0901877 - Research Methodology Report

Research Methodology Report

The purpose of this report is to identify the different mediums of research available to us for use and how these mediums can be used in order to obtain the information required to start the development of the 3D model. 

There are two main types of research which will be used extensively during this project; primary research resources and secondary research resources. 

What is primary research? 

Primary researches are “Experiments, investigations, or tests carried out to acquire data first-hand, rather than being gathered from published sources.” (Business Dictionary, 2011). This means that the research that you discover will be your own and you can take credit for it. 

Examples of primary resource:

·         Questionnaires

·         Interviews

·         Focus Groups

·         Observation

·         Surveys

How this kind of research can be used to benefit the project

The primary research that is going to be using in this project is an observational visit of the Finchingfield guild hall. A guide was there to take us around the building and we were allowed to take photographs and ask questions about the renovations which will be taking place. This will be vital because the photographs will allow us to capture the materials and the current structural design of the guildhall. The guide also answered questions concerning how the building will look once the renovations will be finished. He also provided us with secondary research material, which will be discussed in the next section. 

What is secondary research? 

Secondary research is “Primary data that was collected by someone else or for a purpose other than the current one” (Business Dictionary, 2011). This means that the research that you discover will be someone else’s therefore you must give credit to them if you use them to help you in your own work.  

Examples of secondary resource:

·         Online sources

·         Books

·         Leaflets

·         Magazines

·         Maps

How this kind of research can be used to benefit the project

During the Finchingfield trip, the guide gave us a leaflet containing information on the guildhall and also all the renovations that will be taking place. On the leaflet, there is a floor plan on what everything should look like once the renovations are complete and what each room will look like. This will be very useful because the design can be drawn out on paper before we begin to model using the software, reducing the chance of making mistakes. We will also be using online sources, such as the Finchingfield website, to help us by filling in the gaps in our information that we did not find out ourselves on the trip. 

References

Business Dictionary
2011
Primary research definition
Link: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/primary-research.html
Last Accessed: 09/10/2011

Business Dictionary
2011
Secondary research definition
Link: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/secondary-data.html
Last Accessed: 09/10/2011

0901877 Minutes of Meeting 1

Meeting on: 07/10/2011 in Room 303C

Attendees: 

0901877

0907803

0907440

Details: 

In this meeting we had to discuss the following: 

• To ensure all group members can post on the blog wall.

As you can see from the posts below, all members of the group can now post on the blog wall. This will be a great benefit to the group because not only will all of the group work be together (whereas if it was posted onto individual member blogs, it could be confused with the other assignment we are doing) but each group member will have access to all of the work.

• Discuss research methodologies. 

We have discussed the different kinds of research methodology and one of the pieces of work to be completed outside the classroom will be a research methodology report. This report will contain details on what primary and secondary resources are, some examples and how they can be used to benefit us in this project. 

Examples of primary resources:

• Photographs taken from Finchingfield.
• Guide talk around the guildhall building.

Examples of secondary resources:

• The Finchingfield website.
• Other websites.
• Books.
• Magazines. 
• Leaflets from Finchingfield.
• Maps from Finchingfield. 

• To gather images (primary resources) from the Finchingfield trip. 

Images will be placed on the blog as evidence of the trip to Finchingfield. These will then be used to aid in the drawing part of this module. 

• To ensure all group members are clear with the Gantt chart and are happy with the roles that they have been assigned with. 

All group members are happy with the roles that have been assigned to them and are aware of the tasks which need to be completed for next week's group meeting. 

For next week: 

• Research Methodology report typed up. 
• All primary resources collected. 
• Some secondary resources collected. 

0901877 Group Meeting 1 Agenda

Meeting on: 07/10/2011 in Room 303C

Expected Attendees: 

0901877

0907803

0907440

Agenda: 

The purpose of this meeting will be: 

• To ensure all group members can post on the blog wall. 
• Discuss research methodologies. 
• To gather images (primary resources) from the Finchingfield trip. 
• To ensure all group members are clear with the Gantt chart and are happy with the roles that they have been assigned with. 

0907803 - test post

This is my test post to make sure i can do stuff on this blog ;D

0907440 test post

testing testing

0901877 Gantt Chart and Description

Here is the Initial Gantt Chart for the project:

Half way through the module during a group meeting, we will review the Gantt chart and decide whether any modifications have to be made due to unforseen setbacks.

On this blog (the group blog), all minutes of meetings will be submitted, along with a research methodology report, all of our images collected during the Finchingfield trip and images/videos showing our final animations and models, followed by a short conclusion to the module. Any work that is completed individually (drawings of example models, descriptions of how models/animations were made etc.) can also be included on here because, from the end of this week, this blog will be open to all group members to make their contributions. However, individual evaluations should be either typed up on individual blogs or typed up uing a word processor.

0901877 Group Decision on Brief

This is the choice of briefs that we were given in week 1: 

In teams of three or four, using 3D Studio Max, you are to produce an animation to show how the Guildhall would have been utilised over the centuries, this can be specifically i.e. how the Guildhall has impacted on the local population, or how it has been used to support the community or generically, how Guildhalls have been part of British history and how the Guildhall at Finchingfield fits into that broader picture.

Or:

Taking the plans for the redevelopment of the Guildhall, produce an animation to show how the new building works will look when finished, incorporating an architectural walk through of the renovation work, and show how different groups in the community will utilise the restructured hall.

As a group, we decided to follow the second brief. This is because we felt that, although the history of the building is interesting, the trip to Finchingfield to see the building in firsthand would be more beneficial for us using the renovation brief. It will give us an idea on how the exterior will look in the finished 3D model (seeing as the exterior of the building will remain the same). Also, all members of the group agreed that we thought that the renovation of the building and how it will be utilised in the future to help teach about the history of the building was more interesting to us than what it looks like now and how it used to look and be used. In our first official group meeting this week, we will take a look at all of the photographs taken on the trip and see how they can be used to benefit our project.

0901877 Group Members And Roles

In our last Virtual Environments lesson, we chose who we would like to have in our groups for the Finchingfield project.

List of Group Members:
0901877
0907803
0907440

We decided in order to determine which group members would be given each specific role; we decided to create a mind map displaying our strengths and weaknesses:



Final List of Group Members and their roles and why they have been assigned that role:

0901877 -- Project Manager
The reason why this person was assigned as Project Manager is because they have distinct advantages when it comes to meeting deadlines and report writing. The role of Project Manager involves:

• Keeping minutes of meeting and uploading them to the blog.
• Creating and editing Gantt charts throughout the research, design and evaluation processes.
• Assigning tasks to all group members appropriately. 
• Spellchecking and grammar checking other group members posts before they are published on the blog.

Also, this group member has stated that they are good at animating objects yet not so good at using techniques and filters efficiently to create the actual models. Seeing as the other group members are good at modelling; their techniques should improve this member's skills in that area sufficiently enough to contribute in that section of the project as well. Attendance should not be too much of an issue for this group member because they should keep good communications anyway with all group members to ensure that they know what tasks have to be completed. So long as communications are upheld, this weakness will not come into effect.

0907803 -- Modeller and Photographer
The reason why this person was assigned as Modeller and Photographer is because they are good at taking photographs, which would be a great advantage during the Finchingfield Trip (the research phase of the project). This person is also very good at modelling objects, which was proven by some high standard of grades last semester in another modelling assignment. The role of Modeller and Photographer involves:

• Taking good quality photographs using a decent quality camera.
• Creating realistic models using appropriate filters and techniques. 
• Creating blog posts with screenshots showing how models were created which will be edited by the Project Manager.

This group member's weaknesses involve the paperwork aspect on the project; however we have all agreed that all blog posts will be edited by the Project Manager before the blog will be submitted. This will ensure quality control over the whole project so that not only will we have a high standard working model but we will have high quality documentation as well.

0907440 -- Modeller and Animator
The reason why this person was assigned as Modeller and Animator is because they are good at modelling and animating objects, which was proven by some high standard of grades last semester in another modelling and animation assignment. The role of Modeller and Animator involves:

• Creating realistic models using appropriate filters and techniques.
• Creating blog posts with screenshots showing how models were created which will be edited by the Project Manager. 
• Animating the objects within the model and recording them in a video to be posted onto the group blog and to be included on a CD to be submitted.

It was established that this group member's biggest weakness is their attendance. However, providing that they keep in contact with the Project Manager so that tasks can be completed at home instead of on campus, then this weakness should not have a major impact on the group and the time management of the project.

General Group Opportunities
This project will really benefit all members in the group because we are all on the Computer Game Development pathway and learning how to make and animate models of buildings will help for future game development situations when world building. These skills will be essential assets when it comes to careers and future jobs in the subject.

The group will also learn from each other, which will improve on some of the individual weaknesses mentioned above.

Threats
Time constraints can be a major issue when it comes to working within a group. These are mainly due to group members working on other projects and modules which are running at the same time, particularly the face model which is due in before this assignment. However, providing all group members stick to the Gantt chart created at the beginning of the project, all members attend most (if not all) group meetings, and individuals can admit if work set cannot be completed in time, there should be no real issue here. If, for whatever reason, work is not being completed in complience with the Gantt chart, a meeting can be arranged so that we can make modifications to the Gantt chart to make sure that we do meet the final deadline.