Theme 5: Reflection

I have to admit that after the seminars and the lectures about quantitative and qualitative researches, an attempt to distinguish and analyze a design research felt a little tricky since it all became a mix at one point.

The lecture was centered on one of the examples we had to read in advance, but it was the seminar that helped me grasp via all the discussions we went through as a group.

The design research is an analysis of the use and performance of certain design artifacts and how the gained knowledge can be used for improvements (within the field of the Information Systems in particular). We go with particular topic and ask particular questions. I also perceive it as an outline of the process of collecting data, choosing the right tools for this collection and then going with the right instruments/tools for analyzing the gathered information.

When discussing the possibilities of replicability, what my peers and I concluded was that the broader and more general the conclusions of a research are, the bigger the chances for replicability and vice versa – the more limited they are, the more difficult it gets for a reproduction of the process to be carried out.

The discussion also led to the reassertion of the concept that design research draws attention to something “unknown”. Its methods can be structured around an already existing knowledge as well but only if it is being reshaped in order for new ideas to be derived providing a better and solid material.

It seems that what is fundamental about design research are the different types of behaviors – human and systems one, as this knowledge provides a sense of action and once it is interpreted it makes one to come up with possible solutions or explanations about certain practices.

It also seems that design research depends on a number of factors, main of which are the purpose of the study, the “theoretical” installation, the characteristics and features of the chosen sample for observation and then the resources on hand in terms of time, space, finances.

What I find interesting is that during the process of research over particular issue it can become clear how a design method that can be of use is actually borrowed from a variety of sources. It seems that great part of the methodology is taken from various arts (architecture, sculpture, arts and crafts, cinema, theater) but also from different fields such as technology, economics, sociology etc.

The researcher is free to choose from a set of existing design tools depending on which would be the most convenient one based on the particular situation and its further development and complete visualization (having effectiveness on the project by analyzing all aspects of one complete cycle).

When talking about the structure of the design process I really liked how one of my group members described it as “a freedom for creation” because one has the chance to make changes and adjustments throughout the whole process. The example we used in this case was from Ylva Fernaeus’s research because of the applied changes in terms of space and technical equipment described in her study while aiming at a more adequate outcome.

Based on all the above I would like to conclude that the way I understand a design research is that it is a study that allows a view on how to transform an object (or create a new one) in accordance with the newest technical and technological capabilities, relevant social and cultural challenges and the vital needs of the time.