Joshua Crowley Honours Student

Research Question

It’s been a while since I’ve updated the site, so in this post I’ve decided to bring you up to speed and then fill in the gaps of how I came to this point in the coming weeks. So to start off with, here’s my research question:

How can participatory action research methods be utilised to inform the design and development of an online student network that aspires to build and encourage design culture and community within the B. Design (Visual Communication) program at the School of Communication Arts, University of Western Sydney?

After much consultation with my supervisors, I’ve narrowed down the project to the above research question focusing specifically on my university, my course and on my peers. The creative work and the network itself is called Warren and it’s web based and it will be developed using an action research methodology with ten students over four workshop sessions.

Here’s the participants information form for reference.

The thematics of design culture and community nested within the question are still up in the air and as such there’s a focus on developing heuristics that engage with these rather conceptual problem spaces. Difficult to do, within the limited scope that honours provides for a intensive methodology as action research. All the same, these are challenges being engaged with.

Cheerio, Comments below!