Dear Colleagues,
In relation to the current thread on theory, some of you may wish
copies of an article that I have made available here before on theory
construction in design research. The bibliography is especially useful:
while there are clearly advances in empirical research in design, and
theorizing within the field, some aspects of theory construction remain
useful despite the fact that they are classics -- perhaps because they
are classics. You'll find them cited in the article.
Two interesting notes here are worth considering. The first is that
there may well be important new aspects of theory construction to
consider in an era of interdisciplinary and multimodal research. These
issues sometimes imply theory construction across disciplines or between
levels, a challenge that can raise significant problems. The second is
the importance of understanding how and why we construct theory --
Albert Einstein attributed to David Hume the deep philosophical
understanding that enabled him to move beyond Newton's physics to the
theory of relativity. If Hume's (1711-1776) work could remain valuable
to Einstein (1879-1955) over the distance of a century and a half, the
"classics" of theory construction may remain useful over a recent run of
several decades.
While I hope to publish more on the topic before long, this article and
the bibliography may be useful. If you would like digital copies of the
articles on theory construction in design research noted earlier, please
send me an email at
[log in to unmask]
with the words
Design Theory
in the subject header.
You will receive a PDF version of “Theory Construction in Design
Research. Criteria, Approaches, and Methods” in a return email.
Ken
Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS
Professor
Dean
Swinburne Design
Swinburne University of Technology
Melbourne, Australia
Phone Dean's Office +61 3 9214 6078
Phone Faculty Switchboard +61 3 9214 6755
URL: www.swinburne.edu.au/design
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