Research into, by and for design

Abstract

Mature theory construction in design research has been hampered by ill-considered ideas. The notion of ‘research by design’ is such an idea, conflating practice and research in ways that make explicit theory development difficult. This article examines some of the problems associated with the notion of ‘research by design’. It also examines the roles of tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge in theory construction, while clarifying the role of explicit knowledge in reflective practice.

Keywords:

• Research
• theory construction
• tacit knowledge
• explicit knowledge