Seeking Volunteers for MSc Dissertation Research

[William “Agbebakun” Imoukhuede]

Hi Everyone 👋,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is William, and I’m currently pursuing my MSc in Computer Science at Northumbria University. I am reaching out to the North East Makers community to seek assistance with my dissertation research project, and I would greatly appreciate your support. I've been to the last couple of "Welcome Wednesdays" and everyone I've spoken to has been super helpful.

My dissertation project focuses on investigating how the documentation and curation of processes like making and building can help in the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. The study will involve a makerspace community and a participatory design approach will be used to shape the study and its outcomes. As well as contributing knowledge into how communities and individuals interact with digital technology via participatory processes, the study will also provide novel insight to the field of heritage studies due to its use of indigenous curation.

I am looking for enthusiastic individuals currently working on personal projects who are willing to participate in a two (2) week user study where participants will be expected to log each time they work on their project in the form of video recordings. At the end of the testing phase, participants will be required to pick a number of log entries to share with the rest of the group and finally, participants will be interviewed to give feedback on their experience. Your expertise and insights will be invaluable in contributing to the success of this study.

Rest assured that all information and data collected will be treated with the utmost confidentiality and in full compliance with ethical guidelines and research standards. The time commitment for your participation would approximately be various pockets of time throughout a two week period and a ~1hr interview at the end.

If you are interested in participating in this research project or would like more information, please reply to this message or contact me directly at william.i...@northumbria.ac.uk. I will be happy to provide you with more details and answer any questions you may have.

The deadline for expressing your interest in participating is Monday, the 6th of November 2023. 

Your support will play a crucial role in the success of my MSc dissertation, and I genuinely appreciate your consideration. If you know of anyone else who might be interested in participating, please feel free to forward this message to them.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. I look forward to your response and the possibility of working together on this research project.

Best regards,

William Imoukhuede