Questionnaire/ Survey:
A Questionnaire is a research method that consists of a series of questions based on a specific topic the researcher is wanting to investigate. The purpose is to gather information from respondents, often with the aim to statistically analyse this data. A survey is very similar but more effort tends to be needed from the researcher as verbal communication is needed. For example telephone surveys.
The main differences between this type of research when compared to the other two methods on this page is that this type of research is that it is the most structured type of primary research. This means that the answers will be more structured and easier to understand. Another difference is that this type of research is more anonymous than the others. This means the answers collected may be more reliable. I think that this is the best primary research method out of the three and the one I think is most effective.
Focus Group:
A focus group is a form of primary research and qualitative research were a group of people are asked about their opinions and attitudes towards something, such as a product, service or concept. Questions are asked by the researcher in an interactive group setting, meaning that participants can communicate and confer with each other.
The main differences between this type of research is that the participants can confer answers with each other before answering the actual question. This means that truthful answers can be changed due to peer pressure, giving a false view of what the person actually thinks. Another difference between this method and the others is that for this process of researching something you need to get more than one person together. This means that you can get a lot of different views on a topic in a short space of time. You can also get a feel for how the participants for with others, this is good for job interviews.
Interview:
An interview is also a form of qualitative research and is summed up as a conversation between two people. The interviewer askes the interviewee questions to get data consisting of facts and statements. Interviews are widely used and are commonly used for things like journalism and employment. But they can also be used for things like finding out why something is good or not.
The main differences between this type of research and the other primary methods are that for this type of research tends to only use one person at a time to gather data, whereas the other two both use more than one person in the process. This means that you don’t get as much of a wider view on a topic as the others give the researcher. Another difference is that interviews can discuss sensitive topics which people may feel uncomfortable discussing in a focus group while still having a human dimension to impersonal data.
Library/ Archives:
Searching the Library/ Archive is a research method that consists of a researcher looking through old books or records in order to collect data. The purpose is to gather information from the past about certain topics in order to get a better understanding of what worked well in the past. Searching archives is very similar but you will be more likely to get specific/ numbered data. For example past video game sales.
The main differences between this type of research when compared to the other two methods on this page is that this type of research is that it tends to be more numerical based than the others. This means that the answers will be more structured and easier to understand. Another difference is that this type of research is that libraries/ archives are limited resources and can only be used at certain times. This means that it can be hard to carry out due to time limitations.
Internet:
Searching the internet is a form of secondary research were the researcher simply uses a search engine to find information. The researcher can search anything they want and it will bring up thousands of results. This allows the user to get massive amounts of data in a short time. This type of research can be used for more or less anything.
The main differences between this type of research is that it does not take up a long period of time. This means that the researcher can gather a lot of information, on a lot of different topics, all together, really quickly. Another difference between this method and the others is that by using this method of research you don’t know if the data you are collecting is reliable and relevant. This means that the information that the researcher is collecting may not even be useful to the topic they are wanting to research. It also means that they may be basing an idea off of a piece of information that is not actually true.
Previous Research:
Using previous research is also a form of secondary research and is basically just using pieces of relevant research that has been done before. The researcher collects data from previous pieces of research done by themselves or other people. They will then have to sift though all that data in order to find information they can reuse in other project or something very similar.
The main differences between this type of research and the other primary methods are that for this type of research can end up resulting in not a lot of data being useful. This means that once you have completed this method of research you might not end up with as much as you could have got if you used another method. This is because the previous research is out-of-date and was based towards something else. Another difference is that you might see the research differently to the person who carried it out. This means that researcher could get the wrong impression.
Overview:
When conducting my research for this project I used all the methods mentioned above in some way or form and other such as Mind Maps, Mood Boards and Word Clouds. Each method was used for different reasons, tasks and situations. I did this as each one tends to be suited to certain tasks, rather than the same one. For the questionnaire/ survey, interview’s & focus groups I will be getting an overview of the theme that I chose for this, more importantly what others think about the theme. I asked questions like “what objects best represent an abandoned scene?”. This will help when creating my concept art as I can incorporate these objects into my scene. Using the internet for this project allowed me to get an overview of near enough everything I needed to know and find out to allow me to process to where I am now. It has become one of the most common methods of research. I looked at things like other games that use the same setting in which I am going for and other peoples work on the same theme. Finally, previous research has helped me a lot through-out this project, as this project shares some similarities to previous ones. This has allowed me to know more about what I need to do from the start of this project, for example how to combat each task. It has also allowed me to include some of my previous work, like research into Adode Photoshop which has allowed me to get more used to using the software and use it more more effectively, something that will aid me during this project. By using all these methods of research it will allowed me to get a really good understanding of the theme I had chosen and how I am going to approach this project. If I was to put all these methods in an order of most effective from most to worst it would look something like this. Internet (Most) – Interview, Focus Group & Questionnaire/ Survey – Previous Research – Library/ Archives (Least).
The Abandoned Project 