(Journal Artifact) Experiments all the way: Diagrams of dialectics between a design research program and experiments
Abstract
This article has been selected for a special issue of the online journal Artifact.
Experiments take various forms, have various purposes, and generate various knowledge, depending on how and when they are integrated into a design research study. In this paper, as reflective (co-) design researchers/practitioners, we exemplify and argue ways in which different experiments can be at the core of a research project throughout the study. As former PhD scholars, with design backgrounds, both of us were engaged in the XLab project (2006), proposing a programmatic approach to experimental design research. This paper reflects our experiences of adapting this approach in PhD studies. Furthermore it exemplifies, discusses, and adds to the understanding of different experiments during a design research (PhD) process. In the paper, we also reprint our two modifications of the original XLab ‘working diagram’ and discuss rationales for adapting this as a part of the research process.
Experiments take various forms, have various purposes, and generate various knowledge, depending on how and when they are integrated into a design research study. In this paper, as reflective (co-) design researchers/practitioners, we exemplify and argue ways in which different experiments can be at the core of a research project throughout the study. As former PhD scholars, with design backgrounds, both of us were engaged in the XLab project (2006), proposing a programmatic approach to experimental design research. This paper reflects our experiences of adapting this approach in PhD studies. Furthermore it exemplifies, discusses, and adds to the understanding of different experiments during a design research (PhD) process. In the paper, we also reprint our two modifications of the original XLab ‘working diagram’ and discuss rationales for adapting this as a part of the research process.