Hi Ranulph,
Perhaps worth having a bit more clarity about the difference between a
method and a skill?
Method is a prescription for a way of doing something. A method *is* a
design. Its existence is outside people
Skill is the ability to have a competence at doing something. Skill is a
personally-located competence to do something. Its existence is inside
people. It is only after and separate to the use of the skill that the
consequences of its use appear externally to individuals.
Whether we use methods to guarantee quality is a different issue than
methods themselves.
Best wishes,
Terry
--
Dr Terence Love
PhD (UWA), B.A. (Hons) Engin, PGCE. FDRS, AMIMechE, PMACM, MISI
Director,
Love Services Pty Ltd
PO Box 226, Quinns Rocks Western Australia 6030
Tel: +61 (0)4 3497 5848
Fax:+61 (0)8 9305 7629
[log in to unmask]
--
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ranulph Glanville
Sent: Sunday, 5 January 2014 11:58 AM
To: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related
research in Design
Subject: Next request for text suggestions
Dear List Members,
First, good wishes to all for 2014. I hope that however you celebrated, or
did not celebrate, the Festive Season, you had a good time.
The doctoral students in Innovation Design Engineering at London's Royal
College of Art have greatly appreciated the suggestions for texts that list
members have sent in, and I have found the variety and different views very
helpful and also challenging: it's always good to get beyond of one's own
frame of reference, especially when, as is my case, the reason to teach is
to learn! The list members' willingness to contribute is not only very
generous, but it is, I am convinced, a powerful way of acting as a community
to help further design research, helping each other, and (from my point of
view) the most valid reason for joining the list.
So I'm writing to ask for further suggested texts for the next seminar,
which is on
Ways of doing Research: Design Methods vs Skills Application
What we are getting at is that methods do not just happen: they are
developed and formalised, and they relate to skills and understandings. I go
so far as to claim that method is a means of (aiming to) guarantee rigour,
which of course while allowing us to benefit from the work of others reduces
some of the individual responsibility for acting rigorously from the
researcher. Maybe we need to consider what skills we are aiming to develop
or reflect when we apply methods. It also allows us to discuss the by
practice route, relating it to more traditional routes.
I reckon this is going to be a tricky and challenging seminar!
The program of these research seminars is structured to run in a 3 year
cycle, and with this seminar we reach the half way point. This is the 6th of
the pre-planned sessions: others are left open for students to suggest
themes etc. Of course, they are not the only seminar type, or even taught,
resources we offer our students.
As before, I ask for texts preferably of about 3000 words. I will provide a
database to the PHD Design list with a database of the texts at the end of
the academic year, as I did with last year's suggestions. I am reluctant to
place materials on the web in one location for copyright reasons, even if
this is perhaps a bit old fashioned!
Many thanks, and Best Wishes,
Ranulph
PS, the seminar is on Monday 20, so a response by Monday 13 Jan would really
help!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]> Discussion of PhD
studies and related research in Design Subscribe or Unsubscribe at
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design
Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|