Research Methodologies
1. Iterative Design
Iterative design is a methodology based on the concept of constantly testing, evolving and improving a prototype. It usually involves different stages of design, where the goal is to improve over time at each iteration. This methodology is very close to me, because I have been really interested in design-thinking and I participated in a Design For America project last semester. It’s also close to me because I have been teaching it as “engineering design process” to students in middle school. Ultimately, I believe it is a very efficient method of creating a solution to a problem or for going about solving a problem. Its inherent assumption that you will fail and will have to try and try and try again sets it up for success. It forces one to assume a solution will not be good enough until proven wrong, and that requires putting it through many tests.
2. Ethnography
Ethnography is the idea that a researcher will study a certain subject or population by immersing themselves into the subject’s environment, and putting on their shoes. It is technically a sub-branch of Anthropology, because it’s a specific approach to studying human habits, social norms and customs. Ethnography tends to be in-depth and qualitative, often consisting of in-person interviews of subjects and of “shadowing” them. In the past it has been controversial at times, especially in early documentary-films by Western academics attempting to study and present the customs of non-Western populations. When doing an ethnographic study it’s extremely important to be aware of the researcher’s own “fingers” in the research, as a true ethnographic study is clear of unconscious biases and personal interpretations of the researcher. I think this methodology will be really important for me in attempting to understand other people’s points of views in order to create solutions for a problem that affects both of us (biodiversity conservation, global warming...etc).
3. Media Analysis
Media analysis involves studying how media sources present a specific issue and how that issue is then perceived by the wider public as a result of that. It investigates who makes the media (e.g. what is their agenda, why did they make the media), how the medium becomes the message, and how people respond to it. It usually requires looking at one issue and comparing how it’s portrayed in different media, sources and contexts. Because I think my thesis project will involve some sort of media piece, I think this methodology will be useful to me in understanding how the issue I am interested is affected by other people’s media as well as my own.
