Throughout the Design Studies aspect of our course, we have focused on using a variety of research methods to help us question how we process information, and as a result, the ways it can be manipulated and translated into assisting us in our own specific discipline. Semester one focused on secondary techniques; using research carried out by others to forward our analysis of our chosen subjects; and semester two had us try out a selection of primary research methods, to give us the experience of doing the initial research for ourselves, and the benefits gained from the process.
The alarmingly rising influence of The British National Party, and identity cards were the subjects I chose to look at in depth. (Lyon, D, (2009), Trilling, D, (2009), http://bnp.org.uk/, http://www.jobbik.com/) They were two separate subcategories that frequently reappeared during the tasks I completed last semester which included different brainstorming techniques and seeing where one idea may lead you through a series of linking concepts, and although I don’t consider them to be an obvious progression from one to the other, the subjects kept appearing, so something was driving me back to them. They are both matters I already had strongly formed opinions on, and although the research I carried out did little to shake those opinions, it did help me to gain more perspective on them.
As most people will already have a fairly set opinion in regards to the BNP, I’ve chosen to look purely at identity cards for this set of experiments. Identity cards, if ever brought into practise, are a topic that would directly affect everyone of all ages and cultures, and for my first experiment, I’d choose the most obvious and direct route; to find out how the public feel towards identity cards, and if they would have a direct impact on their day to day lives. I’d conduct this experiment through a series of interviews, beginning with a general set of structured questions to find out how much people knew about identity cards. The questions would need to be in a fairly roundabout fashion, as asking “how to you feel about identity cards?” is unlikely to get me very far, unless I get someone who is already well informed on the subject. I would begin with by questioning the interviewee about how often they give their details out in standard situations such as a job application, or applying for a course, and how they feel about giving out their details; does it bother them that although they may not get that job or gain a place on that course, those details may still be stored somewhere? I wouldn’t directly ask them about their thoughts towards identity cards, and may not even mention them in the first stage of interviewing, but would try and gauge their attitudes towards information storing and how comfortable they felt about it, which would give me a fairly good estimation of what their feelings towards identity cards may be.
In order to conduct these interviews, I’d prefer not to ask passers by in the street, as from my experience in a previous assignment, I don’t feel comfortable approaching people, as I feel I’d be hassling them, and I know from my own experience as being the potential interviewee, people express reluctance in having to stop and answer questions. I’d perhaps try a round-robin style email to have the potential interviewees meet me in an environment I’d chosen, such as a coffee shop, as I’d want my interviewees to be relaxed, as I feel they would be more likely to be cooperative and willing if they felt at easy. It may also encourage them to go into more depth in their answers. However, this method would only really be beneficial if it was student opinions I was trying to gather, so in order to target different age groups, I’d need to look at other methods as few people will have an email address that I’d be able to access out with the university. A questionnaire that could be delivered would work, and I’d only use a couple of questions in order to save time and keep people interested, as members of the public are unlikely to fill out a long, detailed set of questions. It would also have a section to fill out contact details in order for me to contact them at a later date to ask the full set of questions I’d prepared.
Another experiment I’d like to try out, but am unsure how feasible it would be due to ethical reasons; would be to follow a random member of the public for a set time period, say an hour, taking snapshot photographs of them in various locations, and recorded notes, but only of key words or actions, and then approach them to show what I’d recorded. I think it would give the subject a real insight of what it’d be like to have someone be aware of his or her movements through out a section of time when they were shown back to them. It would be easy enough if I was carrying out this experiment and keeping the results for myself, but it’s the reaction of the person I’d have followed that I’d want to get. Perhaps if I was to carry out the experiment, I could then approach the person and explain to them that I’d taken a couple of photographs of them for an experiment, and if they were comfortable with it, perhaps we could meet at a later date to discuss what I’d found. However, the problems I can foresee with this experiment are rife. What if the person reacted negatively at being followed in the first place? Or when I approached them, they wished to go no further with the experiment and wanted the photos I’d taken destroyed, resulting in me wasting time. I couldn’t prearrange the experiment as the subject’s actions may be influenced by my presence. Time management and diplomacy would be key to carry out both this experiment, and others, successfully.
Bibliogrpahy
http://bnp.org.uk/
http://www.jobbik.com/
Lyon, D, (2009), Identifying Citizens; ID Cards as Surveillence, Cambridge, Polity Press
Trilling, D, (2009), Who do you think you are kidding…?, New Statesman, London, Spencer Neal
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