My approach has always been rather different to this. Design students are much more likely to make sense of a topic if it's integrated with their professional goals so we moved towards a system of embedding research in project work and assessing it in the project outcomes.
That means students have to pay more attention to documenting their professional work, including research, and think about research methods relevant to their professional goals. Where it works it works brilliantly, but it does need all tutors to buy in. Otherwise we just end up with a research or contextual studies tutor struggling to operate in a little ghetto.
The Product Design BA/MDes at Sheffield Hallam has some good practice where all students develop a project log book as one of their main outcomes (I'm sure others do similar things). They end up as really beautiful personal publications, not just a diary. These make it much easier for them to recognise what is inquiry, and be much more systematic about describing their experimental work as well as contextual inquiry. The other advantage is these log books are excellent for future employers who can see the designer's thinking in action.
To make this work, you have to get the principle established of assessing the same object from several perspectives, sometimes even assessing the same thing in more than one module of the course. One of my former colleagues used to do a great job at course validation panels where this practice might be questioned by academics from outside design, he brought out a box of matches and showed how it demonstrated communication and typography, ergonomics, manufacturing, materials technology and chemistry, all in one little object
I started to use "critical studies" to indicate the idea of taking a critical approach to your own design practice and using research methods to underpin that approach. Quite hard to get that working, especially if the old lags from art and design history decide that "critical" means something akin to art or literature criticism.
Not sure I have any materials to hand as I'm now retired but if I can find anything useful I'll make it available.
Best wishes from windy Sheffield
.........................Chris RustDriver, Nether Edge [log in to unmask]
> Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2013 11:34:41 +0000
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Research Method (RM) - Information Needed
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> Dear All Members of the List,
>
> I am looking for methods (samples) of evaluating students' understanding of the general research process in "DESIGN" (especially in industrial design). More precisely, I would like to get information as how other RM teachers, around the world, assess their students' understanding from the research process.
>
> Please email me the materials off the list: ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>)
>
> Regards,
>
> Mohammad
>
> Background: Research Method is offered to Master of Industrial Design (MID) students at our university (University of Art). The task for MID Students has two parts: doing a semester-long research project (75%) & taking a written test (25%). For the research part, they are required to do a small research project (Basically around ID-related issues/education) and present the outcome orally to the class and write up a research report. For the written test, they are usually asked to assess a manipulated research proposal to see if both consistencies and inconsistencies can be picked up by them.
>
>
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