Dear Birger,

Thank you for explaining your position further. Now I have a better understanding of where you are coming from. I agree with what you are saying, but I still stand by my quotes. Do allow me to explain my position further. 

The book that I have written is a textbook. As such it’s meant to introduce students of design to research. It’s not written for experienced researchers and design academics that can operate on a more advanced level, but it is still recommended reading for them as well. I make this clear at the onset of the book. Also, if you have read the book prior to making your dramatic statements about my quotes you would have seen that we also share some common ground as well. 

Now…the issue of the Question.
 
Every student embarking on a research degree is asked one thing at the beginning of his or her studies - What is your research question? Even in Norway, where you are based, this is a standard procedure. I know, because I did my masters degree in Norway and I really hated being asked this thing when I started my degree. What is more, I even made a similar comment as Conklin’s to our research coordinator when I was defending my position at the time. (Note: I was already a professional designer at the time and I was doing the degree while working as a consultant.)

However, over time I learned that unless you are an independent researcher, you would be asked this question - regardless of whether you are planning to do ethnographic research or a grounded theory project. (Note: Both of these research approaches I cover in my book, amongst others. Also, my PhD is in grounded theory so I am very comfortable discussing this approach). 

If you are based in an institution, whether that might be a university or a corporate R&D centre, your line managers will ask you practical or philosophical questions before you start your project. For example, if you say I want to do ethnographic research, you are bound to be asked ‘Why?’. Why do you think that this is the most appropriate research approach for the projects you are working on? There is no other way for you to get ethics approval to proceed; or funding for that matter. As long as you need to report to someone, or ask for authorization to proceed with your research, you will need to have a clear framework of what is it that you are trying to achieve. 

In some cases you can start with a hypothesis rather than a question. For example, that’s how I started my Grounded Theory PhD. But even before I was allowed to start, in my proposal stage I had to answer many questions. 

In either case, once you start your research, your question or hypothesis will change. This is normal and expected. And in my view, you are probably not doing something right if you do not modify your question or hypothesis as you develop your research. That is usually a sign that you are too biased and as a result you are not open to any new findings that might have emerged. 
When I say that questions in design are important, I don’t mean that they are definitive. Even a hypothesis, which is a statement, is not definitive. It is there as an idea waiting to be proven or disproven. 

In any case, do read the book. I think that you will find it useful - if not as a whole, than in some parts. There is no other book of its kind in the market at the moment. Then again, bear in mind that this is only the first edition. I do plan to revise and develop the book further in the future, so I welcome conversations and constructive feedback. 

One more thing… on EBD. 

I read your comment to Don and the court analogy. This is exactly along the lines of the rigour I place when I work on government projects. Currently I am advising one government agency and I can tell you that the thing that bothers them most is whether the decisions that they are making will hold in court or at a public inquiry if they are being called. This is very important given that they spend public funds on large-scale projects of public interest. Their level of accountability is lot higher than that of the corporate sector that spends private funds. This agency has been working with design thinking consultants (they were trying to be innovative) but they are concerned that design thinking on its own is too subjective and the process will not hold to public scrutiny if it comes to that. That is why they are now interested in bringing in evidence-based design research on board so that they can develop solutions based on data that can be independently verified if it comes to that. And by evidence, I don’t mean anything more than the basic definition: “The available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid.” In order for this to be legitimate, this body of facts or information needs to be gathered, documented and analysed in a rigorous manner. Also, I don’t know if you know, but another organization that uses EBD is the United Nations - because they are also required to demonstrate objectivity and accountability for their actions. 

Well, I hope that this clarifies few things. 

Best regards,
Gjoko


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