Research Methodology

With the overall topic of informative drinking and a research question of — How might a system of informative packaging and advertising have a positive and educational impact on the consumption of alcohol for those who are 21 through 24. I have decided to attempt to solve this question by implementing and executing the research methods of; surveys, diary studies, and case studies.

For my first method of research, I intend to conduct a survey, this survey will give me an opportunity to contact a vast audience of people that are out of my reach physically. Also taking into account the state of the world right now, a contactless survey seems like a great way to get information from people about my subject, while we are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. A survey is “a method of collecting self-reported information from people about their characteristics, thoughts, feelings, perceptions, behaviors, or attitudes.” (Hanington) Through this survey I am trying to gather information over the subject of alcohol consumption from people who are in the age group of 21 through 24 years old. I intend and am hopeful for at least 30 participants to partake in the survey. This intended survey will be sent out through social media links and links sent in large group me messages that I am apart of.

For my second method of research, I will conduct a diary study with selected participants. A diary studies are a “guiding artifact that allow people to conveniently and expressively convey personal details about their daily life and events to design teams.” (Hanington) With this Method of research I am hopeful to get a glimpse of what it is like to engage in party culture for those who are in the 21 through 24 age group. Using this method, it will help me take into account events, thoughts, and feelings that weren’t captured in the initial survey due to the questioning line that was provided. By having hopefully at least four participants engage in these studies, I will be able to accumulate the knowledge of what a night of alcohol consumption entails.

For my third method of research, I intend to engage in the finding and reading of documented case studies that refer to the subject of informative drinking and alcohol consumption. Case studies are defined as “ a research strategy involving in-depth investigation of single events or instances of context, using multiple sources of research evidence.” (Hanington) This is more of a supplemental part of this project because I will not be conducting or engaging in any case studies, but I am interested to find more research to expand any missing bits of information from the first phase of research this project conducted. I intend to find case studies from valid resources that cover topics similar to mine such as; party culture, college party culture, informative drinking, prevention, and other alcohol related studies.

Upon executing these research methods I am hopeful that they will yield responses that will allow me to answer my research question in a thorough way.

Hanington, B., & Martin, B. (2012). Universal methods of design : 100 ways to explore complex problems, develop innovative strategies, and deliver effective design so. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com