Abstract
In addition to making a contribution to new knowledge, other key requirements for a Ph.D are the application of robust research methods within an appropriate and pre-defined methodology. It is central to any methodology to collect data by various means and from various sources and opportunities exist to undertake this by the researcher engaging in creative professional practice. When considering the application of such methods, it is necessary to ask two key questions: can the process/outcomes supply robust data and does the researcher have the necessary capability as a practitioner to enable generalisations to be made. The latter issue brings into question the need for appropriate supervision, as judgements must be made on the capability of the researcher and quality/relevance of creative output i.e. do their supervisors need expertise in practice? It is also necessary to acknowledge the motivation of visually creative researchers who may have a fundamental desire to continue to engage in practice. Much of the published material in this field focuses on more theoretical positions, with limited use being made of completed thesis that demonstrate or discuss case study examples. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate by exploring the issues of data collection and researcher capability/motivation during what the author defines as ‘researcher-practice’. This is achieved through the use of Ph.D case studies that were either undertaken or supervised by the author in the area of industrial design. Specific examples of researcher-practice focus on the following activities: • The use of output from practice for quantitative data collection (e.g. for comparative analysis) • The use of output from practice for qualitative data collection (e.g. reflecting on new working practices) • The use of practice to progress the development (design) of research output (e.g. designing design tools) The paper concludes by drawing together the strategies employed in the Ph.D’s to identify themes which enables the definition of a generic researcher-practitioner methodology.
Keywords
Practice; industrial design; case study; Ph.D; creative arts
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/eksig2009.105
Citation
Evans, M.(2009) Creative professional practice in methods and methodology: case study examples from Ph.D’s in industrial design, in Niedderer, K., Reilly, L., Roworth-Stokes, S., Smith, C. (eds.), EKSIG 2009: Experiential Knowledge, Method & Methodology, 19 June 2009, London, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/eksig2009.105
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Creative professional practice in methods and methodology: case study examples from Ph.D’s in industrial design
In addition to making a contribution to new knowledge, other key requirements for a Ph.D are the application of robust research methods within an appropriate and pre-defined methodology. It is central to any methodology to collect data by various means and from various sources and opportunities exist to undertake this by the researcher engaging in creative professional practice. When considering the application of such methods, it is necessary to ask two key questions: can the process/outcomes supply robust data and does the researcher have the necessary capability as a practitioner to enable generalisations to be made. The latter issue brings into question the need for appropriate supervision, as judgements must be made on the capability of the researcher and quality/relevance of creative output i.e. do their supervisors need expertise in practice? It is also necessary to acknowledge the motivation of visually creative researchers who may have a fundamental desire to continue to engage in practice. Much of the published material in this field focuses on more theoretical positions, with limited use being made of completed thesis that demonstrate or discuss case study examples. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate by exploring the issues of data collection and researcher capability/motivation during what the author defines as ‘researcher-practice’. This is achieved through the use of Ph.D case studies that were either undertaken or supervised by the author in the area of industrial design. Specific examples of researcher-practice focus on the following activities: • The use of output from practice for quantitative data collection (e.g. for comparative analysis) • The use of output from practice for qualitative data collection (e.g. reflecting on new working practices) • The use of practice to progress the development (design) of research output (e.g. designing design tools) The paper concludes by drawing together the strategies employed in the Ph.D’s to identify themes which enables the definition of a generic researcher-practitioner methodology.