My Big Research Question

Big Research Question

How media developers of instructional materials such as e-learning websites and training handouts make judgments about visual designs of instructional materials.

Why It is Important to Investigate It

It is suggested by several scholars that existing principles of visual design, constructed primarily based on research findings of laboratory studies, do not provide enough information for designers to design in authentic and real settings. For the future purpose of improving visual design guidelines, I'd like to investigate how designers create visual designs of instructional materials in actual settings.

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Relevant Statements of Interest

Specifically, my study aims to describe the steps and routines of visual designing process engaged in by the media developers of instructional materials. Especially, it is aimed to understand how media developers decide visual design of instructional materials in accordance with constrains of time, money and other resources available to develop the materials. Additionally, this study seeks to describe the influence of stakeholders, including clients, indented learners and coworkers, on the decision making process of the visual design of instructional materials. What kind of relationships do the media developers have with other stakeholders? If the opinions and expectations of stakeholders conflict each other, how do the media developers negotiate and decide the visuals of instructional materials? Finally, if the media developers refer to certain guidelines of visual designs, how do they utilize the general guideline to fit a specific design needs?

Participant

So far, I've done 2 observations and 1 shadowing in a local instructional design company. The participants are adults who do visual design of instructional materials as their profession. The title of their profession is media developer. They are responsible for creating instructional media such as e-learning websites and training handouts.

What are Observed and Why?

During the two 1-hour observation sessions, interactions among the media developers during their media team meeting were observed. Observing interaction among them would inform magnitude and kinds of influence each stakeholder has and inform what kind of constrains media developers face when they are designing visuals of instructional materials. Additionally, during the 3-hour shadowing session, in addition to the group meeting, I observed how media developers actually design during solitary work period. The shadowing of medial developer’s solitary work will also inform how they do perform visual design in accordance with the external influences and constrains. I will do 1 more observation, 2 more shadowing, and 3 interviews next semester.

Reflection on Dossier 2nd on October 11

Theories Could be Used

As I realized the importance of theoretical framework last week, I concentrated more on learning authors and theories addressed in the presentations. I tried to identify theories that could be the foundation for my own study.

Content Analysis

Krippendorf, K. (2013) Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology. According to Bryan, it "examines communication and keywords to identify concerns and topics."

Competencies

Parry, S. R. (1996). The Quest for Competence. Training Magazine, July, 1996, pp48-56.

Diffusion of Innovations

Rogers, Everett M. (1962). Diffusion of Innovations. Glencoe: Free Press.
Rogers, Everett M. (1983). Diffusion of Innovations. New York: Free Press.

Design Judgment

I would ask Muruvvet to send me the slides!

Things Should be Talked

Also, here are notes on things I felt that the successful students prepared well.

History of the Field

I should be able to talk about old, newer and new studies in the field of my research interest. Ignoring certain 10 year period is not a good idea. In order to learn history and tread of the field, it would be good idea to look at some meta analysis studies.

Representative Studies

Although it is good to know about meta analysis studies, it is also important to be able to talk about specific representative empirical studies in my research area.

Contribution of the First Author Study

This is related to "Justification for the Research" which I discussed in the previous week, but it seems important to be able to talk about what is new and what is significant in my study in sophisticated ways. Especially I should be able to talk about the findings of other similar studies in order to be explicit about new findings in my study.

Details of the Study

Apparently, it is very important to be able to talk about the methods of the study. I would need to talk about both the validity and limitation of the study. The limitation should inform what kind of things the future study can do.

Reflection on Dossier 2nd on October 4

While I was observing the presentations, I was thinking what kind of preparations I would need in order to be successful with my second dossier review in 2014 fall. Here is a list of things I felt that the successful students prepared well.

Regarding Research

Theoretical Background

I strongly felt that it is very important to have theoretical background for one's research. As I still do not have a theory which would be the center of my research, I really need to find it as soon as possible. At latest, by the end of this year. Also, as both Dr. Leftwich and Dr. Cho suggested, the theory should be based on empirical studies rather than just on the ideas of certain author.

Justification for the Research

I noticed that almost all the question sessions had the "why important" questions, which is about the importance of the research question. As a person who hopes to be a professional scholar, I really need to be prepared to explain the theoretical and practical importance of my research.

Knowledge about the Authors

One of the biggest factors, I believe, to make the entire presentation strong or weak was the students' knowledge on the authors in their own research interests. I would naturally learn important figures in my research interest while looking for the theoretical background for my research.

Regarding Presentation

Structure of Explanation

Some students uses a lot of concrete examples while others explained in abstract ways. I felt strong need of balancing abstract explanations and concrete examples. Lacking either one of them seemed to affect the understanding of the presentation quite negatively.

Screen Design

As English is not my native language, I have some pronunciation issues. For this reason, some written texts on the PowerPoint slides would help the audience understand what I say. However, if the screen is filled with a lot of words, the audience would be less motivated to read them.

Eye Contact

Having good eye contact seemed to be an important factor of making the presentations both convincing and engaging. It is the worst idea to read from the screen. Of course, memorizing everything is not realistic, especially in such stressful setting. I felt it was helpful to create a note card, as Verily did, in order to look at the audience instead of the screen.