Research Project Workshop

  • Due Mar 2, 2014 by 11:59pm
  • Points 25
  • Submitting a file upload

This workshop is a guide to help you select and execute the online multimedia research article project.

Review the materials on this page and download and complete the workshop.

PDF: Download Research Project Workshop 181F Online2.pdf

Proposal Form (download, fill out, and submit): Download Proposal_v1_Comm 181F.docx

For the primary class project you will select a new media/technology themed topic, find two experts or professionals in that topic and interview them (video and audio record); select 3 sources from the course materials and 3 external sources to provide context and background, reference two topically related websites, find two relevant and informative videos and two graphics/photos, and combine them into a well structured and coherent article.

The articles you read from the Economist, Time, and Wired magazines for class provide good models. Here is a particular article that provides a good example:

Bill Gates and President Bill Clinton on the NSA, Links to an external site.Safe Sex, and American Exceptionalism Links to an external site.
BY STEVEN LEVY

Students may work solo, in a pair, or a team of three (no more). All topics must be instructor approved. Here are some potential topics (not limited to):

  • Online dating
  • Social networking
  • Use of social media in conjunction with traditional media (eg, Twitter and TV viewing)
  • Online gambling
  • Online communities (specific)
  • Criminal activity (eg. identity theft)
  • Activism (eg. Arab Spring)
  • Hackitivism (eg. Anonymous)
  • Music/video piracy
  • eGovernment
  • Online education
  • Mediums (eg. newspapers, magazines, eBooks, music streaming)
  • Media or political campaigns
  • Charities (specific or category)
  • Categories of Apps (eg maps)
  • Major issues (privacy, internet freedom, censorship, media law)

Approved Publications List

You must use from publications on this list (available online or via the library) or you may use articles from peer reviewed academic journals (all sources must be from >> 2010 << or later). If you wish to use sources not on this list they must be approved PRIOR to submission. NOTE: THESE PUBLICATIONS CAN BE ACCESSED VIA THE LIBRARY DATABASES (COMMERCIAL) OR HAVE FULL VERSIONS (Pew Research Centers; CIA World Factbook; United Nations; BBC; National Public Radio; PBS). I SUGGEST SELECTING A SPECIFIC TOPIC/SUBJECT AND THEN SEARCHING WITH A SPECIFIC PUBLICATION. NOTE: This list is far from exhaustive, so if you find particular content that you feel is (1) high quality and (2) has a lot of utility for your research then ask me about it.Stay away from news aggregators (Yahoo! or Google News) and generic news sources (USA Today). Remember, you can use as many sources as you like, but 3 must be from this list or otherwise approved.

The Economist

Time Magazine

Pew Research Centers [especially Internet and American Life]

U.S. News and World Report < usnews.com>

CIA World Factbook <cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/>

BBC < www.bbc.co.uk/> Links to an external site.

Wall Street Journal

New York Times

Fast Company

Wired

Al Jazeera [English]

Forbes

CNET

Smithsonian

Scientific American

National Public Radio/PBS [check out On the Media on NPR and Frontline on PBS]

 

Principle of Good Design

Rams introduced the idea of sustainable development and of obsolescence being a crime in design in the 1970s.Accordingly he asked himself the question: is my design good design? The answer formed his now celebrated ten principles. While these are more tailored to physical goods, the concepts are helpful in the design of your article.

Good design:

  1. Is innovative - The possibilities for progression are not, by any means, exhausted. Technological development is always offering new opportunities for original designs. But imaginative design always develops in tandem with improving technology, and can never be an end in itself.
  2. Makes a product useful - A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic criteria. Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could detract from it.
  3. Is aesthetic - The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products are used every day and have an effect on people and their well-being. Only well-executed objects can be beautiful.
  4. Makes a product understandable - It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product clearly express its function by making use of the user's intuition. At best, it is self-explanatory.
  5. Is unobtrusive - Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user's self-expression.
  6. Is honest - It does not make a product appear more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.
  7. Is long-lasting - It avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years – even in today's throwaway society.
  8. Is thorough down to the last detail - Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the consumer.
  9. Is environmentally friendly - Design makes an important contribution to the preservation of the environment. It conserves resources and minimizes physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.
  10. Is as little design as possible - Less, but better – because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity.
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