Lesson 8: Social Research
Suggested Time: 60
minutes
Overview
Students will learn about how companies study the habits of consumers in
order to develop or improve product lines and associated advertising.
Sometimes designers work to solve existing needs; other times, they
create needs that consumers didn’t know they had. In this session,
students will explore a Nokia study on how people carry and customize
their cell phones. Using the results of the study as a foundation,
students will build their own study on how clothing options may affect
how people carry phones and other objects.
Vocabulary
- Social Study
-
Hypothesis
-
Ethnography
-
Observation
-
Interview
-
Qualitative
-
Quantitative
-
Interpretation
-
Statistics
Objectives
- Students will plan an original study to identify a need and come up
with their own solutions.
Next Generation Science
Standards
- MS-PS-1, MS-PS-4. Developing and Using Models.
-
MS-PS1-3. Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information.
-
ETS1.A, B, and C. Defining and Delimiting Design Problems, Developing
Possible Solutions, and Optimizing the Design Solution.
Common Core Mathematical
Standards
- S.ID. Interpreting Categorical and Quantitative Data
-
S.IC. Making Inferences and Justifying Conclusions
-
NBT. Number and Operations in Base Ten
-
NF. Number and Operations—Fractions
Required Project
Materials
- Sketch paper and pencils for concept designs
-
Copies of National Geographic’s “Engineering Process” worksheets
(provided)
-
Computer lab
Multimedia Resources
- “A Cross Culture Study on Phone Carrying and Physical
Personalization.” Yanqing Cui, Jan Chipchase, and Fumiko Ichikawa.
Nokia study. Article provided and available at
https://research.nokia.com/files/45590483.pdf
Optional Multimedia
Resources
Before the Lesson/ Background
Information
- Read “A Cross Culture Study on Phone Carrying and Physical
Personalization” and summarize main points.
The Lesson
Part 1: Finding Questions (20
mins)
-
Go over main points from “A Cross Culture Study on Phone Carrying and
Physical Personalization”. Help the students to understand terms and
concepts that are new to them. One strategy is to begin from the
conclusion of the study, which is a nice concise summary.
-
Work with the students to summarize the research process used in the
study. Encourage them to relate the study to personal observations
they’ve made. How do people they know carry their cell phones?
-
Encourage them to look around the room. How are other students
carrying their cell phones? What would happen if they replicated the
same study here in class?
-
The study found that in most cases, males are more likely to carry
their phones in their pockets, while females usually use purses or
handbags. Ask the class why they think this is the case. Introduce the
idea of a hypothesis.
-
Perform a mini-study. Out of the students carrying their phone in a
purse or handbag, how many of them have pockets on their clothes? How
many students who have pockets use them to carry their phones? What
are some possible reasons for the results?
Introduce the following questions:
-
If one were to develop a women’s clothing line specializing in
having usable pockets, what would it look like?
-
If one were to develop an accessory line appealing to male users
(replacing the function of a purse or handbag), what would it look
like?
-
Divide the class into two mixed-gender teams, one for each question.
Part 2: Designing the Study (40
mins)
- Each team will try to figure out how to design a clothing or accessory
line that people will use. They will each identify important
questions, interview members of the other team, and use their results
to design a product line will fulfill needs directly identified by
research participants.
-
Students will first discuss what they need to know in order to design
their product line. They should come up with a list of questions and
use these to design an interview. The interview should focus on the
user’s personal experience. Students should figure out how to adjust
the questions for gender or existing phone-carrying habits.
-
Arrange the students in pairs, consisting of one person from each
group, and have them interview each other. They will alternate roles
as the researcher and the user.
-
Students should return to their groups and compile the results in a
spreadsheet.
-
Help the students arrange and analyze the data.
-
Based on the data, what is an idea for a product line that will
fulfill needs directly identified by research participants?
-
Each group should present the results of the data. They can use
National Geographic’s “Engineering Process” worksheets to organize
the information if they like.
Homework Due Next Class
- Tell students to think of a radical product line that presents an
out-of-the-box solution to the two main questions discussed during
this class. How would they promote such a solution? They should write
out their ideas for the next class.
-
Each student should pick a public place and spend at least 30 minutes
observing how people carry important items on their person. They
should take notes and bring them to the next class.
-
Students can use Fashion Illustration: Inspiration and
Technique and Designer Doodles: Over 100 Designs to Complete
and Create to help develop their ideas. They should bring their
designs with them to the next class session.
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