in my research to ensure that they won't find my questions confusing.
After the class and also taking in the feedback that I received, I started to create the Google Form for the questionnaires that I'm planning to send out.
Research Implementation Presentation Slide
W E E K 9
October 29 2018
During this week it's basically update on progression where Dr. Hayati left comments on my draft for me to make adjustments on my questionnaire which I did. Also for this week I did final revision on the questions together with Dr. Hayati where afterwards I'm good to start sending the emails to the experts or participants that I've selected. I also ended up deciding to do a quantitative method of gathering the data instead of just relying on experts because I need data from an audience's or animation enthusiasts' point of view as well. So during this week itself I searched for some forums and community of animation enthusiasts, mainly on Facebook, where I sent a request to join their group and posted my online survey there. The questions for my online survey mainly consist of similar questions that I sent to the experts except for the fact that I tried to modify my questions to make it simpler for the participants to answer where most of the questions are close-ended.
Questions for Experts
- What are your opinions on the development of animation in the coming years?
- What do you think is the most important aspect in an animated film?
- What are your opinions on character design in an animated film?
- What are the elements that define a character in an animated film?
- What is your definition of a good and unique character design in an animated film?
- In your opinion, what is/are the element/s in characters for animated films that will make audience remember the character?
Questions for Animation Enthusiasts
- Before we get in to the actual questions, what is your current occupation?
(Student, Employed, Out of Work, Others) - What is the highest degree or level of school you have completed? If currently enrolled, highest degree received.
(High School Graduate/Foundation/Diploma, Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree, Professional Degree) - What is your age?
(18-24 years old, 25-34 years old, 35-44 years old, Over 45 years old) - Do you enjoy watching animated films?
(Yes, No) - How often do you watch animated films?
(On a scale of 1-5 with 1 being never and 5 being very often) - Which production studio that produce animated films that you are aware of?
(Walt Disney, Pixar, Studio Ghibli, Others) - Which animated films produced by those production studio that you enjoy the most?
(Walt Disney, Pixar, Studio Ghibli, Others) - What are some of the factors that makes you remember an animated film? (pick 2)
(Storyline, Art Style, Character, Production Studio) - What is the reason for your answer?
- What are your expectation before watching an animated film?
- What do you think is the most important thing in a character of an animated film that will make you remember them?
W E E K 10
November 5 2018
This week was more on continuing with our research implementation on our methods of collecting primary data where I received responses from experts and animation studios but only one expert filled in my mailed questionnaire. As for quantitative data, I've received quite some responses for my online survey.
W E E K 11
November 12 2018
During this week as well I sent reminder emails to some experts.
W E E K 12
November 19 2018
During week 12, I started to analyze all my data and start working on my research implementation document on my primary data where Dr. Hayati uploaded a few examples on times for us to use as reference.
Primary Data Document
W E E K 13
November 26 2018
I started working on my presentation slide for week 14 since I've already completed my document for research implementation. For the presentation itself it will be peer review where we will be presenting our whole research to our peers and they will be asking questions to us.
Presentation Slide
W E E K 14
December 3 2018
On the last week of class, each of us did our presentation. I was actually worried that my classmates wouldn't have any questions for me but I'm surprised to receive a lot of questions. While the others are presenting, I also manage to understand their topics where some of them are actually interesting as well. After all the presentation is done, Dr. Hayati briefed us on the submission details and ended the class.
LINK: Files to Design Research
LINK: Files to Design Research
REFLECTION
Throughout the completion of this module, it was actually pretty challenging for me in some ways where first of all, having to already choose a topic on the field that I wanted to focus on for my Final Year Project, in my opinion, is too early for semester 3. While I understand that research takes time for students to get used to and to understand the whole process but being in semester 3, we have not completely been exposed to as well as explored what multimedia design has to offer for us, some might not even find their passion yet and what they wanted to focus on in this field. Therefore, I can only decide on my topic based on the thing that was closest to my interest and something that I can relate to, and that is Animation. The challenge that I have to face for this module is to find the time to read and digest whatever information is needed for my research as this is not something I can stay up late doing because I need to be awake and focus. Another thing would be to correlate the topic that I've chosen after reading tons of other researches as reference. However, I do enjoy doing researches as it requires on to delve deeper into a chosen topic where once you understand everything, you will be excited to actually present it to people around and share your knowledge.
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