what is research by design? some pointers
DESCRIPTION
This presentation was prepared for the course 'Methodology for Urbanism' at the faculty of Architecture of the Delft University of Technology. It builds on the ideas of Biggs and Buchler (2008) about Practice based research (PbR) and tries to understand and explain "research by design" at TU Delft. We consider that there are several problems with "research by design". The main problem is the lack of common definition. Each researcher/designer seems to use the expression in a different way. This makes it impossible to convey ideas about research by design to an external audience. Students also face problems, because they are generally unable to explain the actions or steps connected to research by design. The beginning of the process is particularly difficult: does research by design tackle an assignment coming from somewhere else? Is there an initial question to be answered? What does you want to "know" when you do research by design?TRANSCRIPT
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
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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