Table 1 The research questions and the corresponding research methods at each step.

STEP 1: Research on children’s literacy requirements

Research question : How to understand children’s needs in gamified literacy mode, literacy carrier and parent-child interactive gamification?

Methods: The semi-structured in-depth interview method was used to record parents’ views, questions and suggestions on children’s literacy, as well as children’s actual experience in the process of literacy, and to extract the needs related to gamified teaching and learning mode

STEP 2: Research on the classification and priority of gamified literacy toys

Research question 1: How to translate the needs of children’s gamified literacy obtained from in-depth interviews into specific questions in the KANO model questionnaire to accurately assess parents’ satisfaction with the gamified function of children’s literacy toys?

Methods: Combining the demand transformation method and the KANO model questionnaire design method, the questions about literacy mode, literacy carrier and parent-child interaction found in the interview were transformed into demand points, and the KANO questionnaire was designed. By setting forward and reverse questions, the feedback on parents’ satisfaction with gamification function was collected with five degree options.

Research question 2: How to classify the user needs of gamified literacy toys according to the KANO model evaluation results and the Better-Worse coefficient, and determine which gamified functional needs should be implemented first?

Methods: The valid KANO questionnaire data were collected, Better (SI) and Worse (DSI) were calculated according to the formula, and 0.5 was used as the defined value to classify the demands for gamified literacy toys, and the demand priority was determined according to the absolute value of the coefficient.

Research question 3: How to use AHP method combined with the demands attributes divided by KANO model to determine the weight of each demand of gamified literacy toys, so as to provide a basis for determining the design elements?

Methods: A hierarchical analysis model with parent-child interactive children’s literacy toys as the theme was constructed, and the necessary needs, expectation needs and charm needs were set as the criterion layer, and the effective user needs were set as the sub-criterion layer. Invite experts to score and build a judgment matrix, calculate the weight with geometric average method, and carry out consistency test through CR value to obtain the comprehensive weight of each demand index.

STEP 3: Research on the transformation of design elements of literacy toys based on gamification

Research question 1: With the help of QFD theory, how to convert the user demands weight of gamified literacy toys determined based on AHP into specific design elements, and determine the relative importance of each design element to guide toy design?

Methods: Input the user needs and weights obtained by AHP into the “left wall” of the House of Quality, input the toy evaluation and quality plan objectives into the “right wall”, invite experts to score the correlation degree between user needs and design elements, construct the House of quality framework, calculate the technical weights of the targets and sort them, and clarify the importance of design elements.

Research question 2: How to order the importance of design elements determined by QFD and integrate the concept of gamified teaching and learning mode into the design practice of parent-child interactive children’s literacy toys to meet the needs of children’s gamified literacy and parent-child interaction?

Methods: According to the weight of relative importance of quality characteristics, the toy design was carried out in combination with other factors.

STEP 4: Study on the effect evaluation of gamified literacy toys

Research problems: How to conduct a controlled test between the designed parent-child interactive children’s literacy toys and children’s literacy apps to evaluate the feasibility of gamified literacy toys in gamified teaching and learning mode from three perspectives: literacy efficiency, literacy interest and subjective evaluation?

Methods: A controlled experiment method was used to select a certain sample of children to learn literacy by using literacy toys and literacy apps respectively. The effects of the two were compared from three aspects: literacy efficiency, literacy interest and subjective evaluation, and the feasibility of gamified literacy toy design was evaluated.