ID 304 | Course Introduction and Application Information - Department of Industrial Design

Course Name

Design Research

Code	Semester	Theory (hour/week)	Application/Lab (hour/week)	Local Credits	ECTS
ID 304	Spring	2	2	3	4

Prerequisites	None
Course Language	English
Course Type	Required
Course Level	First Cycle
Mode of Delivery	face to face
Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course	Discussion Group Work Case Study Lecture / Presentation
National Occupation Classification	-
Course Coordinator	-
Course Lecturer(s)	Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Elif KOCABIYIK SAVASTA Öğr. Gör. Gizem SARAÇER
Assistant(s)	-

Course Objectives	This course aims to provide students with research knowledge and skills related to design discipline and profession. It reveals how research can lead and develop the design knowledge and practice.
Learning Outcomes	The students who succeeded in this course; Students will be able to distinguish design research among other research traditions. Students will be able to conduct user-centred design research. Students will be able to identify a research problem related to design discipline and profession. Students will be able to select appropriate design research methods in the way of answering the research problem. Students will be able to collect data systematically by using primary/secondary and qualitative/quantitative research methods. Students will be able to make analysis and synthesis on the findings. Students will be able to communicate their research orally via presentation and in written format via research paper/report and logbook. Students will be able to make research individually and in groups.
Course Description	In this course research is undertaken within the design discipline and profession. Students (individually and in groups) are expected to identify a research problem based on the theme given to them, apply different design research methods, make analysis and synthesis on the findings, write a research paper/report, keep a research logbook, and make presentations about their research.
Related Sustainable Development Goals

Course Category	Core Courses
	Major Area Courses	X
	Supportive Courses
	Media and Management Skills Courses
	Transferable Skill Courses

Week	Subjects	Related Preparation
1	Introduction to the course.	-
2	What is research? The research methods (families, approaches, techniques). Literature search.	Literature search.
3	What is design research? History of research in the design discipline. Design research timeline. Design research among other research traditions. Design research characteristics. Research vs. Practice. Double Diamond model. An overview of research methods used in the design discipline. (Archer, 1999; Bayazıt, 2004; Blaxter et al, 2010; Cross, 2001; Langrish-course notes; Jonas’ article in Michel, 2007; Martin & Hanington, 2012)	Reading and summarizing an article about design research.
4	Identifying a design research problem and its keywords. From a broad topic to a narrowed one. (Booth et al, 2008; Blaxter et al, 2010)	Identifying a design research problem and its keywords.
5	Design Research Methods-1: Ethnography (Diary Studies, Autoethnography, Narratives). Design Research Ethics. (Crouch & Pearce Ch.6-Ch.7, 2012; Ideo Design Research Ethics, 2024)	Portfolio: Diary Studies
6	Design Research Methods-2: Case Study. (Crouch & Pearce Ch.8, 2012; Martin & Hanington, 2012)	HW-1
7	Design Research Methods-3: Case Study, Narratives. (Crouch & Pearce Ch.7-8, 2012; Martin & Hanington, 2012)	HW-2
8	Midterm Week	-
9	Design Research Methods-3: Case Study, Narratives. (Crouch & Pearce Ch.7-8, 2012; Martin & Hanington, 2012)	HW-2 (continued)
10	Design Research Methods-4: Case Study, Narratives, Action Research. (Crouch & Pearce Ch.7-8-9, 2012; Martin & Hanington, 2012)	HW-3
11	National holiday	-
12	Design Research Methods-4: Case Study, Narratives, Action Research. (Crouch & Pearce Ch.7-8-9, 2012; Martin & Hanington, 2012)	HW-3 (continued)
13	Presentation	Preparing Presentation
14	Oral exam and Portfolio	Portfolio: Diary Studies
15	Oral exam and Portfolio (continued)	Portfolio: Diary Studies
16	Semester review	-

Course Notes/Textbooks

Nigan Bayazıt (2004) “Investigating Design: A Review of Forty Years of Design Research”, Design Issues, Vol.20, no.1, pp.16-29. Bruce Archer (1999) On the Methods of Research, Ankara: METU Faculty of Architecture Press. John Z. Langrish, Notes on Writing a Thesis, Lecture Notes. Nigel Cross (2001) “Designerly Ways of Knowing: Design Discipline versus Design Science”, Design Issues, Vol.17, no.3, pp.49-55. Ralf Michel (2007) Design Research Now: Essays and Selected Projects, BIRD, Basel, Boston, Berlin: Birkhauser. Liz Sanders (2008) An Evolving Map of Design Practice and Design Research, ACM Interactions, Vol.XV.6, On Modeling Forum. Liz Sanders & Pieter Jan Stappers (2012) Convivial Toolbox: Generative Research for the Front End of Design, Amsterdam: BIS Publishers. Michiel Schwarz & Diana Krabbendam (2013) Sustainist Design Guide: How Sharing, Localism, Connectedness and Proportionality Are Creating a New Agenda for Social Design, Amsterdam: BIS Publishers. Lara Penin (2018) An Introduction to Service Design: Designing the Invisible, London: Bloomsbury. Bella Martin & Bruce Hanington (2012) Universal Methods of Design, Massachusetts: Rockport. Bruce Hanington (2003) Methods in the Making: A Perspective on the State of Human Research in Design, Design Issues, Vol.19, no.4, pp.9-18. Brenda Laurel (eds.) (2003) Design Research: Methods and Perspectives, Cambridge: MIT Press. Jenn + Ken Visocky O’Grady (2006) A Designer’s Research Manual: Succeed in Design by Knowing your Clients and What They Really Need, Massachusetts: Rockport. Loraine Blaxter, Christina Hughes, and Malcolm Tight (2010) How to Research (4^th edition), Berkshire: Open University Press. Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams (2008) The Craft of Research (3^rd edition), Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Christopher Crouch & Jane Pearce (2012) Doing Research in Design, London: Bloomsbury. Gjoko Muratovski (2016) Research for Designers: A Guide to Methods and Practice, Los Angeles: SAGE. Marc Stickdorn & Jakob Schneider (2011) This is Service Design Thinking, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Marc Stichdorn, Markus Edgar Hormess, Adam Lawrence, Jakob Schneider (2018) This Is Service Design Doing: Applying Service Design Thinking in the Real World, O’Reilly Media Inc.

Suggested Readings/Materials

Alan Bryman (2012) Social Research Methods (4^th edition), Oxford University Press. Gillian Rose (2001) Visual Methodologies, London: Sage Publications. Anthony Dunne & Fiona Raby (2013) Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, And Social Dreaming, London: MIT Press. M. Neil Browne & Stuart M. Keeley (2015) Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking (10^th edition), Pearson Education. IDEO Toolkits (http://www.designkit.org/mindsets). IDEO-The Little Book of Design Research Ethics (2024) (https://lbodre.ideo.com/).

Semester Activities	Number	Weigthing
Participation	1	10
Laboratory / Application
Field Work
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
Portfolio	1	10
Homework / Assignments	1	40
Presentation / Jury	1	20
Project
Seminar / Workshop
Oral Exams	1	20
Midterm
Final Exam
Total

Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade	5	100
Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade
Total

Semester Activities	Number	Duration (Hours)	Workload
Theoretical Course Hours (Including exam week: 16 x total hours)	16	2	32
Laboratory / Application Hours (Including exam week: '.16.' x total hours)	16	2	32
Study Hours Out of Class	12	1	12
Field Work			0
Quizzes / Studio Critiques			0
Portfolio	1	4	4
Homework / Assignments	3	8	24
Presentation / Jury	1	8	8
Project			0
Seminar / Workshop			0
Oral Exam	1	8	8
Midterms			0
Final Exam			0
		Total	120

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Program Competencies/Outcomes

* Contribution Level

1

2

3

4

5

1

To be able to equipped with theoretical and practical knowledge of industrial design, and to apply it to a variety of products, services and systems from conventional industries to urban scale with innovative and sustainable approaches

-

2

To be able to communicate design concepts and proposals for solutions, which are supported with quantitative and qualitative data, to specialists and non-specialists through visual, written, and oral means

X

-

3

To be able to equipped with the related theoretical and methodological knowledge of engineering, management, and visual communication that is required for interdisciplinary characteristic of industrial design; and to collaborate with other disciplines, organizations, or companies

-

4

To be able to equipped with the knowledge of history and theory of design, arts and crafts; and culture of industrial design

-

5

To be able to equipped with social, cultural, economic, environmental, legal, scientific and ethical values in the accumulation, interpretation and/or application of disciplinary information and to employ these values regarding different needs

-

X

-

6

To be able to develop contemporary approaches individually and as a team member to solve today’s problems in the practice of industrial design

-

X

-

7

To be able to define design problems within their contexts and circumstances, and to propose solutions for them within the discipline of industrial design considering materials, production technologies and ergonomics

-

8

To be able to use digital information and communication technologies, physical model making techniques and machinery, at an adequate level to the discipline of industrial design

-

9

To be able to employ design research and methods within the theory and practice of industrial design

-

X

10

To be able to recognize the need and importance of a personal lifelong learning attitude towards their chosen specialization area within the industrial design field

-

11

To be able to collect data in the areas of industrial design and communicate with colleagues in a foreign language ("European Language Portfolio Global Scale", Level B1)

-

12

To be able to speak a second foreign language at a medium level of fluency efficiently

-

13

To be able to relate the knowledge accumulated throughout the human history to their field of expertise

-