Core Skills ICTResearch Project Portfolio

Name: Sir Nick Clegg

ID No: 18002222

Course: Music

Academic Year: 2018/19

Research PlanNAME: Sir Nick Clegg

RESEARCH SUBJECT: Audio Production Tools

OBJECTIVES: Planning and Organising Reviewing and Evaluating

SEARCH ORDER

SOURCES TO BE USED* Internet Source - Search Engine used (2 or more)* Non-Internet location and Method used KEYWORDS TO BE USED

NUMBER OF SITES FOUND

FURTHER SEARCHING REQUIRED?

CRITERIA List 3 criteria from the 6 available

1 Internet Source: Chrome, GoogleURL: https://www.creativebloq.com/audiovisual/5-audio-software-production-tools-51514891

Audio Production Tools 335,000,000 No Relevant - YesAccurate - YesCurrent - Yes

2 Internet Source: Firefox, YahooURL: https://opensource.com/article/18/2/open-source-audio-visual-production-tools

Audio Production Tools 7,420,000 No Relevant - YesAccurate - YesCurrent - Yes

3 Internet Source: Internet Explorer, BingURL: https://www.wirerealm.com/guides/best-music-production-software-daw

Audio Production Tools 3,120,000 Yes Relevant - YesAccurate - YesCurrent - Yes

4 Internet Source: Chrome, YouTubeURL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1V7fhcQ4KU

Audio Production Tools Na No Relevant - YesAccurate - YesCurrent - Yes

5 Internet Source: Firefox, ask.comURL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_engineer

Audio Production Tools Na No Relevant - YesAccurate - NoCurrent - Yes

6 Non Internet Source: WHC library Audio Production Tools Na No Relevant - YesAccurate - YesCurrent - Yes

7 Non Internet Source: Played at The Barowland Audio Production Tools Na No Relevant - YesAccurate - YesCurrent - Yes

Evidence: Screen Print of Search item 1 Screen Print of a Website found from search item 1

Select 3 of the following criteria to evaluate this website on: Relevant, Accuracy, Level of Difficulty, Authority, Bias or Objective, and Currency

The site I found was creativebloq.com – this site is well known inside the Creative Arts but is not particularly well known for Music/Audio. I would say that this site is relevant as it is giving me information about a selection of curated software tools, along with a write up on how each performs and what features it has – this is pretty much exactly what I was looking for. This sites level of difficulty is medium – it presumes knowledge of the subject and a familiarity with technical terms, however, it is still written in a copy style and so is relatively easy to digest. As mentioned, CreativeBloq is not well known in the music/audio industry so I would categorise this site as having a low level of authority on this topic. When it comes to bias – this site does clearly mark when it has paid content, however, the content is still surrounded in ads, so, it is fair to say that money is a sizable motivation here. Lastly, in terms of currency we can see the date on the article is May 15, 2015 – so, while some information will be useful, 3 years is a VERY long time when it comes to digital tools.

Evidence: Screen Print of Search item 2 Screen Print of a Website found from search item 2

Select 3 of the following criteria to evaluate this website on: Relevant, Accuracy, Level of Difficulty, Authority, Bias or Objective, and CurrencyThe site I have found using Yahoo has the domain opensource.com, this has an even larger selection of tools and as they are open-source they are all free to use. In terms of relevancy, not all of the tools are Audio Production tools, which were my keywords, so, it IS partly relevant, but I have to sift through a lot of extra information. I would rate the accuracy of this site as medium, as, a few of the links are incorrect – so I need to be aware that any information on here may not be reliable. The level of difficulty is similar to my last site so I would say medium. This site does indeed seem to have Authority when it comes to open source tools, however, I am looking for any type of digital tool that allows me to achieve the results I want – tying into bias, this site would naturally promote an open source tool over a proprietary piece of software. This site is much more current showing 07 Feb 2018, so about a year old, again, things move quick with digital tools, but, all the big players are there.

Evidence: Screen Print of Search item 3 Screen Print of a Website found from search item 3

Select 3 of the following criteria to evaluate this website on: Relevant, Accuracy, Level of Difficulty, Authority, Bias or Objective, and CurrencyThis time I was taken to the Wire Realm, I can see straight away that this is very current showing January 10, 2019 – approx. one month ago. This site is most certainly relevant and has shown me useful tools I have not used before. The accuracy appears to be high as the author – Sean – is high up in the music industry. This site appears to operate at a low level of bias as there are no adverts or obvious other motivations other than informing consumers.

Evidence: Screen Print of Search item 4 Screen Print of a Website found from search item 4

Select 3 of the following criteria to evaluate this website on: Relevant, Accuracy, Level of Difficulty, Authority, Bias or Objective, and CurrencyI enjoyed watching this clip by Levi Niha – I can see the date is Dec 30, 2017, so there may be new or better tools available. He seems to be well thought of in industry and his music is very well produced so I would assign both the accuracy and level of Authority as high. The level of difficulty is low as it is easy to watch this video, and, there are tools to slow it down or watch in again. Lastly, he seems to be relatively unbiased when talking about platforms and licences, but, as a full time YouTuber he will still rely on advertising revenue and sponsorship – something to be aware of when he recommends software.

Evidence: Screen Print of Search item 5 Screen Print of a Website found from search item 5

Select 3 of the following criteria to evaluate this website on: Relevant, Accuracy, Level of Difficulty, Authority, Bias or Objective, and CurrencyThis time, using, ask.com, I was taken to the Wikipedia entry for an Audio Engineer – this is the right area, but is not really relevant as I am looking for new and emerging tools. Although Wikipedia can be accurate, we would generally discount it as a source for academia. As a well tested and trusted Encyclopedia, it does have a level of Authority, but, is let down by the accuracy rating I gave. However, Wikipedia is not bias, as, it is a non-profit site and has no single author – it exists only for the common good. By diving into the entry I could see the last edit was as of 13 February 2019, the most recent site yet.

Evaluation of Research Plan I enjoyed completing this task as I was exposed to many new tools that I had not used before – the information was mostly useful to me, and, going through the process of using different browsers and search engines as yielded a diverse set of results. For me, this is the first time I had used the ‘Print Screen’ functionality on a PC and, also the first time I have used Firefox – I will be definitely be using ‘Print Screen’ in the future to document my work.

I have conducted lots of research online before using Google, so, I was surprised to see the diversity in results here. Although I am sure I would have found these results eventually, it has demonstrated to me how changing my approach can yield better results more quickly.

I have tried some of these tools and so will be taking the knowledge learned during this task back to contribute to my music coursework.

I did get stuck a few times when it came to formatting the page but the lecturer was very helpful and seemed to know what he was doing, I would approach him again for help with similar task in the future.

It took me about 2 weeks to complete this task, which is quicker than I had planned, so I am delighted with this as I have exceeded my expectations. If I was to mark this task I would give myself a high mark as I believe I have put in lots of effort where other students where messing about or leaving parts empty.

I didn’t find the task particularly difficult, but, I did need help a few times so there was an obvious benefit to it. I have used computers and the Office suite loads in school, so, I Imagine anyone who had not done this would find it much harder.

So, overall I am happy with my work, I have learnt new things, completed it in time and come away with lots of useful information.