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A phenomenographic study of students’ conceptions of design research, and their experiences of formal research procedures and the design process
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Type
Thesis
Author
Yeo, Jesvin Puay Hwa
Supervisor
Koh, Caroline
Chye, Stefanie Yen Leng
Abstract
Knowing the different ways of doing research is important in the academic world, as it is one of the fundamental skills of the higher education (Heller, 1998). While contributing to knowledge of research, many studies have investigated research processes and researchers’ experiences (e.g. Akerlind, 2008; Brew, 2001). To date, there have been well-established studies conducted with elite researchers’ conceptions of research and at postgraduate level, particularly in the Western context. However, the ways in which research is experienced at undergraduate level have seldom generated sufficient interest to warrant investigations, and even less so from an Asian academic perspective. Furthermore, several authors have highlighted the accrued need to formalise research procedures in tertiary education, especially in the disciplines of art and design (Mimoso, 2011; Yee, 2010). Establishing the argument, Papastergiardis (2002) posited that any genuine research culture laid on the structure of research involved proper procedures of formal research. Yet, the questions of how, and what aspects of research could play formative roles in design processes, have rarely been investigated in the creative fields of art and design.
This study therefore, aims at identifying the different conceptions that visual communication undergraduate students have of design research, in view of understanding the roles of formal research procedures operating within their design and research activities. It attempts to discern what kinds of knowledge can be appropriately applied to facilitate the teaching of design research in visual communication programmes. To achieve this purpose, the following research questions were formulated:
1. What are visual communication students’ conceptions of design research?
2. What are visual communication students’ conceptions of the role of formal research procedures within their design processes?
This study adopts the use of discursive phenomenography as a viable qualitative approach because it is about understanding the conceptions and experiences rather than finding the causes of why people thought differently about the same phenomenon. The data collection consisted of 28 focus group interviews with a sample of 30 undergraduate students from the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. For Research Question 1, the data analysis of the students’ interview responses gave rise to four categories of conception: Process-focused Experience, Knowledge, and Skills focused Experience, Socially-focused Experience, and Self-Awareness focused Experience. Each category was presented according to three themes that denoted critical conceptions directly related to design research: Learning Experience; Decision Making; and Personal Growth. The findings of Research Question 2 showed two categories of conception on the role of formal research procedure (FRP): Role of FRP in formalising design process, and Role of FRP in supporting design process, along with two critical themes of the phenomenon: Benefits of formal research procedures, and Limitations of formal research procedures. Relating to the ideas and issues arising in the literature, the research results established an early step in understanding one aspect of the collective conceptions of design research and formal research procedures in visual communication design. The findings are of high interest values to design educators who seek to know more about design research, in order to equip design students with the relevant skills contributing to the field of design. Last but not least, propositions from this study have initiated contemporary scholarly dialogues in design research, formal research procedures and undergraduate research in higher education, particularly from Asian research contexts.
This study therefore, aims at identifying the different conceptions that visual communication undergraduate students have of design research, in view of understanding the roles of formal research procedures operating within their design and research activities. It attempts to discern what kinds of knowledge can be appropriately applied to facilitate the teaching of design research in visual communication programmes. To achieve this purpose, the following research questions were formulated:
1. What are visual communication students’ conceptions of design research?
2. What are visual communication students’ conceptions of the role of formal research procedures within their design processes?
This study adopts the use of discursive phenomenography as a viable qualitative approach because it is about understanding the conceptions and experiences rather than finding the causes of why people thought differently about the same phenomenon. The data collection consisted of 28 focus group interviews with a sample of 30 undergraduate students from the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. For Research Question 1, the data analysis of the students’ interview responses gave rise to four categories of conception: Process-focused Experience, Knowledge, and Skills focused Experience, Socially-focused Experience, and Self-Awareness focused Experience. Each category was presented according to three themes that denoted critical conceptions directly related to design research: Learning Experience; Decision Making; and Personal Growth. The findings of Research Question 2 showed two categories of conception on the role of formal research procedure (FRP): Role of FRP in formalising design process, and Role of FRP in supporting design process, along with two critical themes of the phenomenon: Benefits of formal research procedures, and Limitations of formal research procedures. Relating to the ideas and issues arising in the literature, the research results established an early step in understanding one aspect of the collective conceptions of design research and formal research procedures in visual communication design. The findings are of high interest values to design educators who seek to know more about design research, in order to equip design students with the relevant skills contributing to the field of design. Last but not least, propositions from this study have initiated contemporary scholarly dialogues in design research, formal research procedures and undergraduate research in higher education, particularly from Asian research contexts.
Date Issued
2017
Call Number
H62 Yeo
Date Submitted
2017