1、Introduction to Design Research: a Methodological Background for Scientific Work,Elena Paslaru BontasSemantic Web PhD Network Berlin Brandenburg30.09.2005,Outline,Motivation Types of research Design Research Basics Evaluation in Design Research Conclusion,Motivation,Motivation for research: pure res
2、earch: enhance understanding of phenomena instrumentalist research: a problem needs a solution applied research: a solution needs application fieldsMotivation for research methodology (qualitatively) control research process validate research results compare research approaches respect rules of good
3、 scientific practice,Research: A Definition,Research: an activity that contributes to the understanding of a phenomenon Kuhn, 1962; Lakatos, 1978 phenomenon: a set of behaviors of some entity(ies) that is found interesting by a research community understanding: knowledge that allows prediction of th
4、e behavior of some aspect of the phenomenon activities considered appropriate to the production of understanding (knowledge) are the research methods and techniques of a research community paradigmatic vs multi-paradigmatic communities (agreement on phenomena of interest and research methods),Scient
5、ific Disciplines,Types of research Simon, 1996: natural sciences: phenomena occurring in the world (nature or society) design sciences sciences of the artificial: all or part of the phenomena may be created artificially studies artificial objects or phenomena designed to meet certain goals social sc
6、iences: structural level processes of a social system and its impact on social processes and social organization behavioural sciences: the decision processes and communication strategies within and between organisms in a social system,Owen,1997,activities,phenomena,design sciences,Semantic Web(CS),D
7、esign research basics,Process model Artifact types: result of the research work Artifact structure content of the research approach Evaluation: evaluation criteria evaluation approach,Process model,a problem-solving paradigm: seeks to create innovations that define the ideas, practices, technical ca
8、pabilities, and products through which the analysis, design, implementation, and use of information systems can be effectively and efficiently accomplished Tsichritzis 1997; Denning 1997,Takeda,1990,Awareness ofproblem,Suggestion,Development,Conclusion,Evaluation,abduction,deduction,+ operation and
9、goal knowledge,circumscription,knowledge flows,process steps,logical formalism,Design research process,Artifacts,are not exempt from natural laws or behavioral theories artifacts rely on existing “kernel theories“ that are applied, tested, modified, and extended through the experience, creativity, i
10、ntuition, and problem solving capabilities of the researcher Walls et al. 1992; Markus et al. 2002,Design research outputs March & Smith, 1995,Constructs conceptual vocabulary of a problem/solution domain Methods algorithms and practices to perform a specific task Models a set of propositions or sta
11、tements expressing relationships among constructs abstractions and representations Instantiations constitute the realization of constructs, models and methods in a working system implemented and prototype systems Better theories artifact construction,Thesis output,Design research outputs,emergent th
12、eory about embedded phenomena,knowledge as operational principles,artifact as situated implementation,abstraction,abstraction,abstraction,constructs better theories models,instatiations methods constructs,models methods constructs better theories,Purao , 2002,Examples,Open up a new area Provide a un
13、ifying framework Resolve a long-standing question Thoroughly explore an area Contradict existing knowledge Experimentally validate a theory Produce an ambitious system Provide empirical data Derive superior algorithms Develop new methodology Develop a new tool Produce a negative result,Artifact stru
14、cture,Structure of the artifact the information space the artifact spans basis for deducing all required information about the artifact determines the configurational characteristics necessary to enable the evaluation of the artifact,Content of the thesis,Evaluation criteria,Evaluation criteria the
15、dimensions of the information space which are relevant for determining the utility of the artifact can differ on the purpose of the evaluation,Test cases,Evaluation approach,Evaluation approach the procedure how to practically test an artifact defines all roles concerned with the assessment and the
16、way of handling the evaluation result is a decision whether or not the artifact meets the evaluation criteria based on the available information.,Testing method,Evaluation approach (2),Quantative evaluation: originally developed in the natural sciences to study natural phenomena approaches: survey m
17、ethods laboratory experiments formal methods (e.g. econometrics) numerical methods (e.g. mathematical modeling),Evaluation approach (3),Qualitative evaluation: developed in the social sciences to enable researchers to study social and cultural phenomena approaches: action research case study researc
18、h ethnography grounded theory qualitative data sources: observation and participant observation (fieldwork) interviews and questionnaires documents and texts the researchers impressions and reactions,Constructs,Methods,Models,Instantiations,Conclusion,Good research results require a careful design o
19、f the research methodology and considerable evaluation efforts,References,DFG Rules of Good Scientific Practice“ available at www.dfg.de, last seen September 2005 Tsichritzis, D. “The Dynamics of Innovation,“ Beyond Calculation: The Next Fifty Years of Computing, Copernicus, 1997, pp. 259-265 Dennin
20、g, P.J. “A New Social Contract for Research,“ Communications of the ACM (40:2), February 1997, pp. 132-134 Simon, H.A. The Sciences of the Artificial, 3rd Edition, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1996 Markus, M.L., Majchrzak, A., and Gasser, L., “A Design Theory for Systems that Support Emergent Knowledge
21、 Processes,“ MIS Quarterly (26:3), September, 2002, pp. 179-212 Walls, J.G., Widmeyer, G.R., and El Sawy, O.A. “Building an Information System Design Theory for Vigilant EIS,“ Information Systems Research (3:1), March 1992, pp. 36-59 Kuhn, T.S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 3rd Edition, U
22、niversity of Chicago Press, 1996 March, S.T. and Smith, G. “Design and Natural Science Research on Information Technology,” Decision Support Systems (15:4), December 1995, pp. 251-266 Lakatos, I. The Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes“, John Worral and Gregory Currie, Eds., Cambridge, Cam
23、bridge University Press, 1978 Wikipedia available at www.wikipedia.org, last seen Semptember 2005 Purao, S. “Design Research in the Technology of Information Systems: Truth or Dare.” GSU Department of CIS Working Paper. Atlanta, 2002,Danke fr die Aufmerksamkeit Viel Erfolg fr die Promotion paslaruinf.fu-berlin.de,
