03.04.2023 - 23.05.2023 / Week 1 - Week 8
Yung Siew Weng / 0339847
Yung Siew Weng / 0339847
Design Research Dissertation / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Project 1 / Draft Dissertation
LECTURES
#WEEK 1
As usual, for the first week of the class, Dr. Hayati and Dr. Jinchi gave a live Online Briefing on the Introduction to the module details, expectation and assessment rubric.
#Important Notes :
1.
In short, this module will be constructed in three continuous assessments; a draft dissertation, a dissertation with visual design, and a final dissertation with turnitin submission (to avoid plagiarism). And, the final outcome is to combine and develop an E Journal article for publication.
2. Dissertation should not less than 7,000 words, the structure skeleton may refer to MIB, page 10.
DRD LECTURES #1: Writing a Research Dissertation
DRD LECTURES #1: Writing a Literature Review
#Important Notes :
1. What to include in a Literature Review?
There are many types of literature that you could include in a review, but as far as you should use primary sources rather than using secondary sources (critical review) in which you read someone else's opinion of work.
- Remember that you should explain clearly why you have chosen to review certain pieces of literature and not others; do they exemplify a particular methodology which you will use in your own research project?
2. How to conduct Literature Review?
- Select your topic
- Put your topic into a context. What background needs to be included?
- Search for relevant information
- Keep a record of all your references, APA references
- Put your topic into a context. What background needs to be included?
- Search for relevant information
- Keep a record of all your references, APA references
- Always relate all your literature to your research question
2. How to organise the Literature Review?
You could group by :
- main themes
- methodology
- theories
- types of study
- main writers in the field
- chronology (development of theories over the years)
- methodology
- theories
- types of study
- main writers in the field
- chronology (development of theories over the years)
#WEEK 2
DRD LECTURES #2 : Write a Literature Review
#Important Notes :
1. 5 Steps in Conducting a Literature Review
- Identity Key Terms
- Locate Literature
- Critically Evaluate and Select the Literature
- Organise the Literature
- Write a Literature Review
#WEEK 3
DRD LECTURES #3 : Methodology
#Important Notes :
1. How to write a Research Methodology
In section 3.1 Research Method, give a brief intro of what method you are using? For example, Quantitative such as survey; or Qualitative such as interview; visual analysis; or Mixed method.
In section 3.2, mentioned your research method and give an explanation why the method is deemed appropriate method to be used for your research, citation is needed here. And, for the sub-section, follow the sequences by :
3.2.1 Research Locale
3.2.2 Research Respondents
3.2.3 Research Instrument
3.2.4 Data Gathering Procedures
3.2.5 Statistical Treatment
3.2.6 Limitations
**If you are using two or more methods, follow the section 3.2 skeleton for the following research methods that used.
#WEEK 4
DRD LECTURES #4 : Results and Discussion
#Important Notes :
1. Results / Findings Section [section 4.0]
- The results section should set out your key findings / results, including any statistical analysis and whether or not the results of these are significant. You should cover any literature supporting your interpretation of significance.
- Writing the results section in past tense : you are describing what you have done in the past.
- Summarise your results in the text, drawing on the figures and tables to illustrate your points.
2. Discussion Section [section 5.0]
- Demonstrate that you understand the limitations of your research and the implications of your findings for policy and practice. This section should be written in present tense.
- Should follow from your results and relate back to your literature review. Male sure that everything you discuss is covered in the results section.
- Conclude by summarising the implications of your findings in brief, explain why they are important for researchers and in practice, provide some recommendations for further work.
#WEEK 5
- No class. Public Holiday @ Labour Day. Self- Directed Week -
#WEEK 6
DRD LECTURES #6 : Conclusion, Introduction, Abstract and the extras
#Important Notes :
1. Conclusion [section 6.0]
- included a clear statement of the research question and the aims of the research (closely related to the question)
- conclusion does not need to be very long; few pages is usually sufficient, although detailed recommendations for practice may require more space.
2. Introduction [section 1.0]
- Introduce briefly review of the literature and explain the theoretical framework. If there are theoretical debates in the literature, then the introduction is a good place for you as the researcher to give your own perspective in conjunction with the literature review section of the dissertation.
- indicate how your piece of research will contribute to the theoretical understanding of the topic.
3. Abstract
- short summary of a longer work of the dissertation
- reports the aims and outcomes of your research so that reader know exactly what this paper or dissertation is about.
- There are six things need to include under abstract :
1. Background of your research
2. Your research problem
3. State the research gap
4. Your research objectives
5. Your methods
6. Your key result or arguments and brief conclusion
4. Acknowledgement
- Use acknowledgment to thank :
1. anyone who provided you with information such as the respondents
2. anyone who provided you with funding or financial support
3. anyone who helped you with the writing such as supervisor, etc
4. anyone to whom you are particularly greatly
5. Appendices
- used for relevant information only, such as copies of your questionnaire or interviews outline, letters asking people participate or additional proofs.
#WEEK 7
Project 1 : Draft Dissertation
MODULE INFORMATION
Design Research Dissertation - Project 1: Draft Dissertation
INSTRUCTION
At this stage, students will begin to put together relevant primary and secondary data to form analysis, discussion and conclusion revolving around their research problem. This is where the draft of the dissertation is the outcome. And, students are to utilise primary and secondary data to write an in-depth evaluation, not less than 7000 words, that critically analyses and discusses their research problem and arrives at a conclusion.
EXPLORATION
After receiving the module briefing and the module's evaluation criteria, we were given the following tasks :
- Design the dissertation structure skeleton according to the MIB, page 10.
- Create a Literature Review (secondary data) Matrix for Section 2 based on the critical review that had been reviewed in Design Research Methodology (DRM).
- Cut and paste the relevant information from DRM to the draft dissertation.
- Create an google drive folder to allocate all the module's documents.
- Update weekly progression sheet.
In order to complete the given task, firstly, I referred to the dissertation skeleton from MIB and started to list out all the potential structure for the draft dissertation:
Fig 1.1 Progression, Dissertation Structure Skeleton (week 1/ 03.04.2023)
Fig 1.2 Literature Review Matrix, Sub-topics (week 1/ 07.04.2023)
Feedback _ week 2 / 10.04.2023
Specific Feedback :
1. It is fine to not have an article on literature review that directly talks about Shopee and Amazon (the applications that you mentioned in the working title) in the section on literature review. The literature review may act as secondary data for your dissertation, covering the statement "UI/UX design for an e-commerce platform."
2. For our secondary data, you should focus on UI/UX from the perspective of the e-commerce platform.
3. In the section 1 introduction, you need to hint at the findings of the secondary data, which focus on the e-commerce platform but are not specified for both Shopee and Amazon.
4. For sub-topic 2.2 option 1 in your Literature Review Matrix, it was not so suitable here to indicate Shopee and Amazon overview but in Section 1.
5. For option 2, 2.0, online e-commerce platform overview, for you to write an overview about "what is an e-commerce platform" is fine, but you need to describe that none of Shopee and Amazon will be discussed under the section as the articles are not covered in the discussion.
6. For option 1, 2.1, it was fine to compare and contrast the different articles’ perspectives on the statements "UI", "UX" and "User Usability".
7. For your final version of sub-topics, it was suggested to have the flow of discussing the platform's overview first, then the statement of UI/UX, which may let the reader gain a better understanding of your dissertation.
After having feedback from Dr. Hayati, I continue my progress on making the amendment on the Literature Review Matrix as well as drag all the content from the previous primary data into the draft dissertation and structured it draftily.
Fig 1.3 Final Literature Review Matrix (week 2/ 09.04.2023)
Fig 1.4 Section 2.0: Literature Review Draft (week 2/ 09.04.2023)
Feedback _ week 3 / 17.04.2023
General Feedback :
1. Indicate yourself in the third person, for example, as the author, writer, or your name.
2. No initials in the APA in-text citation.
3. Do not amend the working file without saving the draught version. You can save the draft as Draft 1.1, 1.2, etc.
4. Suggest not using the word "introduction" to overview the literature review, as it may mislead the reader while reading.
5. In academic writing, avoid “colloquialism”, using a word or phrase that is not formal and is used in ordinary or familiar conversation.
Specific Feedback :
1. Your word on “the objective of this literature review is to investigate and examine…”, the phrases investigate and examine is not suitable as you to review the literature, is applicable if using “review and evaluate”.
2. You can use the short form of UI and UX instead of the full since you had mentioned it on your first section.
3. Make sure you cite the in-text citation when you review the literature.
4. For 2.5, It was suggested to be stated as “summary of the literature review” or “summary conclusion”.
After the feedback sessions, I continued my progression to amend the changes and develop into the next instructed task : Research Method.
Fig 1.5 Section 3.0: Research Method Draft 1 (week 4/ 27.04.2023)
Since this week (week 4) was a public holiday @ Hari Raya Aidilfitri, we had a replacement class that fall on the 28 April 2023 (Friday). Although the fact that my Friday is a full day which consists of the class from 9 AM - 1PM continue with the next class on 2.30 - 6.30PM, thanks to Dr. Hayati for arranging a slot in between for me in able to join the session. During the session, I showed the my progress on Research Method [section 3.0] and received some feedback :
Feedback _ week 4 / 28.04.2023
Specific Feedback :
1. Update your feedback sheet
2. “The treatment of the data and statistical treatment of the data” is more suitable to insert in Findings [section 4].
3. You should establish when you talk about whether the first method was qualitative or quantitative.
4. If you used quantitative methods, state what the survey instruction would be. For example, likert scale, open-ended questions, multiple choice, etc.
5. You can amend section 3 to a more enhanced version.
6. For section 3.0, you may provide a research process flow chart and citation to support your decision on the methodology.
Continued after, since week 5 was a public holiday @ Labour day again, we had no class been directed, we had required to settle the findings [section 4.0] and discussion [section 5.0] before the next class for a progression check. However, for this particular week, I had make the amendments for Research Method [section 3.0] based on the feedback given during the last session and stuck myself in the middle findings [section 4.0] as it felt surfed and confusion towards some requirements given, leading me to “roll the snow ball".
Fig 1.6 Section 3.0: Research Method Draft 2 (week 5/ 07.05.2023)
Fig 1.7 Section 4.0: Research Findings and Analysis Draft
[Uncompleted] (week 5/ 08.05.2023)
Feedback _ week 6 / 08.05.2023
General Feedback :
1.
Change “results/findings” to “Research Findings and Analysis”.
Specific Feedback :
2. If you are in Section 3, your table/ figure starts with 3. It’s only 3.1, 3.2, 3.3..,
3. [Section 3.2.3] It’s not “Survey Questionnaire Research Flow”, is “Survey Questionnaire Design Structure”.
4. Elaborate and describe more on your design structure [Section 3.2.3].
5. You can screen capture your survey questions and indicate when you describe the structure to avoid confusion [Section 3.2.3].
6. Whatever you want to display in section 4.0 is influenced towards in your section 3.
After receiving feedback from Dr. Hayati, I had to revise my research instruments [Section 3.2.3] based on the structure of the Research Findings and Analysis section [Section 4.0]. It took me several days to clarify the direction and make the necessary adjustments.
Fig 1.8 Section 3.0: Research Method - Draft 3, Revised (week 6/ 13.05.2023)
After the amendment to the research instruments [Section 3.2.3], I spent my full weekend continuing my development of the dissertation paper. And, I am glad to say that I cherished the time limitations that I had and put my full effort into them in order to reduce the "snowball" that I had "rolled" previously. For this particular week [week 6], I had completed my dissertation until the Section 6.0, conclusions. The draft dissertation of each section will be embed under the context below :
Fig 1.9 Section 4.0: Research Findings and Analysis Draft 2 (week 6/ 13.05.2023)
Fig 1.10 Section 5.0: Discussion, Draft 1 (week 6/ 14.05.2023)
Fig 1.11 Section 6.0: Conclusions, Draft 1 (week 6/ 14.05.2023)
Feedback _ week 7 / 15.05.2023
General Feedback :
Specific Feedback :
Continued after the feedback sessions, I continued develop into my pieces. For this particular week, I focused on the remain parts of my dissertation and tried my best to complete the full draft dissertation before the deadline. Although the fact that it was tough, stress and overwhelming, I finally completed the draft version of my dissertation paper:
Fig 1.12 Draft Dissertation (Final Draft) (week 8/ 23.05.2023)
FEEDBACK
Week 1 / 03.04.2023 @ Module Briefing
General Feedback :
1. No plagiarism. Check your Turnitin plagiarism report by using myTimes.
2. Make optimum use of Google Drive to organise all the documents.
3. Manage your time wisely, prevent dragging, and stick to the plan to avoid snowball effects.
Week 2 / 10.04.2023 @ Literature Review Matrix Draft
Specific Feedback :
1. It is fine to not have an article on literature review that directly talks about Shopee and Amazon (the applications that you mentioned in the working title) in the section on literature review. The literature review may act as secondary data for your dissertation, covering the statement "UI/UX design for an e-commerce platform."
2. For our secondary data, you should focus on UI/UX from the perspective of the e-commerce platform.
3. In the section 1 introduction, you need to hint at the findings of the secondary data, which focus on the e-commerce platform but are not specified for both Shopee and Amazon.
4. For sub-topic 2.2 option 1 in your Literature Review Matrix, it was not so suitable here to indicate Shopee and Amazon overview but in Section 1.
5. For option 2, 2.0, online e-commerce platform overview, for you to write an overview about "what is an e-commerce platform" is fine, but you need to describe that none of Shopee and Amazon will be discussed under the section as the articles are not covered in the discussion.
6. For option 1, 2.1, it was fine to compare and contrast the different articles’ perspectives on the statements "UI", "UX" and "User Usability".
7. For your final version of sub-topics, it was suggested to have the flow of discussing the platform's overview first, then the statement of UI/UX, which may let the reader gain a better understanding of your dissertation.
Week 3 / 17.04.2023 @ Literature Review
General Feedback :
1. Indicate yourself in the third person, for example, as the author, writer, or your name.
2. No initials in the APA in-text citation.
3. Do not amend the working file without saving the draught version. You can save the draft as Draft 1.1, 1.2, etc.
4. Suggest not using the word "introduction" to overview the literature review, as it may mislead the reader while reading.
5. In academic writing, avoid “colloquialism”, using a word or phrase that is not formal and is used in ordinary or familiar conversation.
Specific Feedback :
1. Your word on “the objective of this literature review is to investigate and examine…”, the phrases investigate and examine is not suitable as you to review the literature, is applicable if using “review and evaluate”.
2. You can use the short form of UI and UX instead of the full since you had mentioned it on your first section.
3. Make sure you cite the in-text citation when you review the literature.
4. For 2.5, It was suggested to be stated as “summary of the literature review” or “summary conclusion”.
Week 4 / 28.04.2023 @ Research Method & Findings
Specific Feedback :
1. Update your feedback sheet
2. “The treatment of the data and statistical treatment of the data” is more suitable to insert in Findings [section 4].
3. You should establish when you talk about whether the first method was qualitative or quantitative.
4. If you used quantitative methods, state what the survey instruction would be. For example, likert scale, open-ended questions, multiple choice, etc.
5. You can amend section 3 to a more enhanced version.
6. For section 3.0, you may provide a research process flow chart and citation to support your decision on the methodology.
Week 6 / 08.05.2023 @
Research Method & Findings
General Feedback :
1.
Change “results/findings” to “Research Findings and Analysis”.
Specific Feedback :
2. If you are in Section 3, your table/ figure starts with 3. It’s only 3.1, 3.2, 3.3..,
3. [Section 3.2.3] It’s not “Survey Questionnaire Research Flow”, is “Survey Questionnaire Design Structure”.
4. Elaborate and describe more on your design structure [Section 3.2.3].
5. You can screen capture your survey questions and indicate when you describe the structure to avoid confusion [Section 3.2.3].
6. Whatever you want to display in section 4.0 is influenced towards in your section 3.
Week 7 / 15.05.2023 @ Progression Check
General Feedback :
Specific Feedback :
REFLECTION
Week 1
It might be mentioned that getting back into this topic after a long sabbatical is a little challenging. Although it looks to be simpler than the module, design research methodology since we have the basic research resources and information. In truth, I spent a lot of time this week working on the matrix and imagining sub-topics until I couldn't go any further than preparing my dissertation. Despite the fact, I make every effort to prevent the snowball effect.
Week 2
After determining how the literature review's subtopics should be organized, it seems to be simpler for me to comprehend and organize the information into a drafted dissertation. However, as usual, I found it difficult to comprehend the words and develop myself in the world of "words” as a design student rather than visual visuals. Nonetheless, the planned timeline that scheduled us on all of the topics had really helped me to manage my time instead of undertaking the compilation draft dissertation all at once. For this week, I concluded myself as fortunate to have finished the assigned task for the literature review dissertation contents before class, preventing the snowball effect from spreading to the following week.
Week 3
As I reflect on this week, It can be stated I feel a bit exhausted and stressed out. Despite not having any classes due to a public holiday, the sudden workload from other modules had led to the overall progress seeming to snowball and become overwhelming. It felt like there were so many tasks that needed to be completed and not enough time in the day. The pressure to meet deadlines added to the stress, making me feel fatigued and unmotivated. However, looking back, I am grateful that I was able to overcome these challenges. Although it was tough, I managed to stay focused and find ways to be productive, even during the times when I felt most tired.
Week 4
Feeling exhausted and overwhelmed since Friday is my full schedule day, the day had made me even asleep in an orchestra event. Since knowing that the following week was also a holiday, the idea of deferring the task to the next week seemed appealing as it would provide an opportunity to catch out other modules’ deadlines. Despite the extra time available, the combination of numerous tasks and personal issues, added to my stress in and out.
Week 5
This week has been incredibly challenging, and I found myself having to summon double the usual amount of energy to complete my tasks. It's disheartening to acknowledge that I created a snowball effect for my dissertation paper, as I have limited control over the situation. My time has been consumed by an overwhelming amount of assignments and deadlines, leaving me with only 3-4 hours of sleep each night, going to bed at 4 am and waking up at 9 am. It feels like I'm trapped in a never-ending cycle, unable to escape.This experience has been like a bad dream, where I haven't had the luxury of enjoying a natural and rejuvenating sleep. I can't help but wonder if I even deserve proper rest. Despite my efforts to squeeze every minute out of the day, the reality is that there are still more tasks to complete than the hours available. It's a truly terrible situation. However, amidst the stress and frustration, I managed to allocate some time during the weekend to catch up on my dissertation. I pushed myself to make progress, even if it was just a fraction of what I had hoped to achieve. Every small step counts, and I am determined to make the most of the time I have, however limited it may be. To be mentioned, it felt surfed and confused in Findings [section 4] towards some requirements given, leading me to “roll the snow ball”.
Week 6
After receiving feedback from Dr. Hayati, I realized the need to take a step back and revise Section 3: Research Methodology. As someone who tends to avoid prolonged reading and writing, I found it challenging to complete the task quickly. I encountered difficulties in expressing my thoughts clearly, resulting in the need to delete a 13-page draft and restructure the data analysis section. It was undoubtedly a tough and demanding process, but upon completing Section 4, I felt a sense of accomplishment. Despite the challenges I faced, I was able to persevere and overcome them, however there were still some “snow balls” that I needed to settle down.
Week 7
The reality of facing multiple assignment deadlines at once prevented me from submitting the dissertation on time. This time is not about the lesson of TIME MANAGEMENT. Despite my efforts of spending more than 20 hours in front of my laptop and enduring sleepless nights, I couldn't complete the task. I tried my best, but my limitations in spirit, time, and brainstorming hindered my progress. It was a stressful experience, as the workload kept piling up and almost overwhelmed me.
Week 8
Reflecting on finally settling the draft dissertation, I experienced a mix of emotions. The process was undeniably stressful, with numerous challenges and obstacles along the way. However, upon completing the task, I felt a tremendous sense of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted from my shoulders. It was a moment of accomplishment, knowing that I had invested significant time and effort into producing a comprehensive dissertation.Despite having submitted my draft two days late, I could take solace in the fact that I had given my all and strived for the best outcome. However, upon reviewing my own dissertation, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and disbelief. It was a surreal experience to see the culmination of my hard work and dedication captured in written form. I couldn't help but question myself, thinking, "Is this really my work? Did I actually write this?"
Overall, completing the draft dissertation was a significant milestone accompanied by a range of emotions. Despite the stress, late submission, and the sense of accomplishment and self-reflection brought a deep satisfaction. It served as a reminder of the progress made and the potential for further growth in the future.
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