Enhancing Design Research in the Context of Design Education

Research into design theory and methodology is central to postgraduate design education. It has been widely acknowledged in the literature that a key activity in ensuring the quality of research in the area of design theory and methodology is to put particular emphasis on addressing both technical and social aspects that underpin the socio-technical nature of design research. In addition, this is requisite in linking design theory to design practice. However, explicit research methodologies that take into consideration both of these aspects, as well as explicitly address the issue of linking design theory to design practice, are scarce. The overall aim of this paper is to increase the awareness of stakeholders involved in design research education (e.g., master and doctoral students, faculty, and education planners), of the need to safeguard and assure the credibility and validity of design research outputs. The paper reviews issues and challenges associated with the use of research methodologies in the context of design theory and methodology research. It reports findings from the development, application, and evaluation of a research methodology based on hypothesis testing, action research, and case study research methodologies. Application and evaluation of the methodology showed that the introduced concepts of basis-of-action and course-of-action proved key elements in establishing intellectual frameworks for design research. Conclusions are drawn on the effectiveness of the methodology to address issues and challenges associated with the nature of design research, and on pedagogical benefits that can be gained from its application in postgraduate design research education.