module specification

This module is taken by students who wish to develop an interactive final project rather than a dissertation. This module aims at enabling students to research, plan and develop their final Digital Project. The module addresses issues about the research tradition in digital media, the main issues in the production of interactive projects and the process of managing research and development in digital media productions.
The module will allow students to develop both theoretical and research skills in the area of interactive media and digital communications.
 

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• Consolidate and advance skills and knowledge in the research, production and design of the Digital Project
• Apply analytical, technical and problem solving skills to the production of a digital project

The module will allow students to develop both theoretical and research skills in the area of interactive media and digital communications.

The module addresses issues about the practice-based research tradition in digital media, the process of planning and managing research for the production of a Digital Project and the appropriate research methods to investigate practice-based digital research projects.

The module enables students to develop theoretical and research skills in the area of interactive media and digital communications.

The module is delivered via scheduled Research Workshops as well as one-to-one project supervision tutorials.

The Research Workshop syllabus covers the following:

• Digital Media and interactive communications theories.
• Digital Media-specific research issues.
• Project components.
• Identifying suitable research topics for a practice-based digital research projects and formulating research questions.
• How to produce a Project Proposal.
• How to research and write a Literature Review and a Product Review.
• Identify and evaluate appropriate research methodologies and research methods.
• Selecting and evaluating the appropriate research tools.
• Production issues.
• Project evaluation methods.
• Research ethics.
• Presenting the research findings in the Evaluation Report.
• Managing the research, production and evaluation process.

This module will be delivered via time-tabled workshops, tutorials and online resources. Students are expected to manage their own learning, not only defining their own topic, but also managing their own time and resources in the process of researching, producing and evaluating the Project. They will receive support and guidance from their project supervisor and will be required to attend individual and group supervision tutorials.
This module runs across Semester 1 and 2, it assessed in August and January.

On successful completion of this module post-graduate students will be able to:

LO1 research, develop and implement the proposal for the Digital Project
LO2 plan, organise and manage the production of the Digital Project
LO3 research, analyse and critically evaluate the production process and the final outcome

A) a 3,000 words Proposal for Digital Project (weighting 25%). The proposal should include: aims and objectives, a review of available literature on the chosen topic for the project, a treatment, timetable, story board or flow chart, resources statement. This part of the assessment will test the studentsí ability to evaluate the current debate and research trends on the chosen topic, analyse and investigate the feasibility of the proposed project and to evaluate the resources implication of the production of the project.
Due in week 14 of the first Semester. [LO1].

B) a Digital Project (weighting 50%), topic and platform will be determined by the students in consultation with the tutor. The project can be group work. [LO2, LO3] . This part of the assessment is designed to test the studentsí ability to research, plan and produce a Digital Project. Students will also demonstrate ability to manage all the production phases.

C) a 6,000 word Evaluation Report (weighting 25%) designed to test studentsí ability to assess their own interactive project, collect and synthesis their production activities and critically reflect on the production process. This part of the assessment must be individual work. [LO3]

Students may pass on aggregate.

Core

Benyon, D. (2014) Designing Interactive Systems: A Comprehensive Guide to HCI, UX and Interaction Design, 3rd ed. ed, Pearson: Harlow, England.

Greenfield, T., Greener, S. (Eds.) (2016) Research Methods for Postgraduates, 3rd edition. ed, John Wiley & Sons: Chichester, UK ; Hoboken, NJ.

Hewson, C., Vogel, C.M., Laurent, D. (2016) Internet Research Methods, 2nd ed. ed, SAGE: Los Angeles ; London.

Background

Allen, J., Chudley, J. (2012) Smashing UX Design: Foundations for Designing Online User Experiences, Smashing magazine book series, John Wiley: Chichester.

Beardsmore, C. (2013) How to Do Your Research Project: A Guide for Students Inmedicine and the Health Sciences, Wiley-Blackwell: Chichester.

Bell, J., Waters, S. (2014) Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First Time Researchers, 6th ed. ed, McGraw-Hill Education: Maidenhead.

Booth, A., Papaioannou, D., Sutton, A. (2012) Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review, Sage: Los Angeles, Calif. ; London.

Brennen, B. (2013) Qualitative Research Methods for Media Studies, Routledge: London.

Bruton, D., Radford, A. (2012) Digital Design: A Critical Introduction, Berg: London.

Caddick, R., Cable, S. (2011) Communicating the User Experience: A Practical Guide Forcreating Useful UX Documentation, Wiley: Chichester.

DiMarco, J. (2010) Digital Design for Print and Web: An Introduction to Theory, Principles, and Techniques, John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, N.J.

Greenfield, T., Greener, S. (Eds.) (2016) Research Methods for Postgraduates, 3rd edition. ed, John Wiley & Sons: Chichester, UK ; Hoboken, NJ.

Halfpenny, P., Procter, R. (Eds.) (2015) Innovations in Digital Research Methods, SAGE: Los Angeles ; London.

Hewson, C., Vogel, C.M., Laurent, D. (2016) Internet Research Methods, 2nd ed. ed, SAGE: Los Angeles ; London.

Mano, M.M., Ciletti, M.D. (2007) Digital Design, 4th ed. ed, Pearson Prentice-Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Toninelli, D., Pinter, R., Pedraza, P. de (Eds.) (2015) Mobile Research Methods: Opportunities and Challenges Ofmobile Research Methodologies, Ubiquity Press: London.

Unger, R., Chandler, C. (2009) A Project Guide to UX Design: For User Experience Designers in the Field or in the Making, New Riders: Berkeley, Calif.