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How to structure a research project?
By Albane Français
2026-03-16
When we talk about a thesis, dissertation, or scientific publication, we’re talking about a research project. To find out where to start—without tripping over your own feet—and to understand how the key components of a research project fit together, SYNTHÈSE is switching to interview mode!
To demystify the subject, SYNTHÈSE had the opportunity to speak with Simon Dor, associate professor of video game studies and co-director of the department and program in Creation and New Media at UQAT-Montréal.
Let’s explore the insights of our professor and researcher, who has been invited to share his thoughts on this topic.
1. What is a research project? In what contexts are we asked to write a research project?
A research project is a way to answer a question that a field of knowledge has not yet addressed. Master's and doctoral research programs require a project to bring it to completion in the form of a thesis or dissertation, but we start practicing this as early as the bachelor's level.
2. What are the essential elements that must be included in a research project to structure it properly? Can you explain them briefly?
There are four main elements that make up a research project. Here they are:
1. Problematic: This is the core of the research, what allows us to formulate our question. It is built on an ambiguity, a contradiction, or a questioning related to the current state of knowledge. One can imagine, for example, that a lack of research on a certain aspect, a result that is very counterintuitive compared to our daily experience, or a contradiction between the results of two existing approaches could give rise to a problematic.
💡 The difference between a problematic and a problem:
A problematic is broader than a problem and concerns a research discipline. For example, one could say that a video game that is too difficult is a problem for a designer who wants to make an accessible game, but that is not a research problematic. However, understanding why a gaming community enjoys being challenged through very difficult experiences—that begins to look like a problematic. One needs a more universal and generalizable vision to arrive at a problematic.
2. Hypothesis: This is the anticipated answer to our problematic. The hypothesis is not a “guess”: it is constructed based on the state of the field. If we read what has been published on our question, here is an answer we might arrive at. In other words, it proposes a possible and plausible result based on prior data. It ensures in some way that the question has a plausible answer, even if it is not necessarily the correct one yet.
3. Theoretical framework: This refers to the approach we choose to use: a design-based research perspective, a feminist approach, a background in cultural studies, or a cognitive framework. The theoretical framework allows us to position ourselves without having to explain all prior knowledge, since we cannot know everything in advance and some frameworks use contradictory terms. It helps clarify certain concepts and gives an idea of where our research starts from. The framework provides guidelines to determine how to make sense of our results.
💡 Examples of theoretical frameworks applicable to video game research:
Theoretical frameworks can be imagined as sub-disciplines, just as psychology can be approached from psychodynamic, humanistic, or cognitive-behavioral perspectives. Here are four different approaches:
The pragmatist approach: focusing on concrete and measurable effects an object has on us or that a practice produces.
Design-based research: setting up a project and observing one’s own design practice to draw conclusions.
Affect theory: focusing on how cultural objects have a direct, pre-emotional impact on our body.
The feminist approach: understanding the role of gender issues and sociocultural inequalities in the field or in the works created.
A theoretical framework can be broad or precise, depending on the need and the project. For instance, one could imagine a “cultural studies” framework as broader than a “feminist approach,” or an “intersectional feminist approach” for even more precision.
4. Methodology: This is the concrete recipe we will follow: interviews, questionnaires, analyses, etc. The methodology is informed by and depends greatly on the chosen theoretical framework. For example, design-based research may involve keeping a reflective journal while creating; a cultural studies approach will likely involve analyzing the content of a cultural object such as a video game or a film.
💡 Choosing the right methodology to answer our problematic:
We need to be able to anticipate the path that will lead to a solution. In some situations, the methodology can help reframe the problematic. If we cannot “map out” a path toward a satisfactory answer, it may mean the problematic is still too broad.
3. To understand more concretely, could you give an example of a research project, explaining briefly its problematic, hypothesis, theoretical framework, and methodology?
Problematic:
My research project, titled “Représenter le pouvoir autrement ,” was built on the problematic that strategy video games are both the best examples of games representing different forms of power, yet at the same time very simplistic in how they portray it.
Hypothesis:
Our hypothesis was that strategy games could express a more complex vision of power, but to do so, they had to use figures very different from those in standard strategy games. For example, the presence of characters with a unique name, voice, and face allowed for criticism of the imperialist vision of these games through the attachment we feel for them or explicitly through their dialogues.
Caption: Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Intelligent Systems & Koei Tecmo Games, 2019), in which the characters who fight for us have a complex personality and express doubts about the military actions we carry out.Theoretical framework:
We adopted a semiotic* and media framework in order to approach games as cultural objects capable of expressing ideas, a certain vision of the world, or capable of transmitting recurring figures from one work to another throughout the cultural history of the medium.
*Study of signs, symbols, and meaning-making processes. In other words, it is a way of analyzing how meaning is constructed and interpreted in a given context (text, image, discourse, object, interface, artistic work, etc.).
Methodology:
Our methodology was therefore an analysis of the common figures found in about forty video games, as well as in the texts discussing them (reviews, editorials, etc.). We found that some used satire, while others demonstrated the complexity of a social reality through equally complex economic systems.
4. In your opinion, what distinguishes a good research project from a bad one?
The project is a map to navigate the twists and turns of research, so it must be precise! Unlike the metaphor of a map, navigating without a project is not viable, because a research result always depends on the context in which it is produced. A good project must make it clear what one can expect in terms of results, even if they are not the expected ones.
5. Do you have any advice for students who are starting a research project?
One needs to learn to trust oneself, but also to build that trust. Before starting a project, one must know the field and be able to have an overall vision. Reading already published research would be my best advice! Then, take the time to see where your research could fit compared to others, staying modest and concrete in what you wish to do. But as in many fields, it is by practicing that we learn to do it better.
6. Are there mistakes or missteps to avoid at all costs in a research project process?
Not really. Some projects seem to exaggerate their importance (for example, by claiming to be the first to do something when that is overstated). Others tend to diminish it, by not emphasizing enough the project’s contribution to the discipline. One must find the balance.
7. What is the role of the research supervisor in supporting the student during the development of their research project? At what moments should they intervene?
Approaching someone to supervise you can be intimidating, but having a project in mind is a good idea from the first meeting. But much depends on the professor. Some will require a complete research project in the first meetings, while others will recruit students and decide themselves what project those students will have to carry out! Personally, I believe determining one’s own project is very formative and should be learned at least somewhere in the process.
To learn more, visit Simon Dor’s blog and TikTok videos on the topic.
About Simon Dor
Simon Dor is Associate Professor in Video Game and Media Studies at the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT). He teaches game design (Systems Design and Game Economy) and video game studies (Video Games, Cultures, and Societies) in the video game creation program at the Montréal campus.
His research focuses on strategy, management, role-playing, and esports games, particularly the power dynamics underlying them.
He is also editor-in-chief of the popular culture journal Kinephanos and co-director of the book series Pratique des jeux vidéo (PUQ). His first book, StarCraft. Legacy of the Real-Time Strategy (University of Michigan Press), was published in 2024, and his first edited volume, Depictions of Power. Strategy and Management Games (Bloomsbury), will be published in 2026.
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