Doing Research in Design

by Crouch, Christopher; Pearce, Jane

• ISBN13: 9781847885791
• ISBN10: 1847885799
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-05-08
• Publisher: Berg Pub Ltd

Summary

Doing Research in Design presents new ways of thinking about the relationship between design and research by positioning design as a social as well as a material practice. This approach emphasises the social consequences of design decisions as well as the importance of the efficient functioning of a design. Doing Research in Design argues that design promotes social change and that, in order to understand that change, designers must turn to social science research methods. The book outlines the relationships between thinking and doing in design - and makes explicit links between design, research, philosophy and sociology - and then examines four central social research methodologies in practice. The aim of Doing Research in Design is to provide anyone involved in the field of design with the knowledge and understanding of the best methods to plan and conduct their research.

Author Biography

Christopher Crouch coordinates Higher Degrees by Research in the School of Communications and Arts at Edith Cowan University, Australia, and is Professor in the School of Art and Design, Southwest University, Chongqing, China. He is author of Modernism in Art, Design and Architecture and editor of Subjectivity, Creativity and the Institution, and Contemporary Chinese Visual Culture: Tradition, Modernity and Globalisation. Jane Pearce is Senior Lecturer in Education at Murdoch University, Australia, and author of Identity and Pedagogy: Critical Reflections on Teaching in a University.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. vii
Introduction	p. ix
The Purpose of this Book	p. ix
How this Book Is Structured	p. xiii
How to Use this Book	p. xiv
Positioning the Designer	p. 1
What the Designer Does	p. 1
The Context of Designing	p. 6
What Do Designers and Researchers Do? Thinking, Doing and Researching	p. 15
Initiating Change	p. 17
Thinking about Questions, Problems and Solutions	p. 19
Wicked Problems	p. 24
Collaborative Designing and Research	p. 27
Thinking about Research	p. 30
Practice and Praxis, Reflection and Reflexivity	p. 33
Practice	p. 34
Praxis	p. 39
Reflection	p. 44
Reflexivity	p. 47
Thinking about Research: Methodology	p. 53
What Is a Research Methodology?	p. 53
What Is a Research Position?	p. 54
Theoretical Lenses for Research	p. 59
Methodologies for Research in Design	p. 62
Conclusion: From Methodology to Methods	p. 63
Questions for Reflection	p. 65
Doing Research: From Methodologies to Methods	p. 67
Identifying a Research Purpose	p. 67
Quantitative and Qualitative Research	p. 68
Ethical Research Practices	p. 75
Framing a Research Question: Narrowing Down and Opening Up	p. 76
In the Picture: Ethnography and Observation	p. 83
What Is Ethnography?	p. 83
Methodological Concerns	p. 86
New Ethnographies	p. 90
Methods in Ethnographic Research: Observation	p. 92
Ethnography for Research in Design	p. 97
Questions for Reflection	p. 99
Conclusion	p. 101
Understanding through Story: Narratives	p. 103
What Is Narrative?	p. 103
Narratives in Research	p. 105
Narratives for Research in Design	p. 106
Methods in Narrative Research: Interviewing	p. 112
Sketches of Research Projects Using Narrative	p. 117
Questions for Reflection: Narrative	p. 118
Conclusion	p. 120
Using Case Studies and Mixed Methods	p. 123
What Is Case Study Research?	p. 123
The Logo Project: A Case Study	p. 126
Methodological Choices in Case Study Research	p. 128
Survey Research	p. 131
Sketches of Research Projects Using a Case Study Approach	p. 138
Conclusion	p. 141
Action Research	p. 143
What Is Action Research?	p. 143
Action Research and Design Praxis	p. 146
Practical Action Research: Anusha's Project	p. 147
Participatory Action Research: Urban Playground	p. 151
Sketch of a Research Project Using Action Research	p. 156
Questions for Reflection	p. 156
Conclusion: Action Research and Design Practice	p. 157
Writing about Research	p. 159
Writing as Part of the Research Process	p. 159
The Purpose of Reporting Research	p. 161
The Forms of Academic Writing	p. 163
Representing Data Visually	p. 171
Conclusion	p. 174
References	p. 175
Index	p. 181
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