Task A2 | R

​ esearch plan 
🔎 What? 
 
❗Why? 
 
Construct a research plan, which states and prioritizes the  You want to identify valuable sources of information to 
primary and secondary research needed to develop a solution  provide input for your project (now and later) and you want to 
to the problem.  make sure you balance your research efforts over the different 
areas of research that are needed.  

⚙ How? 
 
Adjust and extend the provided partial research plan in order to: 
● Identify​ primary and secondary sources that you could consult in order to be a knowledgeable designer in this project, 
ready to design and create. Use the following prompts: 
○ You can make observations, do measurements and experiments. 
○ You can interview (experienced) experts or other stakeholders in your project. 
○ You can survey your target audience. 
○ You can consult secondary sources. 
● Describe​ what you want to learn from each of these sources in detail. 
● Prioritize​ the importance of each part of your research (you may not have time to do it all!). 
● Research​ and find out the answers! P ​ resent​ all research notes from your research in the table below. This section can 
contain pieces of text directly copy-pasted from sources, results of surveys, photographs, transcripts of interviews etc. 

Research Plan + Research 

Research questions  What  Where could I find  Prioritization 
is the answer?  an answer?   * = Good to 
What type of  know   
source is it?  ** = Useful   
Primary or  *** = Directly 
useful   
Secondary? 
**** = Vital  
 

PROPERTIES:  ● Cotton is prized for its comfort, easy-care,  Online   *** 

[***] What properties (or  and affordability and is ideal for clothing,
characteristics) of a fabric 
determine what you can do with  ●
it?  Products
   
bedding, towels, and furnishings. ​(Cotton  Cotton Fibers and 
Fibers)  its Properties 
Characteristics of Cotton Fibers and  (secondary) 
   
○ Comfortable to wear   
○ Natural, cellulosic fiber  Fabric 
○ Absorbs water and “breathes”  Characteristics for 
○ Slow to dry  Garment 
○ Resists static electricity build-up  Manufacturing 
○ Wrinkles easily  (secondary) 
○ Can withstand heat, detergents, 
and bleach 
○ About 20% stronger when wet 
than dry 
○ Will shrink unless treated 
○ Can be damaged by mildew 
○ Can be damaged by prolonged 
exposure to sunlight ​(Fabric 
Characteristics) 

DEFINITIONS​:  1 According to the Oxford Dictionary, a fabric is  https://www.lexico. *** 

● What is the fabric?   clothes produced from fibers by knitting. There are a  com/en/definition/fa
lot of types of fabric. Fabric can be made from  bric​ secondary  
● What are ​textiles​? 
cotton, nylon, and others. Fabric is necessary for all   
● What are the  of us as we need clothes for protection. Especially  https://www.lexico.
garments​?  during winter or cold season, we need to wear  com/en/definition/te
 clothing.   Textile​ secondary  
   
2 Textiles are just a type of fabric. Often, these two   
words look synonyms to each other. However,  https://www.lexico.
textiles are materials that are made of fibers via  com/en/definition/g
carpeting.   arment​ secondary  
 
3 Garments are simply fabric or referring to clothing. 
It is just a general term for ‘clothing’. 

MANUFACTURING  1. Cotton fabric is a material that is popularly  https://sewport.com *** 

● How are cotton textiles  used all around the world. The process of  /fabrics-directory/co
made?   making cotton fabric starts with defoliation,  tton-fabric 
removing leaves from the cotton plant.   secondary 
● What are the basic  Next, We need to do Machine Harvesting.   
joining and assembly  The machine will remove large dirts and  https://www.toyota
methods​ to attach  contaminants from the cotton fiber to form  -industries.com/pro
pieces of fabric  an object called a bale. After that  ducts/textile/proces
separation of cottonseed and cotton balls is  s/​ secondary  
together? 
performed. Then, drivers will put the cotton   
into their vehicles and transfer it to textile  https://textilelearner
production facility. In the facility or the  .blogspot.com/2015
factory the cotton is undergoing carding  /07/alternative-met
where it is threaded. The thread would be  hods-of-fabric-joini
spinning to form a ball of yarn.  ng.html​ secondary  
Depending on customer’s need, it also can 
be dyed into different colors using chemical 
Lastly, it is weaved into different textile 
materials such as bedsheets, Jeans, and so 
on.  
2. The most basic method for attaching 
fabrics is sewing. However, I have found 
other alternative methods to do this. First 
alternative method would be fusing in 
which heating and pressure is applied to 
fuse two fabrics to join together. Secondly, 
adhesives could be used. This is known to 
be used for especially waterproof 
garments. There are also other methods 
such as welding and molding where 
pressure is used. 
 
 

TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS  1.There are different ways which I can use to draw  https://www.sewin ** 
FOR MAKING  patterns. Firstly it is done by simply measuring my  gmachinegallery.co
body part size. One can use a ruler to measure the  m/how-to-draw-se
● How do you draw a 
width and length of a body part. For example if I  wing-patterns/ 
sewing​ ​pattern​? What  want to make a t-shirt I should measure neck round,  secondary  
are the key features of  arm round and shoulder length. After that I would 
a good garment  draw all of the measurements into lines onto the 
pattern?  papers and join all the lines. It is important to know 
where I should draw straight lines or curves. Other 
● What​ materials and 
ways would be borrowing other’s templates or 
tools​ do I have  deconstructing existing clothes. 
available for making my   
product? (see Appendix  2. I would need scissors, pencils, erasers, paper, a 
A below)  ruler to draw a sewing pattern. 

CLIENT INFORMATION  1. I would design for me    *** 

● Who could I design for?   2. I am representing a typical teenager, those 
I have a small body size and an Asian.  
● What group (​target 
3. I love blue colour so I would consider 
audience​) does this  dyeing the cotton material into blue if it is 
person represent?   not present. I likes a typical t-shirt so I 
● What material  would not put any other shiny materials or 
properties or aesthetic  excess decorations. 
factors need to be 
taken into account for 
this client? (What kind 
 of colours and style do 
they like?) 

A2 Assessment 
Level  Descriptor  Typical features of student work 

0  The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors below. 

1-2  The student ​states​ s​ ome​ research needed to  ❏ A limited amount of sources and information is stated which 
develop a solution to the problem, ​with  makes it difficult to find the answers to the research 
some guidance​.  questions. Some sections were incomplete. Be sure to review 
your work for completeness. 
❏ There is only one type of source used in your research. Both 
primary and secondary sources are needed. 
❏ You did not prioritize your research in your planning. 
Prioritization is important for organising your research. 

3-4  The student ​states​ the research needed to  ❏ Some sources and information are stated which makes it 
develop a solution to the problem, ​with  challenging to find the answers to the research questions. If 
some guidance.  you identify more sources, you will have a broader 
understanding of the research questions. 
❏ There is only one type of source used in your research. Both 
primary and secondary sources are needed. 
❏ You did not prioritize your research in your planning. 
Prioritization is important for organising your research. 

5-6  The student ​constructs​ a research plan,  ❏ A number of sources and information are stated. You 
which s​ tates​ and p
​ rioritizes​ the primary and  demonstrated that you can find the answers to the research 
secondary research needed to develop a  questions. Even more appropriate sources would strengthen 
solution to the problem, ​with some  your understanding. 
guidance​.  ❏ There are a few types of sources used in your research. 
Having a good variety of sources allows you to get 
information from different viewpoints. 
❏ You prioritized your research in your planning. 

7-8  The student constructs a research plan,  ❏ An effective number of sources and information are stated. 
which s​ tates​ and p
​ rioritizes​ the primary and  You demonstrated that you can find the answers to the 
secondary research needed to develop a  research questions from a number of relevant sources. 
solution to the problem i​ ndependently​.  ❏ There is an excellent variety of types of sources used in your 
research. Primary and secondary sources provide a broad 
understanding as you move forward. 
❏ You prioritized your research in your planning. This will help 
keep you organised in preparing for the next step of the 
criterion. 

   
Appendix A: Tools and Materials (primary source) 
For this project, you will be provided with the materials and tools listed below. The list is not exhaustive but gives a good idea of 
what is reasonably available. It is up to you to figure out how to use and process them. You will have to make sure you understand 
the properties of the materials and tools you choose in order to make smart design choices for your product. 
 

Fabric and materials you need to provide yourself 

● Anything you can reclaim from garments otherwise thrown away. This will not be provided. You need to bring it in from 
home. 
● Straps, buckles, buttons etc that you can reclaim from garments otherwise thrown away. 
● Do not buy fabric! 
 

Tools and materials provided by the school 

● Thread (polyester and cotton and waxed) 
● Eyelets  
● Studs 
● Rivets 
● Snap fasteners 
● Velcro (sew-on and stick on) 
● Anything you request that is approved by the teacher. 
● Fabric glue  
● Contact adhesive (Elmer’s multi-purpose spray adhesive) 
● Sewing machine (Brother JA1450NT) 
● Needles 
● Seam ripper 
● Fabric shears 
● Rotary cutter 
● Hole punch 
● Rivet/eyelet setter and die