# Research Template Library Fillable worksheets for the 64 research methods in the ISU Graphic Design **Research as a Thread** playbook. The Canvas *Research Methods & Tools* page tells you **which** method to use. The *Guides and Resources* page tells you **where to read** about it. This library gives you **the thing to fill in** — one worksheet per method, ready to print, duplicate into a Figma file, or attach to an assignment. --- ## How to find a template **Browsing by research move** — the folders mirror the three moves: ```text frame/ Defining the problem and proving why it matters gather-collect/ Collecting evidence gather-synthesize/ Turning evidence into insight translate-generate/ Generating form translate-test/ Testing and validating _shared/ Cross-cutting resources cited by several methods ``` **Searching** — [`index.json`](index.json) is the machine-readable catalog of all 64 methods with their move, design areas, suggested tools, and templates. It is validated by [`index.schema.json`](index.schema.json). ```bash # every method with a finished template python3 -c "import json;[print(m['id']) for m in json.load(open('index.json'))['methods'] if m['templateStatus']=='done']" # every method that applies to packaging python3 -c "import json;[print(m['id']) for m in json.load(open('index.json'))['methods'] if 'packaging' in m['designAreas']]" ``` --- ## What's in each file | File pattern | What it is | | --- | --- | | `/.md` | The ISU worksheet — written for this library | | `/--.md` or `.pdf` | An external template saved under an open license, unmodified | Every ISU worksheet has the same eight sections, so students learn the shape once: 1. **What this does** · 2. **When to use it** · 3. **Time & materials** · 4. **How to run it** · 5. **Worksheet** (the fillable part) · 6. **At each level** · 7. **What good looks like** · 8. **Sources & further reading** Methods involving human participants also carry an **Ethics & consent** section. ### For instructors Sections 1–4 and 7 are the class-planning layer: what the method is for, how long it takes, how to run it, and how to tell a strong response from a thin one. **At each level** maps the method onto the 2000 *Try* / 3000 *Apply* / 4000 *Own* progression so the same worksheet can be assigned at any level with different expectations. ### For students Section 5 is the artifact. Print it, or copy it into FigJam / a shared doc and fill it in. Section 8 tells you where the method comes from if you need to cite it. --- ## Licensing - **ISU worksheets** (`.md`) are written for this program — use, edit, and adapt freely within ISU Graphic Design. - **Downloaded files** are third-party works kept unmodified, each recorded in `index.json` with its source URL and license. Most are **CC0 / US public domain** (18F Guides, usability.gov) and can be used and adapted without restriction. Check the `source.license` field before redistributing: `_shared/dschool-design-thinking-bootleg.pdf` is **CC BY-NC-SA 4.0** — attribution required, non-commercial, share-alike. - Some excellent resources are **cited but not stored** because their license forbids redistribution (Service Design Tools is CC BY-NC-ND; NN/g and Figma Community are proprietary). Those appear in `index.json` as `"kind": "link"`. Nothing in this library was taken from a commercial template mill or from behind a signup wall. --- ## Status **Complete — all 64 methods have a worksheet.** `templateStatus` in `index.json` is the progress marker: `"done"` means the worksheet exists and its records are complete. ```bash python3 -c "import json;d=json.load(open('index.json'));p=d['templateLibrary']['progress'];print(f\"{p['methodsDone']}/{p['methodsTotal']} methods complete\")" ``` Every method has an ISU worksheet. Most also carry one or two external templates — a downloaded file where the licence permits, a citation where it does not. ### Where the external material comes from | Source | Licence | How it is used | | --- | --- | --- | | **18F Guides** (GSA) | CC0 — public domain | Downloaded. The largest single source; ~30 method pages and resources | | **Strategyzer** | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Downloaded. Business Model Canvas, Value Proposition Canvas | | **Stanford d.school** | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 | Downloaded. The Design Thinking Bootleg deck, in `_shared/` | | **thoughtbot** | MIT | Downloaded. Design-sprint exercises | | **W3C WAI** | W3C permissive licence | Cited. WCAG, Easy Checks, motion guidance | | **NN/g, Optimal Workshop, Lyssna, Maze, Adobe, AIGA, IxDF, Are.na** | proprietary | Cited only | | **Service Design Tools** | CC BY-NC-ND | Cited only — the licence forbids derivatives | Where no reputable template existed — which is the case for most craft and theory methods, such as semiotic analysis, dieline prototyping, press checks, and archival research — the ISU worksheet is the template. That is a deliberate outcome, not a gap: the alternative was importing manufacturing-industry checklists and teacher-marketplace handouts of unknown provenance. --- ## Adding a template 1. Search for an existing template before writing one. Download it **only** if its license appears in `templateLibrary.licenseAllowList.downloadFrom`; otherwise record it as `"kind": "link"`. For 18F material use **`github.com/18F/guides`** (maintained, CC0) — not the archived `18F/methods` repo, and never `methods.18f.gov` or `guides.18f.gov`, both of which are dead. 2. Save downloads unmodified as `/--.`. 3. Write the ISU worksheet at `/.md` using the eight sections above. 4. Add 1–3 records to the method's `templates` array in `index.json` and set `templateStatus` to `"done"`. 5. Never fabricate a URL. A method whose search turns up nothing usable still gets its ISU worksheet — that is a complete result, not a gap.