Dear Monica,

I agree, but only to a point. Understanding design more generally -- and
understanding design research issues in specific -- is the general point of
this list. Why not simply post all of our ideas about what's useful in
design research and design methods?

One of my professors keeps a neatly organized set of print-outs of different
threads dating back a few years. These more general topics -- including
discussions of key readings on design methods and design research -- appear
in many of the threads I've seen.

I took a bachelor's degree with two majors, one in anthropology and the
other in philosophy. My husband and I moved to the Midwest so he could take
a job, so I interrupted my graduate work. Now, I've started again part time.
Because I work in a design firm while taking graduate work I subscribe to
several discussion lists. In such fields as anthropology and philosophy, a
specific research query calls for a focused answer. If someone asks a
specific question on research methods, a general answer on design methods
readings is a bit presumptsuous. Maryam may find thos books useful.
Nevertheless, research methods are different than design methods, and unless
we are all going to repeat all eaarlier topics every times we post, what
makes a list intellectually rewarding is a serious, focused answer.

When someone who is one of the main voices on a list, she or he ought to be
able to focus. Naturally, a more general or personal answer can always be
sent direct to the person who asked. That's common on many lists, and I
assume from the fact that there were relatively few answers on a list where
many people have them that many people wrote directly to Maryam. At least I
hope they did.

What got me started on this was the fact that the post went beyond even the
general question to begin offering advice on how to succeed in graduate
school.

Design methods is a specific approach to design. There are many reasons one
might wish to ask about consumer analysis methods for design research
without needing to lesrn about design methods as the other half. For anyone
who wishes to use a specific research method WITHOUT reading up on the
design methods movement, that information just isn't relevant. Learning
about a specific method for research doeds not imply the need to combine it
with a specific approach to practice.

It is possible, of course, that there IS a reason to combine them. IMHO,
this requires a clear rationale. Rosan offered the advice that Maryam should
bring these two issues together -- intorducing a new topic without saying
why it had any relation to Maryam's question. Most research methods courses
-- and most conference and journal referees -- ask for a clear explanation
of choices in methods. Rosan suggested that Maryam should rely on a specific
design method without explaining why this should be so in relation to the
specific research method that Maryam asked about.

I hope this explains my answer. I can accept your opinion that Rosan was
justified in offering a general answer, but I respectfully disagree that the
general answer offered the second half. If you feel the need to defend
Rosan's suggestions, it may be that I should explain the reason I criticized
the post.

Cindy



>I would like to suggest, partially in Rosan's defense, that perhpas when
>one is doing research in "consumer analysis for the design purposes" that
>it is important to have an understanding not only of consumer analysis
>research & methodology but also an understanding of design more genearlly,
>to fit the two together. I believe that Rosan's suggestions address this
>half of Maryam's research interests.
>
>Monica Cardella
>Graduate Student, Industrial Engineering
>Research Associate, Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching
>University of Washington

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