A2-Research Plan

A2 Plan Your Research

Criterion A, Strand 2:

Identify and prioritize the primary and secondary research needed to develop a solution to the problem

Command Terms:

Identify: provide an answer from a number of possibilities. Recognize and state briefly a distinguishing fact or feature.
Prioritize: give relative importance to, or put in an order of preference.
Construct: Display information in a diagrammatic or logical form.

Assessment

Criterion A Strand ii

The student (outlines a --> constructs a --> constructs a detailed) research plan, which identifies primary and secondary research needed to develop a solution to the problem, (with some guidance --> independently)

Criterion A Strand ii

0 ~ student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors

3-4 ~ outlines a research plan, which identifies primary and secondary research needed to develop a solution to the problem, with some guidance

5-6 ~ constructs a research plan, which identifies and prioritizes primary and secondary research needed to develop a solution to the problem, with some guidance

7-8 ~ constructs a detailed research plan, which identifies and prioritizes the primary and secondary research needed to develop a solution to the problem independently

Work Template

How to complete this strand:

In strand 2 of Criterion A you plan your initial research. It is important that you carry out relevant, meaningful research which will outline the important things to consider when designing and manufacturing your solution.

Students are encouraged to formulate a list of questions in order of importance that will help prioritize and guide their research. Students will need to identify:

the questions that need to be answered to solve the problem
the relevant data that needs to be collected
where the data will be sourced from
whether sources are primary or secondary
which sources are essential and which are desirable.

The nature of and amount of research required will vary depending on the level and the nature of the design problem/challenge. By the end of the course, students should be able to conduct primary, secondary, qualitative and quantitative research.

Table below outlines primary and secondary research tasks that students could carry out to gather the answers to their research questions.

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?

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:

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?

Once you have identified the most important areas to research and written some leading questions (see above) then you should use a table 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!