Syllabus

LEARNING OUTCOMES

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Discuss the implications of epistemological and methodological decisions on research processes and outcomes;
• Explain the relationships between design practice, research-driven exploratory design, and academic design research;
• Apply selected research methods (including appropriate data collection and data analysis methods) suitable for a variety of design research tasks;
• Reflect on the appropriateness of diverse research methods for addressing intended research questions.

Credits: 4

Schedule: 24.02.2025 - 12.05.2025

Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):

Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Martina Caic, Andrea Botero Cabrera

Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):

CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period):

Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):

Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: English

CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD

Content

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  In this course, students learn to understand a range of various relationships between design practice, research-driven exploratory design, and academic research. They become familiar with different orientations within design research and gain basic knowledge to independently deepen their competence. Orientations include collaborative design, practice-led design, design management, design leadership, material-driven design, more-than-human design, and design for sustainability. Following this theoretical introduction, students experientially learn using a selection of design research methods relevant to their field of inquiry and master's thesis.

  Design Research is one of the four compulsory courses for all the master's students at the Department of Design. The students are expected to take it during their 1st study year, and the course needs to be completed before starting the master's thesis.  There are two alternative paths to complete this course: attendance or independently. The 1st year students select the 'Participation in Teaching' path. The independent study path is meant for the 2nd (or further) year students who have not yet taken the Design Research course.

Assessment Methods and Criteria

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Passing of the course requires attending and participating in contact teaching sessions and completing of course assignments. 

Workload

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Full attendance in contact teaching is mandatory. Alternatively, the 2nd (or further) year student can select a remote study path and work independently to complete the given assignments.

  4 ECTS is equal to a 108-hour workload:

  • 28h contact teaching
  • 61h Independent study  
  • 18h Personal reflection 
  • 1h Course evaluation

DETAILS

Study Material

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Online videos and reading materials are provided in MyCourses.

   

Substitutes for Courses

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Substitutes for Courses

Prerequisites

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Prerequisites

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further Information

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Teaching Language: English

  Teaching Period: 2024-2025 Spring IV - V
  2025-2026 Spring IV - V

  Registration:

  Registration in Sisu. Minimum 5, maximum 120 students.

  Priority order to courses is according to the order of priority decided by the Academic committee for School of Arts, Design and Architecture https//www.aalto.fi/en/services/registering-to-courses-and-the-order-of-priority-at-aalto-arts    

Description