The Designer's Guide to Doing Research

Organized to follow the workflow of an architect or interior designer, this book will introduce tools for busy practitioners to find and apply research for their design projects. Tools for planning, executing, and ultilizing research will be presented in an easy-follow format along with case studies, sources, and applications. While other books on design research are written by PhD-level researchers for an academic setting, this book will be written in an accessible format specifically for practitioners. With little time, the designers need to readily access information and research to help design the project and boost value for their clients.

Sally Augustin, PhD, is a practicing environmental psychologist, a principal at Design with Science, and the editor of Research Design Connections. She is regularly invited to speak at schools, research institutions, conferences, and on National Public Radio. Sally is the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley). Learn more about using environmental psychology at Sally's websites, www.placecoach.com (for residential applications), www.designwithscience.com (for commercial applications), and www.researchdesignconnections.com.

Cindy Coleman is a design strategist with Gensler and the editor of the Interior Design Handbook of Professional Practice (published by Interior Design magazine and McGraw-Hill). She is an assistant professor in the Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects Department at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a contributing editor to both Interior Design magazine and the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Chicago) journal, Chicago Architect.

Foreword: The Necessity for Research	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction: Before You Do Design Research	p. xi
Research versus Insight	p. xiii
The Research/Design Relationship	p. xiv
Why This Book?	p. xv
Why Research?	p. xvii
Design as Research	p. xviii
Knowing	p. xxii
Thinking and Knowing	p. xxvi
A Scientific Method	p. xxix
Asking the Right Questions	p. xxx
Design Research and Its Influence on the Practice of Design	p. 1
Generalizing Design Thinking	p. 1
Design Research as a Means for Attraction and Retention	p. 3
Design Research as a Means for Social Reform	p. 3
Design Research as a Response to the Need for Design Speed	p. 3
Design Research to Build a Sustainable Knowledge Base	p. 4
Design Research to Gain Understanding of Cultural Distinctions	p. 5
Design Research as a Source of Value	p. 6
Core Concepts	p. 6
Endnotes	p. 7
A Story of Practice: Making the Implicit Explicit	p. 8
Researching: Context, Process, General Concepts	p. 19
Economic Context of Design and Research	p. 19
Design Process	p. 22
Research Process	p. 23
"Good" Research	p. 25
Owning the Information	p. 29
Planning and Organizing a Project-Specific Comprehensive Research Plan	p. 30
Overview of Types of Research	p. 32
Differences in Types of Research: Applied or Theoretical	p. 33
Comparing Research Tools	p. 34
Merits of Using Several Different Research Tools to Answer Any Research Question	p. 40
Core Concepts	p. 40
Endnotes	p. 42
What to Learn	p. 43
Informing Design-Related Change	p. 43
Design-Project-Based Information Gathering	p. 46
Social-Science-Based Information Needs	p. 51
Core Concepts	p. 77
Endnotes	p. 78
The Goals of Project Initiation	p. 81
Research for Competitive Advantage	p. 81
Secondary Information	p. 84
Peer-Reviewed Studies	p. 87
Literature Reviews	p. 88
Within-Firm Archival Research	p. 100
Experience Sampling Method	p. 100
Design Charettes	p. 109
Endnotes	p. 113
A Story of Practice: A Research-Based Marketing Strategy	p. 114
The Goals of Investigation	p. 125
Research as a Process of Discovering a Client's Needs	p. 125
Interviews	p. 127
Cognitive Mapping	p. 142
Repertory Grid	p. 144
Annotated Plans	p. 147
Content Analysis-Verbal Material	p. 148
Content Analysis-Visual	p. 152
Surveys	p. 156
Public Parks Survey	p. 173
Endnotes	p. 176
A Story of Practice: It Starts with Programming	p. 177
The Goals of Integration in Schematic Design	p. 189
How Research Informs the Schematic Design Process	p. 189
Research Shapes Refining the Design Strategy	p. 191
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)	p. 193
Behavior Mapping	p. 196
Observation	p. 199
Space Syntax	p. 217
Social Network Analysis	p. 218
Discussion Groups	p. 218
Space Simulation	p. 228
Experiments	p. 232
A Story of Practice: Schematic Design	p. 236
A Story of Practice: Design Development	p. 244
Endnotes	p. 266
The Goals of Implementation	p. 255
How Research Informs the Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE)	p. 255
Post-Occupancy Evaluations	p. 257
Case Studies	p. 262
A Story of Practice: Post-Occupancy Evaluation	p. 267
Endnotes	p. 290
How to Maintain and Access Research Findings	p. 283
Raw Resources	p. 285
Organizational System	p. 287
Additional Considerations	p. 288
Core Concepts	p. 289
Endnote	p. 292
Conclusion: Doing Design Research	p. 291
Additional Sources of Information for Design Researchers	p. 293
Index	p. 295
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The Designer's Guide to Doing Research Applying Knowledge to Inform Design

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