Design-Based Research
08 August 2024
Introduction to Design-Based Research
Design-based research is the relationship between researching, designing, and engineering. Design-based research involves literature review, theory generation, evaluation, data collection, and analysis. When conducting design-based research, the researcher selects or creates a theory. The researcher then examines relevant literature and/or patents to determine the value of the research in order to determine if the research has already been conducted or relevant results found thus far relating to the problem being researched.
Phases of Design-Based Research
Design-based research is grounded in relevant theory, literature, and practice in order to develop future innovations and designs. Design-based research also includes an iterative cycle of design, implementation, analysis and redesign. Some of the important phases of design-based research are:
1. background research
2. set initial goals and develop initial plan
3. design specific experiments
4. team members
5. execute the research
6. analyze the data
7. redefine research plans and designs
8. report findings
9. validate the design.
1. Background research
The first step in design-based research is to thoroughly investigate the literature from multiple resources. Some of the relevant resources depends upon the project, and can include journal publications, research reports, conference proceedings, technical reports, articles, and databases. Many researchers and companies tend to skip this step because they think that they do not have enough time to complete this. This step is critical, and can save a lot of time, effort, and money spent in the long run.
By reviewing the literature, researchers can gain an understanding of what research has already had been conducted, what current theories exist, and gain different insights. This allows the research to immediately create more well-defined and focused theories, and allows them to reduce or eliminate experiments that already have been conducted in the literature.
2. Set goals and develop initial plan
Based upon the literature review and previous observed results, goals with an initial plan should be developed. Setting reasonable goals promotes rigor and discipline in obtaining the correct results. A plan must be formulated to achieve the desired research goals. The plan should contain descriptions of the research phases, the types of design, the team members, research methods, and other relevant factors for the design.
3. Design specific experiments
After the overall goals and initial plan have been formulated, specific experiments need to be planned and formulated. The experimental design can consist of changing one variable at a time, a design of experiments (DOE), or a mechanical redesign and testing. The experiments should be carefully planned out to encompass the entire range with the specific outputs that the researcher wants to control or gain information about.
4. Team members
After the specific experiments have been defined, the team members required for plan execution should be defined. All participants should work closely as co-constructors of the design. In order to collaborate successfully, all efforts and coordination of resources is necessary to execute the required experiments for the new design.
5. Redefine research plans and designs
An iterative approach should be taken to definitively define the ultimate design and research goals. Researchers may use a combination of the experimental results obtain combined with a reexamination the literature to refine design activities and goals.
6. Report findings
Design-based research reports include a purpose, background, goals, description, setting and processes, outcomes and principles. The purpose and goals section summarize relevant literature or other resources, states the design purpose, and specifies the goals and innovations of the design. An in-depth description should be created for the design origin and source, and how the goals can be achieved through it. Findings are summarized in the conclusion section, supported by observed results, and data analysis.
7. Validate the design
The methods used and innovations introduced to support the theory and goals of the design must be verified. This can be done by conducting additional experiments and/or applying the newly created theories to a system of interest. The results should be tested in order to confirm the theory universality to the system of interest. This also may illustrate areas that need to be further tested or refined by further research, design, and analysis.
This step often leads to the return to step one to further research and test theories in order to create a better end result. Once the ideal end result has been obtained, this iterative loop can cease, and the research/design had been completed.
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