This week’s session continued our exploration of research design and focused on developing methods that could be used to answer a research question or support a hypothesis. We discussed how research design acts as the framework for a project, helping to connect the research question, methodology and final conclusions. The lecture reinforced the idea that a strong thesis is not just about having an interesting topic, but about creating a clear plan for investigating it.
A recurring theme throughout the session was the concept of the “Golden Thread”, which links the research question, objectives, methods and findings together into a coherent piece of research. We looked at resources and videos explaining how maintaining this alignment can help strengthen an academic argument. We also discussed research objectives and how they should be specific, achievable and directly connected to the overall aims of the study.
As I continued developing my topic around directing audience attention in 360 animated films, this session helped me think beyond the research question itself and consider how I might actually investigate it. Rather than only focusing on what I wanted to research, I began considering which methods would be most appropriate and how the different sections of the proposal could work together to support the overall argument. This felt like an important step towards turning a general area of interest into a structured research project.