304007 (v.3) Design Research Methods 595

Area:

Department of Design

Credits:

25.0

Contact Hours:

3.0

Lecture:

1 x 1 Hours Weekly

Seminar:

1 x 2 Hours Weekly

Other Requisite(s):

Substantial completion: Bachelor of Arts (Design related) with a course weighted average of 65 per cent and over.

Syllabus:

Formal course work unit requiring participation in classes and workshops and involving preparatory work and readings for each session. Seminars and workshops address such areas as questionaires, the appropriate use of surveys, using the library, using and accessing electronic databases and the internet , using the media, visual analysis, report writing and presentation methods. Full use of generic online resources on study skills and information gathering is required. Visits to galleries or other venuesin Perth are recommended where appropriate to the content of a session as are lectures and seminars within the University. Access relevant professional design and technological expertise that is appropriate to presentations.

Unit Outcomes:

Upon completion of this unit students will have - Applied the design research methods covered in the unit to a variety of design research contexts. In particular to have - gained competency in developing and using research techniques such as surveys, interviews and questionaires to source research information. Demonstrated the ability to use the electronic medium for sourcing and researching information and produced a sound and comprehensive research bibliography. Planned and organised a design research project. Written coherently about design and design research. Reflected on own professional practice. Gained understanding of the importance of ethical and philosophical considerations within the research process. Chosen and applied the relevant research methods apppropriately in other Masters project work and future professional practice.

Text and references listed above are for your information only and current as of September 30, 2003. Please check with the unit coordinator for up-to-date information.

Unit References:

Allison, B.(1996).Research Skills for Students.London, Kogan Page. Banks, M.(2001).Visual Methods in Social Research. London, Sage Publications. Bell, J.(1993).Doing Your Research Project, 2nd ed. Milton Keynes, Open University Press. Berger, A.(1998).Media Analysis Techniques.London, Routledge. Cryer, P. (1996).The Research Student's Guide to Success. Milton Keynes, Open University Press. Dant, T.(1999). Material Culture in the Social World. Milton Keynes, Open University Press. Evans, M. (1994). The Woman Question, 2nd ed. London, Sage Publications. Hooper-Greenhill, E. ed. (1995). Museum, Media Message. London and New York, Routledge. Morgan, D.(1993). Successful Focus Groups: Advancing the State of the Art. London, Sage Publications. Orna, E. and Stevens, G. (1995). Managing Information for Research. Milton Keynes, Open University Press. Prosser, J.(1998). Image Based Research: A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers. Sussex, Falmer Press. Runeson, G.and Skitmore, M. (1999). Writing Research Reports. Australia, Deakin University. Sharples, M. (1999). How We Write: Writing as Creative Design. London and New York, Routledge. Silverman, D. (2001). Interpreting Qualitative Data: Methods for Analysing Talk,Text and Interaction. London, Sage.

Unit Texts:

No prescribed texts. Web-based Resources: Library: Finding Information http://lisweb.curttin.edu.au/finding/index.html Evaluating Web Resources http://www.ciolek.com/WWWVL-InfoQuality.html The Research Training Initiative http://www.biad.uce.ac.uk/research/guides/index.html Allison Research Index http://www.ariad.co.uk/ The Visual Arts Data Service http://www.drs.org.uk/ Internet for Social Research Methods http://www.sosig.ac.uk/vts/social-research-methods/index.htm

Unit Assessment Breakdown:

Seminars (2) 20%, Essay 80%. This is a grade/mark assessment.

Year	Location	Period	Internal	Area External	Central External
2004	Bentley Campus	Semester 1	Y
2004	Bentley Campus	Semester 2	Y