DIS60304 Design Research Dissertation - Final Compilation

26/4/2024 - 26/4/2024 (Week 1 - Week 14)
Katelyn Tan Kye Ling (0354148)
Bachelor Of Design In Creative Media (DIS60304 Design Research Dissertation)
Final Compilation

INSTRUCTION

SUBMISSIONS

TASK 1 - Draft Dissertation

Draft Dissertation PDF:

TASK 2 - Final Dissertation & Turnitin Report

Turnitin Report PDF:

TASK 3 - Visual Design Publication

Click here for link to flipbook.

TASK 4 - Research for Article Publication

Research for Article Publication PDF:

FEEDBACK

Week 1:

Introduction + Briefing

Week 2:

- put matrix in excel sheet.

- Put feedback form in google drive.

- 5.1 Frequency of using e-commerce platforms and its importance.

- Combine 5.3 & 5.4 to answer RQ 1.

- Add design literature to the research problem.

Week 3:

-number ROs and RQs.

-when writing the introduction for 5.2 write that it will aim to answer question 1.

-Suggestion for 5.3: Promoting usability through UI design.

- 5.2 sub points can be examples of a good e-commerce platform instead which shows the effectiveness and good usability of an e-commerce.

Week 4:

Literature review:
- 2.1 (The importance of usability ) specify the title that it’s about an e-commerce platform

- Don’t use words like “the paper”, cite the author right away.

- Always have the year next to the author.

- Compare the strengths and weaknesses of the article.

- Must use all 3 articles from the critical review in the literature review.

Discussion:

- Repeating section 4 results and findings.

- Don’t write “shown in the chart”, refer to the figure.

- For 5.2, I have to write whether or not I agree that “Shopee” and “Taobao” are good platforms and why.

Week 5:

Overall:

- divide into clear paragraphs

- Need to write "et al." for all the citations

Literature Review:

- Add research problem to the introduction of the literature review 

Discussion part: 

- 5.1 introduction - write in a sum what you have learnt to tie the literature research and your own primary data research.

- 5.1 has to have a line or two to connect to 5.2

- Change 5.2 discussion structure, can just write the 2 e-commerce platform examples under each good practice point. Week 6:

Discussion 5.2

- Define good practices a bit more in the introduction.

- Take out lengthy and unnecessary words, and can join sentences together.

- Take out parts that are not related to design and refocus on the design aspect.

- Mention the data from the chart.

- Don't use everyday language, use more descriptive terms.

Discussion 5.3

- Change subsection title to: Key approaches/considerations when designing an e-commerce platform.

- Expand the navigation part and add Shopee and Taobao examples.

- Quote the participants answers

Research methodology

-recap research problem

Week 7:

Abstract:

- No need citation in the abstract. 

- Recap research problem in abstract

- One line that sums up my discussion

- Future studies: what can you improve on the study?

Overall: 

- Add 3.2 Research Design: list questions & justification

- If cite multiple articles, put all of them in one bracket. 

- 5.3 iii) The discussion will be conducted with the support from secondary data and primary data, and in the context of Shopee and Taobao.

- Make pictures bigger

- Write a bit more academically 

- Reference title no need uppercase

- Adjust the references to show its separation

Week 8:

ILW

Week 9:

- Don’t encourage the cover page to have the website icon, very flashy design.

- Can use part of the elements to create the book cover, don’t have to feature the full element in the middle of the book.

Week 10:

- Prefer the 3rd design out of all the book covers as the orange gives a good colour contrast.

- No need subtitles for the book cover.

- Title change to: UI/UX Design: Studying the Effectiveness & User-Friendliness of Shopee & Taobao.

Week 11:

- Flush left for all the body text, cover pages are alright to have text in the middle.

- Remember to put page numbers.

- Leading for the title too much.

Week 12:

- Don't put problem statement in the introduction, write the background of ui/ux.

- Add keywords after the abstract.

- Replace the last paragraph of the problem statement with the introduction's last paragraph.

Week 13:

- Change to past tense.

- Add percentage/number of respondents for results.

- Report survey first, then only the citations (discussion).

- Describe and justify the chosen e-commerce platform (methodology).

- Make the appendices into 1 picture.

Week 14:

- Change the caption of the figures (More detailed).

- Weekly feedback in blog just copy paste from the form.

- Appendices in a new page.

REFLECTION

Experience

Through this module I'd say that I actually learnt a lot of things through both lectures, weekly feedbacks from Dr. Jinchi and also my own study that I did. If I'm being honest, I actually struggled through quite a bit at the start of the first assignment as I wasn't educated on what exactly a dissertation is and how to write it. I read Dr. Jinchi's lecture notes and even watched countless educational videos online to further understand what each part of a dissertation is. Though I did struggle a lot, the weekly feedback from Dr. Jinchi, which was really thorough and detailed, really helped guide me through this whole module which helped me improve the way I write my dissertation. As for the visual book design, I struggled at the start as well with what kind of theme I should go for. I continued to explore around finding the right fonts and colour scheme to create a good book cover which best fits my dissertation which will then be converted into an online flipbook. After confirming my book cover and theme, doing the rest of the book was pretty simple as I now have a clear direction. The last task which was research for article publication was pretty simple as to me it was shortening parts of my dissertation and inputting the main points into the article. However, I did have quite a few words going over the word count so it took me a while to shorten my paragraphs into the required word limit. Overall, though there were many ups and downs I would say this module enhanced my knowledge of the e-commerce industry through doing research, as well as enhancing my knowledge on the contents provided to learn in this module.

Observation
I observed that Dr. Jinchi first asked us to start the dissertation with the discussion part which I think was really a good move to do. It helps get the "hard part" of the dissertation out of the way and also helps to fully understand and emerge into what you are writing in your dissertation. I felt that after writing the discussion, it was easier to write the rest of the parts as it was all kind of linked. Furthermore, I also noticed that when designing the flipbook, the fonts are really important as it plays a role in showing the feel and theme you're going for. As for my flipbook, I went for a more informal style therefore I chose a sans serif font.

Findings

Through the entire module, I find that time management is vital. Without it, writing a dissertation or doing any tasks would only lead to failure. It would be though to write a dissertation of 7k words and above or come up with a flipbook in the last minute. I find that doing bit by bit daily helps to keep me on track. Another I find really helpful is Dr. Jinchi's feedback, they always keep me on the right path and direct me in the right direction. Lastly, I also find myself appreciating dissertations and research articles I view online a lot more. After writing a dissertation of my own, I only then realised how much effort and time it takes so it isn't an easy task. Halfway through my dissertation I started to find myself become more grateful to the research articles I used as they aided greatly in helping write my dissertation and research article.