Abstract
This paper distinguishes between inquiry and research as activities increasingly important to the design community but often confused. Based on a review of material published in the journal Design Issues during the past twenty years, it describes an emerging culture of inquiry that compliments the research culture of design now well established within the global design community. The author argues that both are essential for the development of a diverse, relevant and respected design presence in the contemporary world. Research is an activity directed to the solution of specific problems or the refinement of data and knowledge in discrete identifiable areas of concern. Inquiry deals with the ongoing conversation about principles and purposes informing design action. While inextricably linked to research, this paper suggests inquiry constitutes a separate kind of activity directed not at specific or contingent design problems but general questions of motivation and purpose.
Citation
Doordan, D. (2004) Inquiry and Research in Design: A Contribution to the Mapping of the Discipline's Development., in Redmond, J., Durling, D. and de Bono, A (eds.), Futureground - DRS International Conference 2004, 17-21 November, Melbourne, Australia. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2004/researchpapers/206
Inquiry and Research in Design: A Contribution to the Mapping of the Discipline's Development.
This paper distinguishes between inquiry and research as activities increasingly important to the design community but often confused. Based on a review of material published in the journal Design Issues during the past twenty years, it describes an emerging culture of inquiry that compliments the research culture of design now well established within the global design community. The author argues that both are essential for the development of a diverse, relevant and respected design presence in the contemporary world. Research is an activity directed to the solution of specific problems or the refinement of data and knowledge in discrete identifiable areas of concern. Inquiry deals with the ongoing conversation about principles and purposes informing design action. While inextricably linked to research, this paper suggests inquiry constitutes a separate kind of activity directed not at specific or contingent design problems but general questions of motivation and purpose.