what is research by design? some pointers

Research by Designor Design by Research?

Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands

University of Hertfordshire, UK

Roberto Rocco, based on Biggs and Buchler (2008)

Looking for parameters to assess academic value in

practice based research

Challenge(the(future

SpatialPlanning&Strategy

What is research? …

RESEARCH is typically defined as a

systematic investigation on a subject

that generally leads to the production of

explicit knowledge adding to the existing

body of knowledge about the subject.

What is Research?

What is research? We assume that academic

research can be done using

traditional and

non-traditional tools.

Traditional forms of research

A scientific method, which is the base of

any traditional form of research,

consists of the collection of data

through observation and

experimentation, and the formulation

and testing of a hypotheses.

Traditional forms of research

TRADITIONAL forms of research include, for

example, the collection, organisation and

analyses of data leading to the

substantiation or disproval of a previously

stated hypothesis. It can also lead to the

discovery of unexpected new models.

Attributes of scientific research:CUDOS

Merton’s Scientific Norms*• Communalism

• Universalism

• Disinterestedness

• Originality

• Skepticism (Organized Skepticism)

* Merton, R. The Normative Structure of Science, 1942

Non-traditional forms of research

•Use of visual media, such as video and photography and new ways of

visualisation and representation

•Use of new technologies (tracking technologies, GIS, 3-D cartography,

real time mapping)

•Experience research (anthropology)

•“Action based” research

Non traditional forms of research…

NON TRADITIONAL forms of research may refer to arts-based or practice-based research, which might be comparable to scientific methods because:

1. They might be conducted in a systematic way aiming at answering a research question, prove or disprove a hypothesis

2. They might lead to new knowledge and add to the existing body of knowledge

Non-traditional forms of research

The contribution of design practice to

academic research can be best

described as a spectrum with two

extreme poles, with a long and variable

combinations between the two.

Non-traditional forms of research

1. Exploratory practice within the traditional

model of academic research

2. Practice as generator of relevant questions

explored within structures provided by

traditional models of academic research

3. Problematic view that claims that design

practice IS academic research

Problems with research by design

Non traditional results (non-textual) that are the outcome of RbD might have the following limitations:

• Incommensurability with traditional results

• Experiential content : it goes against the notion of generalizability or at least transferability of research

• Lack of shared definitions of scientific criteria

Lack of shared criteriaThe question of research by design is CIRCULAR:

If criteria are developed from actual case

studies, it is difficult to subsequently use

those criteria as defining characteristics of

research because they are influenced by the

case studies themselves, which could not

have been filtered without using the criteria.

confusing?

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you cannot know something, if the

criteria you are coming up with come

from that same something.

Circularity in the quest for shared criteria in PbR

Lack of shared criteria with

traditional research

It does not respond to a group of

expanded criteria that is

compatible with, and comparable

to, those held in traditional

forms of research.

Non-explicit knowledgeIf visual representation is not interpreted

(through traditional textual analysis), and

knowledge is not made explicit, we will lack

parameters to judge, asses, use and disseminate

the knowledge produced, especially when it

comes to conveying new knowledge across

different communities of practice.

Back to the basicsTherefore, there is a need to go back to

fundamentals before making claims regarding the

benefits of RbD.

This fundamental approach would ask structural

questions about the essential nature of research,

ensuring that RbD is comparable in rigor and value

to scholarship produced with traditional forms

of research and communication of knowledge.

Specifities of Urban DesignUrban design CAN be subject to scientific evaluation methods (ante-

and post-occupation analysis, environmental impacts, financial feasibility and sustainability, new spatial analysis criteria, like

Space Syntax and Visibility)

Urban design is subject to political and economical parameters (that are not necessarily ‘scientific’)

There is a consistent collection of basic technical rules on urban design (e.g. ideal width of streets, material resistance, optimal

occupation rates of plots, etc).

BUT THIS IS NOT THE POINT

What is the point ?

Can the product of spatial design

(the design itself) be considered

KNOWLEDGE following basic

criteria used in traditional

research?

RbD as sub-group of academic

research

R2P see RbD as a sub-group of academic

research.

This means that it does not need totally new

criteria of assessment, but the existing

criteria for assessing academic research

must be enlarged and interpreted.

UKCGE`s proposalTo broaden the traditional scientific model (formation

and testing of a hypothesis), redefining its general

terms, the UKCGE proposes the following

parameters:

1. The acquisition of relevant data

2. The exercise of critical and analytical skills

3. Sustained and coherent argumentation

4. Clarity in presentation and communication

UK Council for Graduate Education

Hertfordshire Proposal:

necessary and sufficient criteria for academic research

Criterion based assessment

•Dissemination

(Communication + Impact)

•Originality

•Context

Dissemination•Research must influence the actions of others

practioners: The opposite scenario is one where everyone is constantly re-inventing the wheel, which is not effective.

•Research should make generation of knowledge more efficient. By sharing knowledge, we allow the creative energies of co-researchers to be applied to more advanced topics.

•Research is therefore a CUMULATIVE process, even if one rejects the [Modernist] notion of it being progressive.

Communication & Impact

•Research must have a target audience. There is no

guarantee that this audience will recognise the

research as such. However, it is more probable that the

research will impact on the audience if it is

communicated through an effective (oriented) channel.

•The audience is firstly the community of research,

because by sharing knowledge with them we can

maximise the development of the field.

OriginalityResearch must result in something

original that was not known or

interpreted in this way before

Knowledge must be knew for the audience

and not only for the researcher

ContextResearch must be contextualised because

1. By placing outcomes in a critical context,

the researcher contributes to the argument

in defense of originality

2. The researcher makes clear the way in which

the knowledge develops or originates from

existing modes of understanding

Impact and relevance

Knowledge must be disseminated.

Dissemination means not only putting

the work out in the world, but also

doing so in a TARGETED way, so it reaches

an audience for whom it is

CONSEQUENTIAL.

Originality and context

The audience will only recognize originality

if they are familiar with, or are presented

with, a CONTEXT in which originality

becomes apparent.

This context is the theoretical framework

in which research must exist.

Thanks for watching!Any questions? Please write to:Roberto Rocco

Chair spatial planning and strategy

Department of Urbanism

delft university of technology

r.c.rocco@tudelft.nl

presentation based on BIGGS, M. & BUCHLER, D. 2008. Eight Criteria for practice-based research in the creative and cultural industries. Art, Design and Education in Higher Education, 7.

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