Lesson Plan: ARCH 5006: THESIS RESEARCH
9/29/2025
Download PDF version of this lesson Plan
Introduction
The clip below describes the main features of the IRML:
This lesson plan has been co-developed between the Interactive Research Methods Lab's team and Dr. Arief Setiawan (Associate Professor of Architecture. Kennesaw State University). The aim of the lesson plan is to assist students taking ARCH 5006 in the development of the research designs for their theses. The proposed activities within the lesson plan are in alignment with Kennesaw State Office of Undergraduate Research definition of Undergraduate Research: “An inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline.” (see: http://www.cur.org/about.html)
01
02
03
04
05
06
Structure of the session
HOME
Description
Goals
Steps
Appendices
Resources
Outcomes
CONTACT
Description
Step-by-Step guide
Outcomes
01
03
05
04
02
06
Resources
Goals
Appendices
01
02
03
04
05
06
01 Description
HOME
Description
Goals
Steps
Appendices
Resources
Outcomes
CONTACT
This lesson plan will help undergraduate students taking ARCH 5006 to reach a deep understanding of the key elements that should be included in a well-informed research design. To do so, this unit will help them become familiar with the nine steps proposed by the Hopscotch Model (Jorrín-Abellán, 2016, 2019) to develop sound research designs. To facilitate the process, students will be provided with an example of the nine steps extracted from a published thesis (Treviño, 2022) that will be checked prior to the session in the Interactive Research Methods Lab.
01
02
03
04
05
06
02 Goals
HOME
Description
Goals
Steps
Appendices
Resources
Outcomes
CONTACT
1. This activity will help students taking ARCH 5006 develop their research skills. These include logic, and problem-solving skills (Bauer & Bennett, 2003) and experimental skills like design, data collection, data analysis, understanding of limitations, and research ethics (John & Creighton, 2012; Russell, Hancock, & McCullough, 2007). Students also learn how to seek out and consume the relevant literature and learn the disciplinary language (Bauer & Bennett, 2003).
2. The activity will help students develop their communication skills. Students improve their oral, written, and visual communication skills (Bauer & Bennett, 2003).
3. Finally, the proposed activity will promote students’ critical thinking.
01
02
03
04
05
06
03 Step-by-Step guide
HOME
Description
Goals
Steps
Appendices
Resources
Outcomes
CONTACT
Step 1: Prior to the face-to-face session in the IRML, students will be asked to check the following:
• Treviño, T., "Independence Through Unseen Architecture; Investigating Multi-Sensory Design for the Visually Impaired and Blind" (2022). Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year. 209. (Check Thesis) • Appendix A of this lesson Plan Step 2: The IRML will be introduced to students. A team member of the lab will describe its structure based on the nine steps proposed by Hopscotch. The functioning of the augmented reality contents will also be shown. (10') Step 3: Presentation of the activity to be conducted in the lab. (5’ ) Step 4: The participating students will interact with the multimedia contents present in the lab, the ones included in the 360 Virtual Tour of the Interactive Research Methods Lab (see: https://irml.kennesaw.edu), or Hopscotch (see: https://hopscotchmodel.com). In this stage, students will have to fill out the third column of the table included in Appendix A, by describing in their own words the key elements that need to be considered to generate a solid research design for their thesis. To do so, students will be able to check the second column, in which the research design used in the previously read article has been unpacked (Samaniego, 2020) (30’) Step 5: A group discussion will be held in order to reflect upon the decisions made in the previous step (third column of appendix A). (10’ )
01
02
03
04
05
06
04 Resources
HOME
Description
Goals
Steps
Appendices
Resources
Outcomes
CONTACT
Interactive Research Methods Lab Website
Hopscotch: Framing Your Research Study
Hopscotch Model
IRML Web App
01
02
03
04
05
06
05 Outcomes
HOME
Description
Goals
Steps
Appendices
Resources
Outcomes
CONTACT
Students will complete Appendix A with a description of the aspects that need to be considered to generate a well-informed research design for their theses.
01
02
03
04
05
06
06 Appendices
HOME
Description
Goals
Steps
Appendices
Resources
Outcomes
CONTACT
APPENDIX A: Describe the steps to generate a well-informed research design in your own words
Contact Information
Interactive Research Methods Lab
Bagwell College of Education 580 Parliament Garden Way Room BEB 403 Kennesaw, 30144
irml@kennesaw.edu
https://irml.kennesaw.edu
Hopscotch: Framing Your Research Study
Why Hopscotch? What is Hopscotch?
Hopscotch is a theoretical model and an open-access webtool to help novice researchers generate well-informed research designs
https://hopscotchmodel.com
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 1: Paradigmatic view of the researcher
Researchers bring to their studies their particular way of understanding how things work in our world, and the way knowledge is constructed. The worldview of the researcher is going to have a deep impact on the decisions and inquiry procedures he/she will put in practice.
Guba (1990) describes a paradigm or worldview as "a basic set of beliefs that guide action.” That basic set of beliefs of the researcher is based on his ontological (What is the nature of reality?) and epistemological assumptions (What is the nature of knowledge and the relationship between the knower and the would-be known?). Therefore, how one views the constructs of social reality and knowledge affects how they will go about uncovering knowledge of relationships among phenomena and social behavior.
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 1: Paradigmatic view of the researcher
What is the nature of reality?
How do we know reality?
Role of researcher & values
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 2: Topics & Goals of the Study
The second step in the generation of your research design implies the definition of your research topic and the goals that will drive the study.
How to define and narrow down your research topic
How define the goals of your study.
Step 2
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 3: Conceptual Framework
Tool to create a visual representation of the key elements of your conceptual framework
Tool to create a visual representation of your review of literature
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 4: Research Design
The fourth step in the process of developing a well-informed research design has to do with deciding the research tradition (qualitative) or research design (quantitative, mixed) that best responds to who you are as a researcher (paradigmatic view), and the nature of your research topic.
Research Through Design
Mixed Methods
Quantitative
Qualitataive
Visual Representations
Check
Main Research Designs
Check
Main Research Traditions
Check
Main Research Designs
Research Methods Guide
Narrative Research Phenomenology Phenomenography Ethnography Grounded Theory Case Study Action Research
Generate
A visual of your
Descriptive Correlational Pre-experimental Quasi-experimental Experimental
Covergent parallel Exploratory Sequential Explanatory Sequential Embedded
Qualitative Study Quantitative Study Mixed-Methods Study
Research Design Guide
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 5: Research Questions
Your research questions—what you specifically want to learn or understand by doing your study—are at the heart of your research design (Maxwell, 2008). They connect all the components of your design.
Research Questions in Quantitative Studies
Research Questions in Qualitative Studies
Research Questions in Mixed-methods Studies
Guide to building research questions and hypotheses
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Examples of Quantitative Research Questions for the topic: Use of Social Media by 10th graders in the state of Georgia
- Descriptive Research Question: How many times a day do 10th graders in the State of Georgia use social media? (Descriptive survey-research study)
- Variable: Daily use of social media
- Group: 10th graders in the state of Georgia
- Comparative Research Question: What is the difference in the daily usage of social media between 10th-grade boys and girls in the state of Georgia? (Descriptive survey-research study, quasi-experimental-design)
- Dependent variable: Daily use of social media
- Group 1: Male 10th graders in the state of Georgia
- Group 2: Female 10th graders in the state of Georgia
- Relationship-based Research Question: What is the relationship between the daily use of social media among 10th graders in the state of Georgia, and their academic success? (correlational study)
- Dependent variable: Academic Success
- Independent variable: Daily use of social media
- Group 1: Male 10th graders in the state of Georgia
- Group 2: Female 10th graders in the state of Georgia.
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Examples of Qualitative Research Questions for the topic: Use of Social Media by 10th graders in the state of Georgia
- Case Study:
- How do 10th graders use social media at Pinetree High School in Cobb County?
- Is the new program developed at Pinetree High School to promote responsiveness in the use of social media, helping 10th graders?
- Phenomenography:
- What are the different ways in which a group of 10th graders at Pinetree High School (Cobb County) perceive their use of social media?
- Narrative Study:
- How do 10th graders use social media in the state of Georgia? (stories of success and failure)
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Examples of Mixed-Methods Research Questions for the topic: Use of Social Media by 10th graders in the state of Georgia
- Overarching mixed-methods research question:
- What stories of academic failure and success do we find in the state of Georgia related to the use of social media among 10th graders?
- Quantitative question:
- What is the relationship between the daily use of social media among 10th graders in the state of Georgia, and their academic success? (correlational study)
- Qualitative Question:
- How do 10th graders use social media in the state of Georgia? (stories of success and failure)
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 6: Data Gathering
The sixth step in the process of developing a well-informed research design focuses on the data gathering methods you will be using in your study.
Data collection in Quantitative Studies
Data collection in Qualitative Studies
Data collection in Mixed-methods Studies
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 7: Data Analysis
Data analysis in Quantitative Studies
Data analysis in Qualitative Studies
Data analysis in Mixed-methods Studies
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 8: Trustworthiness & Validity
The eighth step in the process of developing a well-informed research design focuses on the strategies you will use to ensure the trustworthiness of your qualitative or the validity and reliability of your quantitative study.
Quantitative approach:
- Reliability (consistency of the measurements): Techniques to show that, if the work were repeated, in the same context, with the same methods, and with the same participants, similar results would be obtained.
- Validity (strength of the conclusions that are drawn from the results): Validity refers to the accuracy of the results. Do the results actually measure what was intended to be measured?
Qualitative approach:
- Credibility (in preference to internal validity): How congruent are the findings with reality? (i.e. triangulation)
- Transferability (in preference to external validity/generalizability): Naturalistic generalization
- Dependability (in preference to reliability): overlapping methods & In-depth methodological description
- Confirmability: Recognition of defects in the study’s methods and their potential effects
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 9: Ethics
The final step in the process of generating a well-informed research design has to do with the definition of the ethical principles that will guide your research study (Do No Harm; Privacy and Anonymity; Confidentiality; Informed Consent, etc)
(Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1978)
Hands-on Activity
1. Create an account in the IRML Web App
ARCH5006-2025
https://app-irml.kennesaw.edu
Hands-on Activity
1. Generate your research design
Check columns 1 & 2 of the handout with example from (Treviño, 2022)
After the session today you can use the 360 IRML
"Topical research refers to previous work (most often empirical) that has focused on the topic in which you are interested. While much of this work resides within academic journals and books, it may also be found in policy or government research, or in reports produced through foundations, nonprofits, and advocacy organizations (Ravitch & Riggan, 2016)."
Please remember that there are not good and bad research topics. There is always an audience out there interested in your topic. But what makes a good research topic? 1- It is a topic that strongly interests you: Make sure that the topic you pick is one that interests and fascinates you, and that you want to talk about. There is nothing worse than spending a lot of time writing about a topic that bores you. 2- Make sure that your topic is innovative/creative: There are some topics that have been researched over and over again. For instance, researching the impact technology has on education is great, but it is a topic that has been covered extensively. Try to be creative and select a topic around which you can generate new knowledge. 3- Pick a topic that is not too broad: Novice researchers often select a broad, general topic, thinking that big topics are easier to research.
Ravitch & Riggan (2016) understand a theoretical framework "as a set of formal theories and their relationships, that helps you to fill the intellectual bins that make up your conceptual framework."
Maxwell (2008) states that goals include motives, desires, and purposes—anything that leads you to do the study or that you hope to accomplish by doing it.Goals serve two main functions for your research:1. They help guide your other methodological decisions to ensure that your study is worth doing.2. They are essential to justifying the relevance of your research topic and the need for the study you are proposing, which in the end are key components of a thesis or a dissertation proposal.Some questions that could help you define the goals of our study are:
- Why is your study worth doing?
- What issues do you want it to clarify, and what practices and policies do you want it to influence?
- Why do you want to conduct this study, and why should we care about the results?
We can define three types of goals for our study (Maxwell, 2008): 1. Personal goals: They are those that motivate you to do a particular study; they can include a desire to change some existing situation, a curiosity about a specific phenomenon or event, or simply the need to advance your career. 2. Practical goals: They are focused on accomplishing something—meeting some need, changing some situation, or achieving some goal. 3. Intellectual goals: They are focused on understanding something, gaining some insight into what is going on and why this is happening ( e.g., answering some questions that previous research has not adequately addressed)
Ravitch & Riggan (2016) define a conceptual framework as an argument about why the topic one wishes to study matters, and why the means proposed to study it are appropriate and rigorous.
Research Through Design
- What Kind of Research is Research Through Design? (Richard, 2019)
- Architectural design research: Drivers of practice (Aydemir & Jacoby 2022)
- What Should We Expect From Research Through Design? (Gaver, 2012)
- Research Perspectives in Architecture (Graffiti, 2021)
- Research through Design: The Spirit of Iteration (Wang, 2023)
Research through design (RTD) in architecture is an evolving methodology that positions the act of designing as a central mode of inquiry, generating new knowledge through creative practice. This approach bridges the gap between traditional research and architectural practice, allowing for the exploration of complex, real-world problems and the development of innovative solutions.
Lesson Plan ARCH 5016: THESIS RESEARCH
ijorrina
Created on September 19, 2025
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
Explore all templates
Transcript
Lesson Plan: ARCH 5006: THESIS RESEARCH
9/29/2025
Download PDF version of this lesson Plan
Introduction
The clip below describes the main features of the IRML:
This lesson plan has been co-developed between the Interactive Research Methods Lab's team and Dr. Arief Setiawan (Associate Professor of Architecture. Kennesaw State University). The aim of the lesson plan is to assist students taking ARCH 5006 in the development of the research designs for their theses. The proposed activities within the lesson plan are in alignment with Kennesaw State Office of Undergraduate Research definition of Undergraduate Research: “An inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline.” (see: http://www.cur.org/about.html)
01
02
03
04
05
06
Structure of the session
HOME
Description
Goals
Steps
Appendices
Resources
Outcomes
CONTACT
Description
Step-by-Step guide
Outcomes
01
03
05
04
02
06
Resources
Goals
Appendices
01
02
03
04
05
06
01 Description
HOME
Description
Goals
Steps
Appendices
Resources
Outcomes
CONTACT
This lesson plan will help undergraduate students taking ARCH 5006 to reach a deep understanding of the key elements that should be included in a well-informed research design. To do so, this unit will help them become familiar with the nine steps proposed by the Hopscotch Model (Jorrín-Abellán, 2016, 2019) to develop sound research designs. To facilitate the process, students will be provided with an example of the nine steps extracted from a published thesis (Treviño, 2022) that will be checked prior to the session in the Interactive Research Methods Lab.
01
02
03
04
05
06
02 Goals
HOME
Description
Goals
Steps
Appendices
Resources
Outcomes
CONTACT
1. This activity will help students taking ARCH 5006 develop their research skills. These include logic, and problem-solving skills (Bauer & Bennett, 2003) and experimental skills like design, data collection, data analysis, understanding of limitations, and research ethics (John & Creighton, 2012; Russell, Hancock, & McCullough, 2007). Students also learn how to seek out and consume the relevant literature and learn the disciplinary language (Bauer & Bennett, 2003). 2. The activity will help students develop their communication skills. Students improve their oral, written, and visual communication skills (Bauer & Bennett, 2003). 3. Finally, the proposed activity will promote students’ critical thinking.
01
02
03
04
05
06
03 Step-by-Step guide
HOME
Description
Goals
Steps
Appendices
Resources
Outcomes
CONTACT
Step 1: Prior to the face-to-face session in the IRML, students will be asked to check the following: • Treviño, T., "Independence Through Unseen Architecture; Investigating Multi-Sensory Design for the Visually Impaired and Blind" (2022). Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year. 209. (Check Thesis) • Appendix A of this lesson Plan Step 2: The IRML will be introduced to students. A team member of the lab will describe its structure based on the nine steps proposed by Hopscotch. The functioning of the augmented reality contents will also be shown. (10') Step 3: Presentation of the activity to be conducted in the lab. (5’ ) Step 4: The participating students will interact with the multimedia contents present in the lab, the ones included in the 360 Virtual Tour of the Interactive Research Methods Lab (see: https://irml.kennesaw.edu), or Hopscotch (see: https://hopscotchmodel.com). In this stage, students will have to fill out the third column of the table included in Appendix A, by describing in their own words the key elements that need to be considered to generate a solid research design for their thesis. To do so, students will be able to check the second column, in which the research design used in the previously read article has been unpacked (Samaniego, 2020) (30’) Step 5: A group discussion will be held in order to reflect upon the decisions made in the previous step (third column of appendix A). (10’ )
01
02
03
04
05
06
04 Resources
HOME
Description
Goals
Steps
Appendices
Resources
Outcomes
CONTACT
Interactive Research Methods Lab Website
Hopscotch: Framing Your Research Study
Hopscotch Model
IRML Web App
01
02
03
04
05
06
05 Outcomes
HOME
Description
Goals
Steps
Appendices
Resources
Outcomes
CONTACT
Students will complete Appendix A with a description of the aspects that need to be considered to generate a well-informed research design for their theses.
01
02
03
04
05
06
06 Appendices
HOME
Description
Goals
Steps
Appendices
Resources
Outcomes
CONTACT
APPENDIX A: Describe the steps to generate a well-informed research design in your own words
Contact Information
Interactive Research Methods Lab
Bagwell College of Education 580 Parliament Garden Way Room BEB 403 Kennesaw, 30144
irml@kennesaw.edu
https://irml.kennesaw.edu
Hopscotch: Framing Your Research Study
Why Hopscotch? What is Hopscotch?
Hopscotch is a theoretical model and an open-access webtool to help novice researchers generate well-informed research designs
https://hopscotchmodel.com
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 1: Paradigmatic view of the researcher
Researchers bring to their studies their particular way of understanding how things work in our world, and the way knowledge is constructed. The worldview of the researcher is going to have a deep impact on the decisions and inquiry procedures he/she will put in practice.
Guba (1990) describes a paradigm or worldview as "a basic set of beliefs that guide action.” That basic set of beliefs of the researcher is based on his ontological (What is the nature of reality?) and epistemological assumptions (What is the nature of knowledge and the relationship between the knower and the would-be known?). Therefore, how one views the constructs of social reality and knowledge affects how they will go about uncovering knowledge of relationships among phenomena and social behavior.
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 1: Paradigmatic view of the researcher
What is the nature of reality?
How do we know reality?
Role of researcher & values
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 2: Topics & Goals of the Study
The second step in the generation of your research design implies the definition of your research topic and the goals that will drive the study.
How to define and narrow down your research topic
How define the goals of your study.
Step 2
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 3: Conceptual Framework
Tool to create a visual representation of the key elements of your conceptual framework
Tool to create a visual representation of your review of literature
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 4: Research Design
The fourth step in the process of developing a well-informed research design has to do with deciding the research tradition (qualitative) or research design (quantitative, mixed) that best responds to who you are as a researcher (paradigmatic view), and the nature of your research topic.
Research Through Design
Mixed Methods
Quantitative
Qualitataive
Visual Representations
Check
Main Research Designs
Check
Main Research Traditions
Check
Main Research Designs
Research Methods Guide
Narrative Research Phenomenology Phenomenography Ethnography Grounded Theory Case Study Action Research
Generate
A visual of your
Descriptive Correlational Pre-experimental Quasi-experimental Experimental
Covergent parallel Exploratory Sequential Explanatory Sequential Embedded
Qualitative Study Quantitative Study Mixed-Methods Study
Research Design Guide
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 5: Research Questions
Your research questions—what you specifically want to learn or understand by doing your study—are at the heart of your research design (Maxwell, 2008). They connect all the components of your design.
Research Questions in Quantitative Studies
Research Questions in Qualitative Studies
Research Questions in Mixed-methods Studies
Guide to building research questions and hypotheses
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Examples of Quantitative Research Questions for the topic: Use of Social Media by 10th graders in the state of Georgia
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Examples of Qualitative Research Questions for the topic: Use of Social Media by 10th graders in the state of Georgia
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Examples of Mixed-Methods Research Questions for the topic: Use of Social Media by 10th graders in the state of Georgia
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 6: Data Gathering
The sixth step in the process of developing a well-informed research design focuses on the data gathering methods you will be using in your study.
Data collection in Quantitative Studies
Data collection in Qualitative Studies
Data collection in Mixed-methods Studies
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 7: Data Analysis
Data analysis in Quantitative Studies
Data analysis in Qualitative Studies
Data analysis in Mixed-methods Studies
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 8: Trustworthiness & Validity
The eighth step in the process of developing a well-informed research design focuses on the strategies you will use to ensure the trustworthiness of your qualitative or the validity and reliability of your quantitative study.
Quantitative approach:
Qualitative approach:
Steps proposed by Hopscotch?
Step 9: Ethics
The final step in the process of generating a well-informed research design has to do with the definition of the ethical principles that will guide your research study (Do No Harm; Privacy and Anonymity; Confidentiality; Informed Consent, etc)
(Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1978)
Hands-on Activity
1. Create an account in the IRML Web App
ARCH5006-2025
https://app-irml.kennesaw.edu
Hands-on Activity
1. Generate your research design
Check columns 1 & 2 of the handout with example from (Treviño, 2022)
After the session today you can use the 360 IRML
"Topical research refers to previous work (most often empirical) that has focused on the topic in which you are interested. While much of this work resides within academic journals and books, it may also be found in policy or government research, or in reports produced through foundations, nonprofits, and advocacy organizations (Ravitch & Riggan, 2016)."
Please remember that there are not good and bad research topics. There is always an audience out there interested in your topic. But what makes a good research topic? 1- It is a topic that strongly interests you: Make sure that the topic you pick is one that interests and fascinates you, and that you want to talk about. There is nothing worse than spending a lot of time writing about a topic that bores you. 2- Make sure that your topic is innovative/creative: There are some topics that have been researched over and over again. For instance, researching the impact technology has on education is great, but it is a topic that has been covered extensively. Try to be creative and select a topic around which you can generate new knowledge. 3- Pick a topic that is not too broad: Novice researchers often select a broad, general topic, thinking that big topics are easier to research.
Ravitch & Riggan (2016) understand a theoretical framework "as a set of formal theories and their relationships, that helps you to fill the intellectual bins that make up your conceptual framework."
Maxwell (2008) states that goals include motives, desires, and purposes—anything that leads you to do the study or that you hope to accomplish by doing it.Goals serve two main functions for your research:1. They help guide your other methodological decisions to ensure that your study is worth doing.2. They are essential to justifying the relevance of your research topic and the need for the study you are proposing, which in the end are key components of a thesis or a dissertation proposal.Some questions that could help you define the goals of our study are:
- Why is your study worth doing?
- What issues do you want it to clarify, and what practices and policies do you want it to influence?
- Why do you want to conduct this study, and why should we care about the results?
We can define three types of goals for our study (Maxwell, 2008): 1. Personal goals: They are those that motivate you to do a particular study; they can include a desire to change some existing situation, a curiosity about a specific phenomenon or event, or simply the need to advance your career. 2. Practical goals: They are focused on accomplishing something—meeting some need, changing some situation, or achieving some goal. 3. Intellectual goals: They are focused on understanding something, gaining some insight into what is going on and why this is happening ( e.g., answering some questions that previous research has not adequately addressed)Ravitch & Riggan (2016) define a conceptual framework as an argument about why the topic one wishes to study matters, and why the means proposed to study it are appropriate and rigorous.
Research Through Design
Research through design (RTD) in architecture is an evolving methodology that positions the act of designing as a central mode of inquiry, generating new knowledge through creative practice. This approach bridges the gap between traditional research and architectural practice, allowing for the exploration of complex, real-world problems and the development of innovative solutions.