Nerd New Experimental Research In Design

Design has long expressed and established itself as an independent research competence – a fact that also companies, institutions and politicians have come to acknowledge. What is still needed, however, is a stronger public platform for design to confidently reflect upon this process and to establish and communicate the specific innovative and experimental dimension of design research. For this reason, BIRD, the Board of International Research in Design, has developed the New Experimental Research in Design / NERD format. The edited conference contributions of twelve young researchers from all over the world provide an impressive and diverse and insightful range of intelligent and inspiring approaches in design research, giving rise to further debate and action in the rapidly evolving field.

Design is inextricably interwoven with all aspects of life and has even produced its own astonishing genre of research. Design research opens up new perspectives of interdisciplinary empiricism, joining with economics, sociology, technology, and philosophy to produce analyses and syntheses that get to the heart of daily life. The twelve contributions from international authors that comprise this book vividly make this case. They cover the relationship between subject and object, animation, all forms of representation, design activism, and many other themes. This book is intended to inspire discussion. Its target reader is anyone seeking to expand their understanding of design, to fundamentally improve their praxis, and to more deeply appreciate life in all of its aspects.

This book presents a new, multidisciplinary perspective on and paradigm for integrative experimental design research. It addresses various perspectives on methods, analysis and overall research approach, and how they can be synthesized to advance understanding of design. It explores the foundations of experimental approaches and their utility in this domain, and brings together analytical approaches to promote an integrated understanding. The book also investigates where these approaches lead to and how they link design research more fully with other disciplines (e.g. psychology, cognition, sociology, computer science, management). Above all, the book emphasizes the integrative nature of design research in terms of the methods, theories, and units of study—from the individual to the organizational level. Although this approach offers many advantages, it has inherently led to a situation in current research practice where methods are diverging and integration between individual, team and organizational understanding is becoming increasingly tenuous, calling for a multidisciplinary and transdiscipinary perspective. Experimental design research thus offers a powerful tool and platform for resolving these challenges. Providing an invaluable resource for the design research community, this book paves the way for the next generation of researchers in the field by bridging methods and methodology. As such, it will especially benefit postgraduate students and researchers in design research, as well as engineering designers.

Design affects all social contexts and is therefore intensively instrumentalized both by the politically powerful and their critics. Both functions of design, and their inevitable combination, are presented in this book in precise detail. Authors from various countries present previously unknown and innovative examples of democratic activities conducted through design. This publication is therefore aimed not only at design professionals but also at the general public of all countries.

Design Research uses scientific methods to evaluate designs and build design theories. This book starts with recognizable questions in Design Research, such as A/B testing, how users learn to operate a device and why computer-generated faces are eerie. Using a broad range of examples, efficient research designs are presented together with statistical models and many visualizations. With the tidy R approach, producing publication-ready statistical reports is straight-forward and even non-programmers can learn this in just one day. Hundreds of illustrations, tables, simulations and models are presented with full R code and data included. Using Bayesian linear models, multi-level models and generalized linear models, an extensive statistical framework is introduced, covering a huge variety of research situations and yet, building on only a handful of basic concepts. Unique solutions to recurring problems are presented, such as psychometric multi-level models, beta regression for rating scales and ExGaussian regression for response times. A “think-first” approach is promoted for model building, as much as the quantitative interpretation of results, stimulating readers to think about data generating processes, as well as rational decision making. New Statistics for Design Researchers: A Bayesian Workflow in Tidy R targets scientists, industrial researchers and students in a range of disciplines, such as Human Factors, Applied Psychology, Communication Science, Industrial Design, Computer Science and Social Robotics. Statistical concepts are introduced in a problem-oriented way and with minimal formalism. Included primers on R and Bayesian statistics provide entry point for all backgrounds. A dedicated chapter on model criticism and comparison is a valuable addition for the seasoned scientist.

An overview of experimental research and methods in public management, and their impact on theory, research practices and substantive knowledge.

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