STRATEGIES OF INQUIRY FOR DESIGN RESEARCH

Qualitative strategies of inquiry often used in design research are (this list is not meant to be inclusive of all possibilities): ethnography, case studies, performance ethnography, phenomenology, ethnomethodology, historical models, grounded theory, participatory action research, and clinical research. This paper (1) introduces these strategies; (2) focuses on grounded theory and participatory action research describing how they were implemented in design research contexts; and (3) reports how these strategies of inquiry were combined to design projects in several research processes. It is also argued why and in which research circumstances these design projects are considered as strategies of inquiry. Finally, the theoretical foundation for this kind of research process is discussed and two examples are reported: in the first one grounded theory was combined to a design project, and in the second one the design project was combined to participatory action research. 

The results are based on two empirical works. The first one is the review of almost 200 PhD theses in design. The review initiated in 2001 and was concluded in 2004. It was recently updated by the review of several theses published in 2005 and 2006. The second empirical work is a recent doctoral workshop about the methodologies and methods of design research. It was a participative workshop where 11 doctoral candidates collaborated in defining and structuring their research processes.