1. Aims and Considerationssheet
ExistingProducts:
How manyexistingartefactsdoyoufeel youwillneedtolookat?
A fairamounton differentmediumssothatI getinspirationonwhatpeople are lookingatand
lookingfor.Knowinghowpostershave beencampaignedbefore givesme anideaof what people
findaffective andeye-catching,andwhattheydon’t.Alsoknowingif social mediacampaignswork
betterthanmonthlyeventswillgive me anideaof how to approachmy social issue.Knowing
whetherorcharitiesexistforreadingwill alsohelpme know if it’sneededorbeendone before.
What kindsof artefactsare youexpectingtolookat?
I’mexpectingtolookat onesthatuse storybookcharacters,mainlyonesfromchildren’sstory
bookslike PeterPanandMary Poppins,usedtobe more recognisabletothose whosee them
encouragingthemtoread.Unlike withcampaignsto tell peoplenottouse theirphones, asmuch
will be more of a range of people usingthe technology andtellingthempurelywhyit’sbadtodo
it.I thinka lot of ‘anti-phone/technology’campaignsuse the internetwithpostersandvideos
spreadonline togetthe most attention.Usingtheirmessageandtheirsource asa form of irony
because that’sthe mosteffective waytogetpeople attentionwithacause.
What elementswill youlook attohelpyouwithyourresearch?
How people have gone abouttheir campaignsonline.Suchashash-tags,the namesof their
campaigns,howthey’ve interactedwiththeiraudience bygettingtheminvolvedandinforming
theminsimple yeteffectiveways. Alsohow they’re setoutmerchandiseandposterstobe
influential totheiraudience.Have theygone downaroute thatis meantto make theiraudience
feel emotional orinspired?
Primary Research:
How manypeople wouldyouhope toquestionaspartof your primaryresearch?
The amount of people thatIwouldhope to questionasa part of my primaryresearchwouldbe
around10 teenagersplusadults(agedaround16 to 30+ years of age) and around5 to 10 children
(aged6 to 12 yearsof age) who like ordon’tlike reading/usingtheirphone.
What methodswill youuse?
Thiswouldbe conductedthroughinterviewsandquestionnaires.The interviewswouldbe done
face to face to gatheras much of an answeras I can but thenI wouldalsohave a questionnaire
postedonline toaworldwide audience togetmuchmore of an active and broaderrange of
responses.
Couldthere be issuesingettingaccesstopeople affectedbyyourchosensocial issue?
Yes,because Iwant to knowwhypeople don’tlike toread,whytheyavoiditpersonally,andif
there isa questionnaireonline aboutreadingtheywill avoiditbecause theyare notinterestedin
that topic.Also,gettingresponsesfromchildrenmightbe difficultbecause the responsesmight
not be as detailedasI’dhope foras well asthe fact that gettingpermissionfromtheirparents,
guardians,teachers,etc.toanswerthese questionsmaybe hard.On a topicsuch as readingthey
may thinkI’maccusing these childrenasunintelligentif theysaytheydon’tlike reading.
How will youknowif yourresearchhasbeensuccessful?
How I’ll knowif the researchhasbeensuccessful isbyhavinganswersthatIthinkare variedand
detailedsothatI have a wide range of answersto whypeople wantmore readingandwhypeople
don’tenjoyreading.If the answersare short,suchas havingpeople onlywrite ‘yes’and‘no’tothe
questionswithnofurtherexplanationsorthoughtit’ll be pointlesstohave them.Inorderto avoid
thisI’ll needtohave questionswhere the audience needstofurtherexplainandhopefullythey’ll
2. be more explanatoryanswers.The researchwill alsobe successful if Ihave a decentamountof
ageingwiththe people whoansweredthe questions. Suchasif I were to onlyhave one child
answerthe questionnaire and7adultsand no teenagersIwouldn’thave successful research.
Considerations:
Why mightyouneedtobe sensitive whencarryingoutresearch onsocial actionissues?
WhentalkingaboutreadingI’ll needtobe sensitive tothe factthat a lotof people mightnotbe
able to readdue to learningdifficulties.WhichissomethingthatIwouldbe interestedintolooking
intowiththisresearchbecause it’sakeyreasonto whypeople avoidreading.I’llalsoneedtobe
natural about the subject.Idon’thave the right to judge anyone fornotreadingeventhoughI
wantmore people toread.If theydon’tlike itIcan’t be judgemental oraggressive aboutitbuttry
and getthe word outto themand in the future whenImake the work to be persuasive andfair
rather thanturn people awayfromthe cause I’mtryingto bringattentiontoand getmore people
involvedwith.
Couldyouface any problemswhentryingto researchsocial actionissues?If so,isthere away to
overcome these?
ProblemsthatIcould face whenresearchingsocial actionisgettingparental consentandconsent
fromanyone underthe age of 18 to partake in anyof the research.Aswell asgettingaccessto a
school to talkto a class where Icouldinterview orhandouta questionnaire to.Inorderto over
come these issue Ineedtobe preparedearlysothat I can have back-upresourcesforasking
people toconductthisresearch.Suchas havingone school say noearlyon but havingthe time
afterwardstofindanotherthat will letme dothe research.The same isfor handingoutthe
questionnaire online,the earlierthatIpost outthe questionsthe more andeasierthe responses
will ratherthanpostingitout at the last minute andgettingone ortworesponsestoolate.The
earlierIdo the primaryresearchthe more likelyIamto get more and betterconductedresearch.
Where wouldyouexpectyourfinishedpiecestobe displayedanddistributed?
I wouldexpectthere tobe mainlypostersdistributedonline anddisplayedaroundtownsandcities
so that theycan capture as many people aspossible.AndbecauseI’mwantingtospreadthe word
of readingtonot onlychildrenandadultshavingtheminschools,colleges,universitiesandoffices
allowsaremindertopeople of all ages,whichiswhatI’maimingfor,to see the message Iam
wantingtoget across to.
What fundingissues mightasocial actionorganisationface?
A lotof social actionorganisationscangainfundingfromcharityworkbutthe issuesfacedhere is
that if the organisationisn’twell known theywon’tgetasmuchfundingincomparisontolarger
charities. Otherscangetfundingfromthe government whichcancause problemssuchasif they
have a policyonreimbursementandif the campaignhasn’tearnedenoughmoneytopayback the
governmenttheywill mostlikelybe shutdown. Fundingfromthe government,grants,canalso
come withrulesthat the companyor campaignmustmeet whenanyprojectisconducted which
can cause more expensestothe campaign.
What ethical considerationsmightyouneedtothinkabout?
Ethical considerationsthatI’ll needtotake intoconsiderationare the waysinwhichIwordslogans
and captionsonthe workthat I make to ensure thattheydon’tappear,or are,offensivetoany
minoritygroups.Whendiscussingsomeone’slackof readingandhow theychoose to ‘unwind’with
beingontheirphonesorothersourcesof technology cancause a lotof controversy.Thisis
because whensomeonedoesn’treadalot itcan cause a lotof healthissueswithpeople’sminds,
developmentandlearningpatternsandputtingthatouttheirto people couldscare theminto
thinkingtheyhave amuch more serioushealthissueandcouldimplythatI’mcallingpeople
‘stupid’or‘underdeveloped’.Aswell asbeinginanage where technologyissoparamountthat
3. people willhave alotof reasoning’sforusingtheirphones,tablets,laptopsalotfor workand fora
lot,reading.Peoplecantake a lot of insulttocommentsdirectedtotheirmindssothe wayin
whichI explainthe importanceof readingandputtingdownyourphones,especiallyforchildren,
needstobe wordedwell forimpactandunderstanding. Aswellasthe fact thatwhenaddressing
childrencanleave peoplethinkingI’mquestioningtheirparentingabilitiesasa whole,alongwith
the education,development,schooling,etc.whichcanbe veryinsultingfornotonlythe parents
but the teacherand the childrenbeingdirected.
How couldsocial,personal andpolitical issuesaffectyourresearch?
Social issuesthatcouldaffectmyprojectbyhavingpeople whotake partin the issue bygetting
involvedwithsocialmediausingahash-tagwiththe name of my campaignor one that was
tailoredtowardsit.Thatway youcan see the growth of interestwithpeople online throughsocial
mediasitesinnumbersandvisuallywhatpeopleare doingwiththiscampaign.Whatthey’re
reading,whatthe recommend,askingpeople forsomethingtoread,etc.forminga community
throughthiscampaign.Thiswill alsospreadthe wordon the campaignthrougha worldwide
viewingsuchassocial media.Personal issuesthattake place withmyresearchisthatI have a
personal connectionwiththistopicbeingabookand readinglovermyself.I’mpassionate about
people readingmore andfeel upsetwhenpeople,particularlychildren,don’treadenoughorhave
neverreada book. As well ashavingpeople,particularlychildrenagain,usingtheirphonestoo
much insteadof doingotheractivatesthatare more creative outside of technology. Thispersonal
connectiontothe social issue isgoodbecause itmeansthat I will be more upfrontwithwhatI
wantto findout andhow I whatwould be effectivetothistopicbyknowingalot aboutit.
However,the downfall tothisisgettingpeoplewhoaren’tasinterestedinthe cause andtakingit
to heart.Ratherthan workingwithitand changingthe dynamicsof myapproach because Itake
negative effects/responsespersonallybecause of mycare towardsthe topic. Thiscan be saidthe
same for mypolitical views.Ibelieve one thing,thatpeople shouldreadmore andstopusingtheir
phonessomuch that they’re notdevelopingandlearningmore skillssuchasart,outside games/
activities,building,etc.butotherssee technologyasadifferentview.Theyseeitasa higher
power,whichinmanywaysit is,forwork and play.However,thisleadstothemnot seeingthe
pointinreadingor physical mediumstouse.Suchas a bookover a Kindle,aCD overa music
download,etc.These issueswilleasilyclashwhencome incontactwithone another.When
conductingmyresearchI needtobe preparedof contrastsinviews andhow I can work withthem
and divertthemtopersuade peopleinmycampaigntowork towardsreadingmore andnot to use
theirphone asmuch as theydo.
How couldthe communitycharacteristicsandtheirresourcesaffectyourresearch?
My communitycharacteristicsformyresearchare a target audience of childrentoadultswholove
to readand what to encourage itandthose whodon’tlike readingandtheyare whomI needto
worktowards. Thisgivesme a half and half chance of helpbecause there are manypeople who
love toread and agree thatusingyour phone toomuch overreading orotheractivitiesoutsideof
technologyandsocial media.However,usingsocial mediawill be akeyelement tothe campaign,
whichisironicbut showsa worldwideaudience whatwe’re aimingtowards.Notcompletely
gettingridof phonesandtechnologybutencouragingpeople tospendenoughtime awayfrom
theirphonesforfun,notjustwork suchas studyingandhomework.Butfunactivitieslike reading
or art or makingarrangementstogosomewhere new.Thisismore stronglyaimedtowards
childrenbecause manyare readingontabletsandnotwitha physical booksor usingthe tabletsfor
gamesrather thanusingpuzzles,colouringbooks,buildingtoys,etc.These twocommunitiesare
opposite because of likeanddislikesbutone isbackingupmycampaignfor theirlove of reading
but the othermay purelyignore the workbecause if it’sbasedonreadingtheywon’twanttoget
involved.ThisiswhyIneedto meetwithpeopleinpersonaswell asworkingonsocial mediato
getthe wordout onmy social issue.
