Within this section of my research I will be gathering information on the most effective research methods to use.  I will be comparing and contrasting them to find methods that will be the most effective for me during this project.  I will create a list of positives and negatives  for each method to help me choose the most effective method.

There are two main types of research which will determine which method I use to collect information.

Qualitative 

This type of research is based on interpretations and descriptions . This includes gender, religion, social class, native language etc.  This type of research is category orientated similar to the a true or false style. E.g. What colour is your hair ?  

The positives are that is offers deep insights into the information you gather, it can also be conducted with a range of sizes depending on the information you need,  you can change the methods you use to collect this type of information to help you gain knowledge from a wide range of areas 

The negatives to this type of research are that it is not numerical so it can be hard to collect as it heavily relies on experience,  this type might also need many sessions to collect a sufficient amount of information this can lead to lost or inaccurate information.

Quantitative

This type of research is based on numerical information that can be counted and measured using numbers. This includes height, weight, Age, Income etc. This type of research is numerically based  is used in questions e.g. How old are you ? 

The positives. it can provide a large amount of information, the information collected can be reused, The information gathered is straightforward this avoids information that is not useful and avoids subjectivity within the answers you collect.

The negatives. It requires training for someone to understand the information gathered as it is large amounts, This type of research also need to be  conducted on large groups of people, This type of of research does not always give you all the beneficial information  leading to the information you gather being in conclusive, only focusing on numerical information can lead to you missing the broad focus of your research. 

Ultimately, both quantitative and Qualitative research are needed for successful research. As they both offer different positives or negatives that can be used to gather information that will provide you with a more effective result. For my research I will be using quantitative and Qualitative research through out this project to give me the most beneficial information to make sure all the information I gather is effective and can be used to make sure my final product is of high quality by using the knowledge I gain from the research i conduct. (THE FULLSTORY TEAM, 2021) 

When researching there are two main methods primary and secondary.

Primary

Primary research is when you collect information yourself  by conducting your own surveys and focus groups.  Primary research includes interviews, observations, questionnaires, focus groups and surveys. This method is based on any research you collect first hand. 

Some positives to this method are  that it only tells you information that is needed avoiding information that is not useful,  The information is unique to you , The information you gather is up to date it can often be collected quickly in a range of sizes.

Some negatives to this method are depending on the method used it can be difficult and long time to collect, it can also provide information that is not accurate as the size you are conducting it on may not be large enough or if the questions asked within the focus groups or surveys may be difficult to interpret. 

(BBC, 2022a) (Bhat, 2018) (LeBlanc, 2023) (Qualtrics, 2023) 

Secondary

Secondary research is information you collect from a source that has been published by someone other that yo

urself. this includes  websites, books,  documents, historical data, books, letters etc.

Positives for this method are, it is widely accessible, provides a large quantity of information, it is often faster to carry out secondary research making it more time efficient, secondary research  is also fairly in expensive to conduct.

Negatives for this method  are,  the information gathered can be out of date this can lead to useless information, information gathered might be unreliable as it might not be clear how the information has been gathered, Secondary sources also may not contain relevant information for what you are looking  for.

(BBC, 2022b) (King, 2022) (LeBlanc, 2023) (Qualtrics, 2023) 

To finalize, both primary and secondary research are crucial when conducting research. Using both primary and secondary methods it  will make my research more effective. Throughout this project I will be using both secondary and primary methods such as websites, Books, surveys and questionnaires.  THis will help me conduct research that is both relavant and useful for this project.

Presenting research 

There are many ways to present research. each of them having positives and negatives. Below I will list methods I will be using during my project along side them there is descriptions to why I chose a  particular method and some positives and negatives to them.

Mood boards 

Below are a few examples of mood boards. 

A mood board is used to brainstorm ideas  for a (usually creative) project. This can range from images that can be used as reference and inspiration throughout a project. Images can range from colours, shapes and environments that are relevant to your project. Mood boards are typically used for marketing campaigns , decorating, weddings to generate ideas for them.

Positives

Moodboards allow you to express your ideas creatively in your own way. Moon boards also help with inspiration as the collection of images you find help fuel new and innovative ideas. A mood board is effective at encapsulating all your ideas in one place for you to use whenever you need them. This helps during a creative process as when you are unsure on what to create you can look back on your moodboard to fuel new ideas for your project.

negatives

Yet due to the nature of a moodboard being a collection of images it can sometimes lead to unrealistic expectations. This is caused by collecting to many images or throwing to many ideas on one board that can be overwhelming and create an unclear view of what you want to create for a project. Moodboards can also cause procrastination, by gathering too many images and generating too many ideas, by doing this it can cause you stress on which idea is best for you project.

Overall, mood boards are effective at presenting research asa they let you express your ideas in one place through a visual format. Yet if your not careful it can lead to unrealistic expectations and procrastination  if too mant images are collected. Throughout my project i will create many moodboards as i believe it is an effective way for me to present my ideas and vision for a project.

(Brandswivel.com, 2024) (Holliday, 2024) 

A mind-map is similar to a mind map because it is a way of organically generating ideas to help you with a project. The main difference between a moodboard and a mind map is that a mind map usually includes more writing (along with images) to communicate ideas. A mind map typically includes a couple of pictures with descriptions that is relevant to them. this allows for you to brainstorm ideas that you might be unable to find images for.

Positives

Mind maps are an effective way to keep track of your ideas and what needs to be done during a project. They allow you to take notes quickly, this helps generate more ideas as everything you can think of can be written on a mind-map. Mind-maps allow you to visualize what you want to create during a project.

negatives

A mind-map thrives of 'less is more' as if too many ideas can lead to a confusing and over complicated mind map that is hard to understand. This can cause mind-maps to be time consuming as it takes time to create an effective mind map that allows you to comprehend your ideas. Mind-maps don't allow you to go into much detail of your ideas  this can lead to a mind-map being a poor choice if you are facing  a complex project and not sure where to begin.

Ultimately, mind maps are effective at allowing you to use images and text to express you ideas. Yet if your not careful they can turn into an incomprehensible mess that will be useful to you during a project. During my project i will be using a few mind maps during the research and pre-production phase as mind maps will be the most effective during these phases. As they will allow me to quickly generate ideas that can help me during the production stage of this project.

(Brandswivel.com, 2024) (mindmapping, 2022) (MLT, 2024) 

Bullet points allow for information to be presented in a concise and organized way. Bullet points only consist of important information, this allows for important information to be  located more efficiently. They are effective at organizing and presenting information you have found.

Positives

Bullet points are an effective way of presenting research that is important. They also allows crucial information to be found just by scanning over them making bullet points both effective and efficient. Bullet points also help clearly show your audience what information you have found, as bullet points are usually concise, they allow for important information to be included in one or two sentences.

negatives

If a bullet has too much information, anything over one or two sentences, it can make them confusing by making it hard to locate important information. If bullet points are overused it can lead to important information being lost and hard to find. They need to be used with other methods as this allows them to be the most effective. 

Overall, bullet points are an effective way of presenting important information in a quick and concise way.  YEt if they are overused it can make them hard to read and find crucial information. Bullet points will be useful throughout this project as they will allows me to effectively list information that is concise and relvant to my project. (www.fsb.miamioh.edu, n.d.) 

surveys and questionnaires are methods of collecting information by creating a list of questions to collect information from a group of people. They can ask  Questions that require a long, short and sometimes a simple yes or no depending on what question you ask.

Positives

surveys and questionnaires are relatively easy to conduct as there is sites such as google and microsoft forms that allows you to create them for free. They are also easy to carry out as they can be done remotely, this allows for information from a diverse audience to be collected. They allow for  a broad range of information to be collected as the questions you ask are specifically tailored by you for you.

negatives

Yet you might not receive honest or helpful answers from the people you ask  which lead to some information you collect being irrelevant. If the quality of questions asked within the survey or questionnaire  it can lead to  the answers you receive not being useful. If the quality of questions is low it can also lead to confusion when someone is answering it, this can lead to questions not being answered or an answer that is not relevant to you.

Ultimately, surveys and questionnaires are effective at collecting useful information from a wide and diverse audience. YEt if the questions asked within them are of low quality it can lead to irrelevant and useless information.  For this project i will be using both surveys and questionnaires as they are an effective primary research method that allow for useful information to be gathered.  (Qualtrics, 2024) 

Research methods conclusion

To conclude, the information i have gathered will help me make educated decisions on when and how to use certain research methods to achieve the most effective result. Finding both positives and negatives to each method helps me determine what method is the most efficient to use to gather relevant and useful information. examining examples of each method will help me present research more effectively which will improve the knowledge i gain and help people clearly understand what and why i conducted research into a specific  topic.

(Brandswivel.com, 2024) (Scribbr, 2023)