1. Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit the student will:
1. Understand the principles and practices of a chosen discipline in creative media production.
2. Be able to locate and evaluate information from a range of sources.
3. Be able to communicate ideas and arguments in a variety of forms

2. Assessment criteria
On successful completion of this unit the student can:
1.1 Critically describe a range of contextual perspectives influencing a chosen discipline in creative media production.
1.2 Apply knowledge of critical perspectives to inform own practice.
2.1 Identify a range of relevant academic and cultural sources for a personal research project.
2.2 Critically evaluate information from a range of sources to inform ideas.
3.1 Apply academic conventions in the production and presentation of ideas.
3.2 Effectively communicate ideas in appropriate formats.

3. Structuring Your Writing
Zoran Tesic
Structuring Your Writing

4. A suggested structure for your research report
Introduction
Methodology what am I researching and why
Findings
Discussion
It is expected that students should produce a piece of extended writing of a minimum of 1,500 words

5. Introduction
Introduce you topic of study. Put your research into the wider context. Include personal reasons for choosing the topic of the study such as research for FMP. Write briefly about what methods and research design you used to address the topic of the study (Mind map, interviews, survey questionnaire). Write about findings and conclusion. Tell reader what is expected in the rest of your writing.
You may re-write (edit and add) to this retrospectively after you have finalised and administered all your research methods (but not findings)

6. Methodology
Clearly explain what methods you used (Mind Map, Interviews, Survey Questionnaires). Write about questions you wanted to answer and type of data you have collected (qualitative, quantitative). Write more about theories behind them (For example Myers-Briggs test). Write about the strengths and weaknesses of the methods you have used.

7. Findings
Report most significant things that you found. You can use subheadings such as:
My childhood
My favourite things
My best friends
Things I do not like
My strengths
My weaknesses
My education etc.

8. Discussion This section of your report should include the following:
Summary of your findings
Short discussion about your findings, for example (the things I did not know about myself)
What implication the findings will have on your further thinking about the project?
Write about limitations of the study (limitations of the methods you used)
What is are your future moves and how they are informed by your findings (for example what are interesting topics and ideas you have found and you will use in the future).

9. Passions
What are you really passionate about and why. Also from when and how has this impacted on your life.
What is the big idea?
How are you going to achieve that idea?
What will you do to realise the big idea
What skills will you use and need to develop?
How will you deal with compromise?

10. Experimenting Testing ideas Experimenting before you finalise ideas
See experimentation PowerPoint later and on blog

11. To address LO 1.1
Critically describe a range of contextual perspectives influencing a chosen discipline in creative media production.
What do I know about my favourite media product/s, industry and professionals?

12. Students will choose three media products of their choice (for example film, video games, TV programme, magazine article, favourite photo, web page, games design etc.). They will critically analyse and describe chosen media product answering the following questions:
Who produced it?
What do I know about the producer (artist, writer)?
What do I know about the historical/political context of the product? (What art movement, period idea, political or worldview the chosen media product belongs to? What are the influences?)
Who own the media production and how it influences the product?
Identify codes specific for each project and conventions common for all projects, analyse and compare.
How is the world represented in each chosen media product? (groups, individuals, situations, stories etc. are represented?) Look at stereotyping, genres, representation of genre, race, social classes, positive and negative images etc.

13. What skills, production techniques, practices and knowledge were used in the production of the chosen product? (Identify skills, production techniques, practices and knowledge, critically analyse and compare with similar products).
What technologies have been used for the production and distribution and how they influenced the product?
Define the audience (audience profiling: socio-economic status, psychographics, geodemographic, age, gender, sexual orientation, regional identity, and what sort of category they fit into mainstream, alternative or niche) and how it influences the product design and production?

14. To address LO 1.2
-Apply knowledge of critical perspectives to inform own practice
How my favourite media products influenced ideas for my FMP?
Student will use finding from this unit to inform and generate original ideas for their FMP Unit 13/14. Produce the report on how the chosen media products influenced ideas for FMP.

15. To address LO 2
- Be able to locate and evaluate information form a range of sources
Students will have to demonstrate ability to research and critically evaluate range of sources and information about their chosen media product. Student will be using different research methods (quantitative, qualitative, primary, and secondary) to gather information about the product. After they collect information they have to demonstrate ability to analyse and critically evaluate the information informing their own ideas for the FMP.

16. To address LO Identify a range of relevant academic and cultural sources for a personal research project.
For this LO students have to demonstrate ability to identify and access range of relevant academic and cultural sources. They have to demonstrate planned approach to research. Every time a student looks/explores information about certain aspect of the chosen media product they will plan, record and produce recorded information about the researched topic. Research diary can be very good evidence for this task.
Student will have to provide evidence for:
Stating the purpose
Identifying task – What I want to find about? What is the question I am trying to find about?
Finding information in the library, the Internet, other media sources.
Conducting an online search (narrowing or extending the online search; advanced online search)
Conducting primary research (organizing interviews, survey questionnaires, focus groups etc.)
Identifying, selecting and recording information
Using information (evaluate information: check the date, source, check for bias, representativeness, evaluate language, evaluate writers (producer of information) conclusions,
Referencing

17. To address LO 2.2- Critically evaluate information from a range of sources to inform ideas.
For this LO student will produce evidence from their research findings to support their belief or view point. Student will also present in their evaluation what the implication are of their findings with regards tor their ideas for FMP. What they learned for their research findings? How those findings influenced their further ideas for FMP? What are potential problems and solutions for FMP?

18. To address LO 3 - Be able to communicate ideas and arguments in a variety of forms.
Students will have to provide evidence of recording, using research and presenting information (planning research, note taking, analysing information qualitative/quantitative). The student will use written, oral, visual, audio and graphic forms to present their ideas and arguments.
To address LO Apply academic conventions in the production and presentation of ideas.
Students will have to produce research report which will follow academic conventions in the production and presentation of ideas. Clearly explain question, content and topic, use of spider diagrams and mind-mapping, use of content, paragraphs, outlines and lists, list of sources, use of subject-specific vocabulary, use of critical instead of descriptive writing, written presentation (punctuation, spelling, abbreviations, footnotes and end endnotes).

19. To address LO 3. 2 - Effectively communicate ideas in appropriate
To address LO Effectively communicate ideas in appropriate formats.
When producing research findings they will have to be communicated in appropriate academic formats, for example, presenting and analysing data using tables, charts, graphs, other visual representations of data, appendices, and references. Description of method used to gather information. What are the gaps in the knowledge about the researched subject? What findings which influence students’ ideas for FMP?

20. Possible Research Methods
Discuss possible research methods with your partner.
Begin a research diary (on the blog and in a notebook) - this can be very good evidence for this task – and start to note down ideas.
Where to look:
Websites
Books
Newspapers
Reports
Discussion
Interviews
Analysing a text
Techniques for analysing a text
Knowing both sides to an argument: research the pros and cons, the advantages and disadvantages etc

21. Experimentation Introduce Experimentation – see PP
Discussion about passions and experimenting
Zoran/Goran PP – interviewing
Discussion about possible ways to experiment – in pairs and to the whole group –
THINK OF THE MOST OUT-THERE, BONKERS WAY TO EXPLORE YOUR FORM, TAKE A RISK AND REACH AN AUDIENCE

22. Todays exercise
Interview another student about their ideas for the FMP refer to the – swap notes and ideas.
What are you really passionate about and why. Also from when and how has this impacted on your life.
What is the big idea?
How are you going to achieve that idea?
What will you do to realise the big idea
What skills will you use and need to develop?
How will you deal with compromise?

23. How to formulate a questionPI
Think of a question with regards to your research ideas and open to class debate.
How to formulate a question

24. Your medium What makes a good doc? What makes an engaging doc?
Why do we want watch docs?
How effective do you think radio is going to be as a medium?
What magazine would the article fit?
Why would radio/podcast be effective for the subject of music?
What would be the best way to portray the issues of hate crime?
Is the magazine the best place to talk about under age sex?

25. Your Questions What would drive someone to commit a hate crime?
Why and how does music affect our mood and emotions?
At what point does gaming become an addiction?
Why would a female writer in the 40’s and 50’s keep her dream of becoming a writer a secret?
Why do we stay silent on sexual abuse in the industry when we know it happens so often?