Research into, by and for design

Abstract

Mature theory construction in design research has been hampered by ill-considered ideas. The notion of 'research by design' is such an idea, conflating practice and research in ways that make explicit theory development difficult. This article examines some of the problems associated with the notion of 'research by design'. It also examines the roles of tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge in theory construction, while clarifying the role of explicit knowledge in reflective practice.

Towards Materials for Computational Heirlooms

“…Drawing on Mubin et al's agenda for "sci-fi inspired HCI research" [61], and invoking the notion of research for design [24,26,102], we have tried to accomplish this aim by by exposing visions, requirements, inspirations, and hypotheses to inspire and inform subsequent conceptual, technological, and scientific work. As such, the intention has been to provoke more questions than we have answered: Can we design and make digital artifacts that have enduring and transferable value over the long term?…”

“…Thus, proposing that mechanical wristwatches can be an inspiration for end-user cryptographic key management systems may seem bizarre to some readers. However, this limitation does not subvert our goal, which is to draw on research for design [24,26,102] and explore the intersection of interaction design and fiction, providing a basis and background for design by exposing visions, requirements, inspirations, and hypotheses to inform subsequent conceptual, technological, and scientific work (see [61]). Moreover, through this seemingly bizarre proposal, we wish to make two additional interconnected points.…”

Theoretical Frameworks for the Conceptualization of Graphic Design in Use

“…Ethnographic methods like participatory observation and interviews are best suited to such studies, as they result in thick descriptions of practices. But designers may find it hard to translate such descriptions back into 'implications for design', and so more reactive methods such as research through design (Findeli, Brouillet, Martin, Moineau and Tarrago, 2008;Friedman, 2008) where a prototype plays a role as a probe might be better employed.…”

Carative Factors in the Design Development Process: Towards Understanding Owner–Object Detachment and Promoting Object Longevity

“…It is taking an inductive methodology, that researcher develop theory from the data collected as they proceed (Robson 2001), continuously re-framing and re-orienting their research questions and methods to help build theory (Eisenhardt 1989). It goes through multiple stages of data collection and coding (Robson 2001), combined with analysis to help locate and build the research (Glaser and Strauss 1967), and re-plan the next stage of research to probe and investigate the theory (Friedman 2008).…”