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Thesis
A Journey of Inquiry: Planning and Reflecting Upon the Design Research Experience
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Jun 2022
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00001119
Abstract
Horst Rittel shook-up the design world with his insistence that designers should not follow a rote, systemic process, as was the guiding principle at that time, when solving for complex problems. These "wicked" problems, as he called them, "could never be subject to a single process of resolution" so the focus should be on the problem itself, not the method (Gram, 2019). Additionally, Nigel Cross has written about designers bringing their perspective and intuition to a project in his collection of writings, Designerly Ways of Knowing (Cross, 2006). In applying that thought to the classroom learning experience, I examined how we, as students, might be more intentional with our research planning to better understand why we choose the methods we choose and, over time, identify a personal process identity. The initial purpose of this study was to explore various project constraints that designers face while doing project research, and how those constraints manifest themselves in the classroom, specifically at the university level. My intention was to create a visual framework that would encourage more thoughtful planning of, and reflection upon, the design research process by allowing students to plot variables of their project on a graphic element, thereby allowing them to see where they were making choices based on the constraints of their project. However, as the research progressed, and I encountered my own set of unexpected constraints, this thesis became more of a reflection upon my own learning experience in the design research journey and an examination into how I could have been more intentional in my own research planning. In the end, I believe, a single graphic tool, at least in the way I envisioned, is not the best way to define a project and its variables. After completing this project, a better way to plan and reflect with intent, I believe, is to dedicate thoughtful time at the beginning of a project to consider the context, wide and narrow, of the problem space (internal and external), the constraints under which the research and design will be conducted (such as resources available to the researcher) and evaluate the best practices for achieving your desired outcome within those parameters, based on your skills and positionality. This might best be achieved through a detailed planning worksheet that challenges you to consider the project through a wider lens than what might be common in the classroom.
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Details
- Title
- A Journey of Inquiry
- Creators
- Susan E. Nyberg
- Contributors
- Raja Y. Schaar (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- vii, 73 pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Architecture, Design, and Urbanism; Design Research; Drexel University; Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design
- Other Identifier
- 991018527003104721