A Designerly-Way of Conducting Qualitative Research in Design Studies (original) (raw)
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Design Research: Methods and Perspectives
Canadian Journal of Communication, 2006
Design research is how you bring intent and capability into context. .. The hypothesis that drives this book is that there is a direct relationship between the quality of design and the willingness of the designer to take on mindful explorations of what lies beneath a beautiful surface" (p. 316). These quotes from Brenda Laurel's conclusions neatly summarize the aim of Design Research: to introduce designers to a variety of research tools that can be used to inform design, as well as to ideas about how and when to deploy them effectively. In four sections-"People," "Form," "Design," and "Action"-authors from research institutions and enterprises present their perspectives on the role of research in the design field and its possible contributions to design. The book offers illustrations of the application of known research methods, as well as examples of innovative and even speculative approaches to design. Qualitative approaches, such as ethnography and cultural studies, are particularly well represented, but a number of contributions present more formal practices or quantitative approaches. In packaging all these approaches together, the book seeks to demonstrate that there is a path from design theory to design practice-one that leads to more successful and reliable designs than those not based on research methods and results. Design Research is an edited book, and it is extremely heterogeneous. It comprises 36 papers in total, with authors from a wide variety of backgrounds and subjects ranging from product design to experience-driven installations to interfaces for electronic games to organizational considerations. Most of the authors write about first-hand experiences, often presenting them as personal stories. This makes the book a pleasure to read, although some contributions are more direct than others. With such diversity, it is important to provide the reader with some guidance for navigating and making sense of the varied contributions. Design Research offers two kinds of cross-references. The first is a matrix relating the articles to different content categories. This matrix alone should suffice for demonstrating the wide range of topics covered under the common denominator "design research." One axis reproduces the linear organization of the book in four sections. The other is divided into four major categories-"Domains," "Subjects," "Contexts," and "Research Methodologies"-each of which is split into several subcategories. Each article's orientation and subject matter is thus easily locatable. I found this table invaluable for getting an overview and helping to select single papers. The other kind of cross-reference is coloured pointers to other contributions in the book within each text. These references remind one of hypertextual links and are very useful for non-linear reading. With its 334 pages of rather small type, Design Research is not the kind of book one would expect to read from cover to cover. Despite the book's good visual structure and the elaborate diagram of content categories, it took me several attempts to figure out how to connect to the book. I found the book's title somewhat misleading. With my academic background, I expected a book on academic design research. However, the majority of contributions relate investigations as part of design practice. Nonetheless, once I overcame my initial disappointment and understood the focus, I was able to really enjoy the book. As an anthology, Design Research allows the reader to sample the writings of many design professionals and researchers. It offers a good starting point from which to wander through the vast territory of design. The richness of the collection should provide something to satisfy everyone, regardless of their different tastes and content preferences. The book is probably best suited for serious browsing rather than in-depth study-a compendium of ideas that can enrich and inspire. It is likely to be most useful to practitioners or action researchers, less so for academic research on design processes. In summary, then, Design Research contains many interesting, even fascinating, contributions, some of which will stand the test of time. It is a rich book that addresses
2015
This paper presents the findings of a study with end-user involvement with the ultimate goal to test the synergetic potential of methods of two different research realms: on the one hand methods of qualitative social research and on the other hand methods of design research. The case for the appliance of this new mixed methods approach is the end-user requirements engineering phase 1 for the research project RelaxedCare, organized and co-funded within the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Joint Programme of the European Commission. The purpose of the project is to develop solutions and products to connect elderly persons (assisted persons) and their relatives/friends (informal caregivers) in order to create a more relaxed care situation. AAL projects use in general quantitative and qualitative methods of social research for accessing user requirements. For the phase 1 of the end-user requirements engineering methods of both areas are chosen to find out if a trans-disciplinary research a...
Grounded Design – a praxeological IS research perspective
Journal of Information Technology, 2017
In this paper, we propose Grounded Design - a particular design research (DR) approach rooted in a practice-theoretical tradition. It assesses the quality of information technology (IT) design through evaluation of emerging changes in social practices, which result from the appropriation and use of IT artifacts. The paper starts with a systematic analysis of the reasons for persistent limitations of traditional information systems DR, specifically in coping with problems of contingency and self-referentiality. Following this critique, the principles of Grounded Design are presented. Grounded Design is applied in case studies where we reconstruct the social practices observed before and during the design and appropriation of innovative IT artifacts. We call these context-specific research endeavors ‘design case studies.’ In conducting these case studies, Grounded Design builds upon well-established research methods such as ethnographical field studies, participatory design and action...
Comparison of Three Methodological Approaches of Design Research
2007
This paper compares three framing methodologies of design research from: (a) ontological (what the framing methodologies actually are and why they exist), (b) epistemological (what the sources, structures, and contents of knowledge are), (c) methodological (what processes the framing methodologies imply, and what methods they involve), and (d) praxiological (to which problems the framing methodologies have been applied, and how they are working in the practice) aspects. The three framing methodologies are: (i) research in design context, (ii) design inclusive research, and (iii) practice-based design research. The first methodology supports analytical disciplinary research aiming at insights, understanding, and predictions, relies mainly on the knowledge of background disciplines, uses the research methods of these disciplines, lends itself to mono-disciplinary approaches, and concentrates on building and proving theories, which add to the disciplinary knowledge of design. The secon...
Navigating difference: a framework to support understanding of design research
Bournemouth University, 2020
The social practice of design and design research is continually evolving to meet the needs of society. Research has always been an integral part of the design process, yet as a profession which developed outside of the university, its methodologies are fundamentally different from more traditional academic models by incorporating elements of creativity, intuition and tacit knowledge. Increased collaboration with the wider academic research community combined with greater focus on public research assessment and accountability creates a clear need for design to develop, define and communicate its particular research methodologies. The research was conducted in three phases. A documentary analysis of the UK Research Excellence Framework 2014 (UK REF 2014) captures an understanding of how research, and in particular design research, is represented, defined and evaluated within the wider discursive and social practice of research assessment. This was followed by a constructivist grounded theory study of practising design researchers to capture their approach and understanding of design research. Finally, building on the themes emerging from the documentary analysis and grounded theory study, a hermeneutical circle of interpretation is developed to explore the contextual social and historical structures, practices and cultures shaping the evolution of design research. Based on the findings, a framework titled Navigating Difference has been created to support understanding of design research practice. Navigating Difference represents the experience of design researchers as they navigate the opposing values of design practice and academic research. Addressing research questions framed in terms of 'what could be', design research practice was found to be determined by the embodied interaction of the design researcher with the human situation, drawing on a combination of creativity, intuition and theoretical knowledge. The Navigating Difference framework maps and explicates the range of design research approaches as evidenced in the research interviews and the continued evolution of design research practice as it navigates and addresses design practice and academic research values.
Design Ethnography: An Annotated Bibliography of Past and Present Uses of the Approach
The primary way that anthropologists contribute to the design process is by practicing “design ethnography” during research stages. Design ethnography is a catch-all term used to describe an applied methodology derived from numerous approaches to qualitative analyses. Therefore it is only fitting that design ethnographers are currently debating theories and their methodologies, just as early practitioners of qualitative approaches did (and still do). This annotated bibliography was compiled in an effort to understand the roots of design ethnography and ponder its future. It is comprised of works that directly make mention of the method, as well as other works that may relate to tangential topics.
Deconstructing Design Research
The Design Journal
This paper presents a novel conceptual framework for assessing design research projects. Present-day design research is typified by projects, which traverse disciplinary, methodological, and conceptual boundaries that often have wideranging social, cultural, and economic impact to industry, government bodies, and the wider public. Given design's application in addressing serious issues ranging from antimicrobial resistance to mobility, from ageing to migration it can be difficult to understand and unpick the exact nature and scale of design research and the roles that design researchers and designing (both processes and outcomes) play. The design research conceptual framework has been developed as a communicative tool for illustrating levels of design involvement in a project. The paper highlights the design input involved in current design research and provides a comparative measure of design's role in a wide range of projects that fall under the umbrella term of "design research" in the UK.