Who, What, When, Where
MS Pre-Thesis in Digital Media: Research Methods
Mondays, 6:00pm-8:50pm
Professor: Ahmed Ansari (Office 362)
Section: DM-GY 9963 B
Room: 325B (presentation days only)
Contact: aa7703@nyu.edu
Office Hours: By Appointment
Professor: Kathleen McDermott (Office 355)
Section: DM-GY 9963 A
Room: 325A (presentation days only)
Contact: kmcdermott@nyu.edu
Office Hours: By Appointment
Slack channel for the course invite link please sign on to receive announcements and to post discussions and share work.
Zoom Link for All Remote Meetings. This link will be consistent throughout the semester.
Course Description and Learning Objectives
This is the first of a two-semester sequence, ending in a thesis project of depth and rigor through a process of conceptual exploration, research and execution. The goal for this semester (Pre-Thesis) is to create a rich body of research that explores an idea, a theme, or a project in detail, accompanied by a series of experiments and culminating in a series of proof of concept prototypes. The Pre-Thesis research model is intended to be conceptual, creative, and a place to find the right questions to ask about your topic.
The course will allow students to formulate a thesis question, develop conceptual and theoretical research for their topic, establish research methodologies with relevant methods, develop expertise on the topic, and crystallize research into practice through a series of prototypes. During the semester students will produce a significant body of work born out of a research and making model. A Digital Media thesis is unique in that it is more than a paper and more than a project: it is the combination of the two and is created by synthesizing research in order to understand what to make, i.e, you will be engaged in doing practice-based research.
Approaches to Doing Pre-Thesis
A thesis project is your opportunity to take on a significant project on something that is of personal interest and value to you, which you would want to dedicate substantial amounts of time to. There are many different ways you could do a thesis, each entailing different ways of working and doing research and making artifacts, as well as different outcomes. We’ve defined three broad processes or workflows that could help you structure your workflow for the next two semesters and help frame your thesis topic as you think about it.
1) Research by Art &\Or Design: This process usually fits theses where you intend to explore and extend the capabilities of a technology, tool, or explore new ways of working with materials, styles and forms, i.e. where you intend to mostly do research through making and prototyping, and testing what you’ve made over several iterations. This approach may also help students who wish to create more speculative projects, creating critical art or design provocations, or projects that have a performative aspect.
2) Research for Art &\Or Design: This process is well suited for projects that involve you working with an identified need, want or challenge in a community or institution, where you work closely with stakeholders to come up with a solution or intervention. This approach emphasizes fieldwork where you study the phenomenon in the real world and understand what people think, do, want and need before you create anything.
3) Research of Art &\Or Design: This process is for projects where you are interested in exploring and extending a body of theory, creating and testing a methodological framework or new set of methods, or designing to facilitate educating technology professionals or students on a certain body of knowledge. Usually this approach involves lots of literature review, and prototyping the methods or educational materials and techniques you’ve developed.
Primary Deliverables
Presentations (60% of your total grade)
There are three presentations throughout the semester, each of which is worth 20% of your total grade. Presentations are a time to share the work you’ve completed in your research process (how did you get to where you are?), demonstrate your knowledge of your topic area, pose questions, and receive feedback from your instructors and peers.
Presentation I: Identifying a Topic (09/28, 10/05)
In this presentation you will identify your research area, and your ideas for narrowing to a specific topic within this area. We recognize your ideas are in flux, but getting specific now will make the rest of the process easier. Demonstrate how you arrived at your topic area: this may include some background on your previous interests and work both professionally and at IDM, and must include primary research exercises such as brainstorming, iteration, and conversation with people, as well as secondary research and reading. Indicate your plan for researching the topic further going forward.
Presentation II: Background Research (10/26, 11/02)
In this presentation you will share your background research (secondary research) on your topic. Background research should take a thorough look at the work that has been done in your area already. All research should be properly cited. Failure to cite your sources constitutes plagiarism. It may be necessary to map out different fields that relate to your topic, and offer a brief background on each.
For example, a thesis topic area of “building instruments based on data from oak trees in Prospect Park” may include background research on:
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- Experimental music and instruments, new interfaces for musical expression (NIME)
- Bio-art: history and theories for working with nature in creative practice
- Oak trees, and your site of Prospect Park specifically.
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Analyze the research you have completed – how does it relate to your topic and how will it inform your direction? Share any primary research you have completed, even if informal. (i.e. sketching, word maps, conversations with classmates that have informed your ideas). Finally, indicate your plan for going forward.
Final Presentation: Primary Research & Findings (12/07, 12/14)
In this presentation you will focus on the primary research you have completed in your project process so far. Include your research plan, methodology, and relevant images of your work thus far. Include a brief summary of background research and how it led you to this direction; your research methodology, i.e. why are you doing the things you are doing? (i.e. 3-D print experiments, building software, conducting user-tests, etc.); images, demonstrations and evidence of first-hand research; synthesize and analyze the research you have completed. Summarize your key findings and insights: what have you learned?
Finally, indicate your plan for going forward in the thesis semester, including any changes to your research plan, methodology/approach, topic area, or research question. Indicate your anticipated outcome for the thesis semester. e.g.“I will ultimately make a documentary based on my research, to educate people on best practices for creating accessible video games and to highlight innovative work currently being done in the field”. Indicate what you need to make that happen (skills and information) and where you are in the process.
One-Page Research Protocol: Due 12/17 by midnight.
Following the final presentation you will submit a one-page research protocol to the Drive in which you will briefly summarize your topic and its broader context area, identify three key texts from your research, reflect on feedback received in your final presentation and delineate a research plan for moving forward in Thesis. (Please title document with your name).
Presentation Grading Rubric (20pts)
| Research Quality (8pts) | Project Synthesis (8pts) | Presentation Quality (4pts) |
| Was there a wide range of secondary sources such as books, academic journals, periodicals, web sources, and catalogs? (2pt) | Was research related back to the research question, theme or topic? (1pt) | Was the presentation clearly organized and did images or graphics relate to and support the presenter’s argument?(1pt) |
| Do secondary sources include a range of publishing dates? (i.e. recent and older sources) (1pt) | Does research lead to a discernible direction in the thesis project, and are next steps clearly articulated? (1pt) | Were primary and secondary sources properly cited through-out? (1pt) |
| Was there a range in primary research activities such as writing, material tests, interviews, and observation? (2pt) | Does the thesis topic demonstrate creativity and originality? (2pt) | Did presenter demonstrate knowledge of the background subject area? (1pt) |
| Did the presenter identify gaps and next steps in their research findings and process? (1pt) | Were project steps (brainstorming, testing, making) executed with high quality and care? (2pt) | Did presenter relate topic back to a broader context and demonstrate cultural relevance? (1pt) |
| Did the presenter organize, analyze and interpret their preliminary findings? (2pt) | Has the presenter shown evidence of iteration in their research and project process? (2pt) |
Meetings (15% of your total grade)
During the semester you will have a minimum of three required one-on-one meetings with the professor. Sometimes these meetings will replace class. These meetings will be scheduled using doodle polls, Google Calendar or other online scheduling tools. Always bring your laptop and any relevant work required to the meeting, and be prepared to start each meeting with a brief presentation to update your professor on where you are in your process, including your recent findings, questions and concerns. Each meeting is a straight 5% of your grade – failing to show up prepared will result in a straight deduction to your grade.
Weekly Process Blog Updates (15% of your total grade)
In a written reflection each week, you will develop your own questions, observations and points of discussion based on your experiences with the exercises, lectures and readings for the week, and on your pre-thesis progress over the week. These will offer you a chance to document your own thinking and demonstrate to us that you have been engaging with the material taught in the previous week. You will write these reflections on your own over the week after class and upload a minimum of 500–750 words on Monday onto your blog before the next class. Medium and NYU WordPress are recommended.
Your blog content should include descriptions of your research process, as well as analysis of how the research activities have impacted your thinking. For example, if you want to highlight a reading you completed this week, you should analyze the reading and explain how it relates to your topic. The idea is for you to give us your own thoughts, observations and reflections on your progress and process, thinking about both what you’ve learned from your research and making and how you envision moving forward. Blog content might include: analyzing key readings, providing images and documentation of prototypes and experiments, documenting conversations with peers and questions raised therein, and reflecting on how these activities have impacted your thinking. For 15 weeks of class, each blog post is a straight 1% of your grade if done on time.
Class Participation (10%)
Our classes will have sessions where the instructors will be conducting lectures, we will be engaging in discussions, and there will be in-class hands-on exercises. You are expected to be present and engaged in class – talking, chatting on your cellphone or browsing on your laptop are unacceptable. Further, there are many points in the semester where you will be watching classmate’s presentations. It is required that you participate in conversations surrounding your classmates’ work, some of this engagement may happen through digital tools, such as Slack. 10% of your grade is based on your showing up and participating fully in class.
Grading Scale
Letter grades are assigned according to the criteria below and instructor given grades are non-negotiable.
Grading Percentiles
A ( 96% and above)
A- (90 to 95%)
B+ (87%-89%)
B (83%-86%)
B- (80 to 82%)
C+ (77%-79%)
C (73%-76%)
C- (70%-72%)
D+ (66 to 69%)
D (60 to 65%)
F (60% and below)
Attendance
- Attendance is mandatory.
- One absence is allowed; if you need to miss any other class and feel like you have a legitimate reason for your absence, you may seek documentation through the engineering website: https://engineering.nyu.edu/campus-and-community/student-life/office-student-affairs/procedures-policies-and-forms. And/or contact Deanna Rayment – deanna.rayment@nyu.edu – the Coordinator for Student Advocacy and Compliance.
- For each additional undocumented absence, your grade will be reduced by 1/2 a grade point (e.g. A to an A-).
- Be on Time.
- Contact the professor IN ADVANCE if you will not be in class (in person or by email ONLY) so that arrangements can be made.
- A note on the exceptional circumstances of 2020: It is our job to push you to produce your best work and to hold you to a standard commiserate with receiving a Master of Science. We are doing our best to maintain the rigor of this class in a hybrid environment. However, we recognize the need for flexibility as well, and that some of you may be working under challenging circumstances. Communication will be key to our working well together. If you are struggling for any reason, please reach out to us directly so we can discuss the possibility of accommodations.
Academic Honesty
Please review NYU’s School of Engineering’s academic dishonesty policy in its entirety.
All work for this class must be your own and specific to this semester. Any work recycled from other classes or from another, non-original source will be rejected with serious implications for the student. Plagiarism, knowingly representing the words, media, or ideas of another as one’s own work in any academic exercise, is absolutely unacceptable. Any student who commits plagiarism must re-do the assignment for a grade no higher than a D. In fact, a D is the highest possible course grade for any student who commits plagiarism. Please use the MLA or Chicago Manual of Style for citing and documenting source material.
You MUST have complete rights of use to any and all materials which appear in your thesis project. This includes images, illustrations, video, audio etc. The source of any materials NOT created by you MUST be documented. Please remember that you can collaborate with other students to create your own media or contact the authors of your media content for rights. I strongly encourage you to use original media for your thesis project, however should you absolutely require to use stock images, video, etc., you will need to provide a PDF of all source files and the usage rights you have purchased/negotiated or whether it is creative commons or copyright free.
Academic Accommodations
If you are student with a disability who is requesting accommodations, please contact New York University’s Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at 212-998-4980 or mosescsd@nyu.edu. You must be registered with CSD to receive accommodations. Information about the Moses Center can be found at http://www.nyu.edu/csd. The Moses Center is located at 726 Broadway on the 2nd floor.
NYU Institutional Review Board (IRB) CITI Training
→ This training is not mandatory. However, instructors reserve the right to make it mandatory if a student conducts research with vulnerable subjects. See IRB Decision Tree for more info.
Under NYU’s Federal Wide Assurance, all researchers (e.g., principal investigators, co-investigators, faculty sponsors, student investigators, as well as other research personnel) who have involvement with human subjects need to demonstrate a basic knowledge of human research ethics, regulations, laws and local policies prior to initiating research with human subjects. At NYU, such training is assured for all research personnel who are involved with human research subjects by completing an online program through CITI: www.citiprogram.org The IRB recommends that you maintain copies of all research personnel training in hard copy or electronically for easy access and for spot audits and for uploading into your Cayuse IRB application. If you are a new CITI learner, please go to www.citiprogram.org, on the upper right hand corner of the screen, click on “Register.” The registration process will walk you through 7 steps. In the registration process, please affiliate with New York University. For research at the Washington Square Campus, NYU Tandon, NYU Shanghai and NYU Abu Dhabi, all investigators (student investigators, co-investigators, faculty sponsors, etc.,) must complete the Social and Behavioral basic course which consists of 16 learning modules. Please direct message your certificate to your instructor and the Graduate Assistant once completed.