Primary research is data that you have gathered yourself by doing things like:

• interviewing your client or target audience
• using a survey or google form to gather information from stakeholders
• observing people interact with similar products
• speaking to experts
• investigating the work of other designers
• experimenting with materials or tools or software to learn how to use them
• going to the site or location where the product will be used
• analysing related and unrelated products to get some inspiration

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Secondary research is data that you use that has already been gathered by someone else and can be found:

• online from websites or journals
• from books in the library or from the classroom or home
• watching youtube videos
• listening to podcasts
• looking in newspapers or magazines

So for strand 2 you need to tell the reader/assessor what you feel you need to find out before developing ideas or making anything. You need to make sure that you put your research questions into some sort of order of importance (prioritize). You also need to identify how you will find out the information, will the data come from primary or secondary sources?

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The best way to start this strand is to write a list of questions. Things that you will need to find out in order to develop a solution to the problem. These questions might include:

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• What are my clients wants/needs (what are their interests, what style appeals to them, ergonomic factors such as size, age, physical capabilities etc)
• How will I manufacture/create the solution (do you need any particular tools, machinery or software to make the prototype)
• What materials and resources should I use? What size and thickness should it be?
• What overall size should it be?
• How are you going to join the different components?
• Are there any existing products or technology available that I can get inspiration from?
• How are you going to finish it? Paint, wax, oil, varnish, wood stain...
• How will the solution impact on the environment?
• Are there any safety implications?
• How much will it cost to manufacture/sell?
• What should it look like?

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Once you have identified the most important areas to research and written some leading questions (see above) then you should use a table like the one below to present all the information clearly. Remember to be realistic with the research plan. You need to ensure you carry out the relevant research to allow you to design and manufacture a prototype. However if you outline too many research goals you could be biting off more than you can chew!