Dear Andrew,
There are several design journals of the highest quality, and these journals easily equal the rigor and quality of the top journals on the ABS list. Nevertheless, ABS journals specifically address the discipline concerns of business schools, where design journals generally do not do so, not even the best design journals. Further, many ABS journals are highly quantitative in approach and methods, whereas this is not the case for most design journals. Even our most rigorous journals only rarely publish articles noted for serious use of quantitative research methods.
The challenge you face is to persuade ABS to change their journals list to include the appropriate journals by demonstrating the value of design research to the business and management fields.
That said, some design research journals and conferences are distinctly problematic. A colleague of mine who heads a major international consultancy recently reviewed over one hundred journals in design and design research to get a sense of the field for a government-commissioned research project. As an author, this is one of the most highly cited scholars in a specific management field, and a person who also publishes in technology. The verdict rendered on the vast number of our journals was not favorable to our field.
It is vital for us to support and contribute to the best journals, and I'd argue that we ought to promote these journals more widely and effectively than we seem to do.
The recurring argument in our field that journal articles are not as important as artifacts or exhibitions does not help. Creating a robust literature is vital to the growth of any discipline, and a robust research discipline is the foundation for a strong practical profession.
Yours,
Ken
--
Andrew Jackson wrote:
18 months ago, after many years working in university design departments, I
started work in a business school. Soon after I arrived I was dismayed to
find that none of the journals that are appropriate outlets for my research
would be counted in my faculty's submission to the REF (the UK's next
research assessment exercise). Apparently this is because the REF panel for
business and management will only consider publications in journals that
have been included in the Association of Business Schools (ABS) approved
journal rankings.
Whilst I don't object to this in principle, their ranking does not seem to
include a single journal devoted to design research. So, by implication,
either the ABS thinks that design is not part of business and management, or
that the work of design researchers is not of a high enough quality to be
considered in an assessment of business and management research? Both
assumptions are patently incorrect.
As someone who has done work in this area, I wondered what your thoughts
were on this issue?
--
Professor Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | Dean, Faculty of Design | Swinburne University of Technology | Melbourne, Australia | [log in to unmask] | Ph: +61 3 9214 6078 | www.swinburne.edu.au/design
Conference Co-Chair: Doctoral Education in Design - Practice, Knowledge, Vision | Hong Kong Polytechnic University | May 22-25, 2011 | www.sd.polyu.edu.hk/DocEduDesign2011
Fluxus and the Essential Questions of Life | University of Chicago Press | http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?isbn=9780226033594
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