Research  methods.

This week, our unit is called “Design Principles & Methods”. Ms Mamo, our lecturer has outlined different types of design methods.

Ms Mamo explained that design methods consist of three particular points.

·        Inquiry

·        Observation

·        Secondary research

Inquiry consist of:

·        interviews

·        questionnaires

·        focus groups

·        Graffiti walls

An interview is a one on one discussion, which helps to analyse one’s thoughts ,motivation, ideas and behavior. Sometimes interviews are used to gain information from experts in the subject. Interviews help to enhance your knowledge of the subject and often give inspirational ideas for problem solving.

For me an interview is a great research method. I find that having that person sharing their experiences is much more rewarding then researching a book or the internet.

I had carried out some interviews before but am now more informed and I am going to prepare myself more with more relevant questions to ask to achieve my requirements.

Questionnaires are surveys designed for individuals usually to be answered anonymously. They respond according to their characters, thoughts, feelings and behaviors. These help to analyse the majorities thoughts.

I have previously carried out a questionnaire, however if I had to do it again, my questions would be more straight to the point. Sometimes people hate filling questionnaires because they think it's a waste of time.... so why not make it more interesting, like adding example images and short sentences that everyone can understand.

Focus Groups contain a particular group of people that are relevant to your subject. These groups have their own opinions, feelings and behaviors. So there could possibly be disagreements within the group, however these disagreements are what makes the discussion interesting and help in your research.

Personally I don't think that focus groups are helpful to me. When focus groups are arranged, one must control the participants and for this reason I would rather prefer interviews. But then again it depends on the situation.

As I said in the beginning, research methods have more points and this is just a small part. I will discuss the other factors in next week's blog post.

Reference:

BA Spatial Design - Yr2: Design Principles and Methods - 2016/2017,  Design Methods. [pdf] Antoinette Mamo . Available at: file:///C:/Users/racfal/Downloads/3._Design_Methods_STAGE_1_-_Discover.pdf> [Accessed 4 December 2016].