2Task A2 | ​Research 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​:  →  Fabric  is  made  up  of  soft  and  fine  objects  by  "What Is Garment?"  *** 
intersecting, winding, and joining them together.  Clothing Industry​, 
● What is a ​fabric​?  
→  Some  techniques  for  making fabric are knitting,  clothingindustry.blog
● What are ​textiles​?  spot.com/2017/12/ga
weaving, and crotchet. 
● What are ​garments​?   
rment-classification.h
tml. Accessed 24 
→  Textiles  are  the  products  of  textile  fiber  that 
Feb. 2020.  
were woven and processed.  (secondary) 
→  Textiles  can be turned into manufactured goods   
through spinning and weaving.  "What's Difference 
  between Fabric and 
→  Garments  are  pieces of clothing that is made by  Textile?" T
​ estex​, 9 
fabric  or  textiles  to  cover  and  protect  the  body.  Nov.2017,www.teste
This  can  also  be  used  for  fashion  and  decorating  xtextile.com/whats-di
purposes.  fference-fabric-textil
  e/. Accessed 24 Feb. 
2020.  
(secondary) 

MANUFACTURING  S
​ teps on how cotton textiles are made:  "How Is Cotton  *** 
→S ​ tep 1:​ C ​ otton is harvested by pickers and helps  Grown?" How 
● How are cotton textiles 
get moisture from moisture detectors. The  Products Are Made, 
made?   cottonaustralia.com.a
harvested cotton gets stored in modules getting 
● What are the basic  them prepared to be ginned. 
u/how-is-cotton-gro
joining and assembly  wn. Accessed 4 Feb. 
→S ​ tep 2:​ ​The cotton will enter the gin and sends 
2020 
methods​ to attach  the cotton’s fibers to cleaning equipment  (secondary) 
pieces of fabric  →S ​ tep 3:​ O ​ nce the cotton is cleaned by the gin, it  "Machines." P​ lanet 
is sent into bales which will go to factories.  Money Makes a 
together? 
→S ​ tep 4:​ T ​ he cotton is sent to the spinning  T-Shirt​,apps.npr.org/
factories.  tshirt/#/machines. 
→S ​ tep 5:​ t​ he cotton gets sucked up and made  Accessed 6 Feb. 
into thick sheets  2020. 
→S ​ tep 6:​ I​ t is then straightened and made into  (secondary) 
long ropes.  "Cotton Fibers - the 
→S ​ tep 7:​ T ​ he yarn gets stretched and twisted  King of Fibers." 
transforming it to yarn.  Textile School​, 4 May 
2019,www.textilesch
→S ​ tep 8:​ T ​ he yarn gets sent to circular knitting 
ool.com/129/cotton-fi
machines that make it fabric.  bers-the-king-of-fibe
→S ​ tep 9:​ T ​ he made fabric gets washed and dyed   rs/. Accessed 6 Feb. 
 
→ Fusing, welding, adhesives and molding are  2020.  
some of the alternative fabric joining and  (secondary) 
Raaz, Noor Ahmed. 
assembling methods besides sewing. 
"Alternative Methods 
of Fabric Joining." 
Textile Learner​, 
Mazharul Islam Kiron, 
textilelearner.blogspo
t.com/2015/07/altern
ative-methods-of-fab
ric-joining.html. 
Accessed 24 Feb. 
2020. 
​(secondary) 

TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS  Drawing a sewing pattern:  What is a pattern  **** 

FOR MAKING  → Step 1: T​ race the seams with chalk.  (Wikipedia) 
→ Step 2: ​Spread out the pattern paper on the   
● How do you draw a 
"Make Sewing 
sewing​ ​pattern​? What  garment.  Patterns." W
​ onder 
are the key features of  → Step 3:​ Flatten the original garment on top of  How to​, 5 Nov. 
the paper.  2009,sewing.wonder
a good garment 
howto.com/how-to/m
pattern?  → Step 4:​ Trace around the perimeter of the  ake-sewing-patterns
● What​ ​materials and  largest area of the pattern paper.  -281330/. Accessed 
tools​ ​do I have  → Step 5:​ Repeat Step 4 for the back and the  26 Feb. 2020.  
(secondary) 
available for making my  smaller pieces of clothing. 
product? (see Appendix  → Step 6: S ​ ketch a seam allowance of the 
A below)  garment. 
→ Step 7:​ Cut out the remaining seam allowance 
of the garment. 
 
→ Materials & tools: 
 ● 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 

CLIENT INFORMATION  collage  *** 

● Who could I design for?  
● What group (​target 
audience​) does this 
person represent?  
● What material 
properties or aesthetic 
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