DSN201 - 1. Introduction
Introduction
This course unit provides an overview of research practices in design, art, and creation, with the aim of achieving two pedagogical objectives. The first is to contextualize the involvement of design, art, or creative practice in research, and to develop a research approach through these practices. The second is to provide resources (knowledge, tools, methodologies, networks, etc.) useful for research grounded in practice, and to enable the autonomous development of resources needed for research practice.
This course unit therefore aims to introduce practitioners to research through their own practice. It specifically targets professionals whose work is part of a creative process (artistic, cultural, scientific and technical, ideation, etc.) in both manual and technical domains, as well as project-based fields, who wish to enhance their professional practice through research work.
It is structured around a series of lectures, discussions, and a research methodology seminar in design and creation. Discussion and exchange are the desired qualities of this course.
Targeted competencies
- Understanding the stakes of research practice in design, art, and creation,
- Arguing for the potential contribution of practice to a research project,
- Arguing for the potential contribution of a research project to the development of practice,
- Proposing a research project through a determined practice,
- Knowing and using relevant resources to be supported in carrying out the research project.
The development of these competencies will obviously be based on the learner’s own practice (present or past). While offering a relevant overall approach to research in design, arts, and creation, the learner will have acquired it primarily through their own professional or study experience.
Teaching methods
The teaching methods used for this course unit are:
- lectures (attendance required) providing theoretical and methodological foundations,
- collective or individual tutorials based on the complementarity of practices brought by the learners,
- participation in the research methodology seminar in design and creation.
Deliverables
Research proposal: The research proposal is a 3-4 page document that argues the relevance and structure of a potential doctoral research project. The objective for the learner is to write a document that can serve as an initial step in building a doctoral research project.
Reflection report: The reflection report is a reflexive document on the content and exercise of the course. It should be a maximum of 1 page. Its purpose is not to describe what happened, but to express what one retains from it and what will potentially impact future practices. Thus, this report should question what was learned, the difference between what was expected and what actually occurred, and finally what will remain once the details of the course are forgotten. Consideration of the seminar is required.
References
Berger, E., & Lévy, P. (2021). Je, nous, ils·elles : le·la designer, ses collectifs et les écosystèmes de conception. Sciences du Design, 13(1), 10–15. https://doi.org/10.3917/sdd.013.0010
Findeli, A. (2015). La recherche-projet en design et la question de la question de recherche : Essai de clarification conceptuelle. Sciences du Design, 1(1), 45–57. https://doi.org/10.3917/sdd.001.0045
Findeli, A., & Coste, A. (2007). De la recherche-création à la recherche-projet : Un cadre théorique et méthodologique pour la recherche architecturale. Recherches en Design, 1, 23–38.
Gaver, B., & Bowers, J. (2012). Annotated portfolios. Interactions, 19(4), 40–49. https://doi.org/10.1145/2212877.2212889
Koskinen, I., Zimmerman, J., Binder, T., Redström, J., & Wensveen, S. A. G. (2011). Design research through practice: From the lab, field, and showroom. Morgan Kaufmann.
Lévy, P. (2018). The beauty of making hot chocolate – An inquiry on designing for everyday rituals. Proceedings of the Design Research Society 2018 (DRS2018). https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2018.514
Overbeeke, K. (2007). The aesthetics of the impossible [Leçon inaugurale]. Eindhoven University of Technology.
Redström, J. (2017). Making design theory. MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/11160.001.0001
Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Basic Books.
Wertz, F. J., Charmaz, K., McMullen, L. M., Josselson, R., Anderson, R., & Goodwin, E. (2011). Five ways of doing qualitative analysis: Phenomenological psychology, grounded theory, discourse analysis, narrative research, and intuitive inquiry. Guilford Press.
van der Zwan, S., Smith, M. L., Bruineberg, J., Lévy, P., & Hummels, C. (2020). Philosophy at work: Postphenomenology as a generative lens in design research and practice. Proceedings of DRS 2020. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2020.337