David Balkwill's comments about students missing the point of their 
task, which is designing not drawing, is very relevant to research and 
doctoral studies. One of the key issues to be resolved in any 
"practice-led" project is how the quality and validity of the methods 
are to be made clear and we have to work on making explicit how any 
practical work is part of a process of exploration and reasoning 
directed towards the research  aims.

This does not apply only to what we think of as "practice-led" research* 
in design. I remember a design management PhD which had the aim of 
developing a systematic approach to a particular problem. The 
conclusions of the work were embodied in a complex diagram and the 
student made a good case for his method which included working through a 
series of such diagrams to evaluate possible scenarios. Unfortunately 
the thesis contained only two diagrams - the first tentative proposition 
and the last, fully resolved operational method.

In the examination, he was asked whether he had a collection of working 
sketches/diagrams that showed how he had worked through the problem. His 
reply was that yes he did "but I wanted to show you the best one."

Luckily he still had all the working material, his revised thesis 
included a selection of the working diagrams which showed very clearly 
how he had examined and tested the possibilities, forming a vital part 
of the validation of the conclusions.

This is not just about "showing your stuff". Or rather the act of 
showing your stuff is to do with being aware of your methods, the need 
to attend to and demonstrate quality of execution (of the research not 
the drawing etc) and being clear about where your conclusions have come 
from. In a PhD the conclusions are less important than the process since 
you are being examined on your ability to conduct research rather than 
the significance or intrinsic persuasiveness of your contribution. By 
extension, your conclusions must draw together the story of how your 
process has worked to deliver that conclusion.

*I use the quotations around "practice-led" because I feel that the term 
is no longer valid or necessary but I realise that some of us are still 
attached to it

Best wishes from Sheffield
Chris

............................o^o
Professor Chris Rust
Head of Art and Design Research Centre
Sheffield Hallam University, S1 2NU, UK
+44 114 225 6772
[log in to unmask]
www.chrisrust.net

Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the 
future of the human race. - H. G. Wells