Uncovering Design Process
Uncovering Design Process
George Mason University, Fairfax
Principle Investigator: Brenda Bannan, Ph.D.
Co-Investigators/ Student Researchers: Ghania Zgheib, Susan Dass, Susan Conrad.
This study started in Fall 2010 and will continue through Spring 2011. I have been working with Dr. Bannan on this study as her Graduate Research Assistant and have enjoyed the experience so far. In addition to submitting an HSRB application, I have been learning from Dr. Bannan how to conduct research and think like a real scholar. I have also learned that research does not have to be planned from scratch. Existing studies can be of great orientation and inspiration to the researcher.
The purpose of this research project is to observe the design process in design groups in order to uncover patterns of decision making, problem solving, solution finding, and creative ideas. Participants are Master’s and Doctoral students enrolled in the Fall and Spring 2010 semesters in EDIT 732/EDIT752 courses in the Instructional Technology program. Participants have been videotaped in groups while working on their design project which is one of the course requirements. Participants have been assigned by the Principal Investigator (PI) to groups of 5 based on their field of interest and profession. There are 4 groups in total. Participants’ group work has also been monitored online through the course wiki which is set by the Professor to facilitate the delivery of the course and the students’ interactions. Students were also interviewed at the end of the study in Fall 2010 semester and will be interviewed again at the end of data collection in May 2011.
The triangulation method that has been applied into the study has been very efficient since the participants that have been observed performing the design have been also interviewed and asked about tehir experience. Moreover, their work has been monitored on the Wiki. I learned how important it is to collect data from different sources and using different tools in order to confirm the data and validate it. So far, I haven’t been involved in the data analysis process although I have attended several class meetings with Dr. Bannan and EDUC 801 students and have discussed several themes related to the Instructional Design process. Furthermore, this study has been engaging me more in the field of Instructional design and the process through which Instructional designers go through in order to design an educational mobile application.