Clarifying Design-Based Research

This post has two objectives. First, I will identify an area of Design-Based Research (DBR) that I am still finding a little confusing. And second, I will share a concept map that I created to represent some of my current understanding of DBR.

I am finding DBR, or Educational Design Research (EDR), to be a particularly useful methodology for addressing educational issues. However, one aspect of DBR that is still a bit muddy for me is the way some DBR studies end up with a list of design principles that are intended to be applied to other research or to the development of other programs or interventions. Generating a list of design principles as a result of a DBR study ends up feeling like a bit of a leap to me. I like the DBR process of identifying a an educational problem, creating a professional development (or other intervention) program based on the literature and known design principles, and then implementing and revising through an iterative process. My confusion comes when the researcher then generates design principles from the results of the study with the expectation that those principles could be generalized.


easel.ly

Above is the concept map I created (using easel.ly) to represent some of my learning from this module. All of the reading that we did for this module indicated a few basic phases of the DBR process. The phases include analyzing a practical problem, developing a potential solution based on existing principles, engaging in an iterative process of refinement, and then reflecting on the process in order to generate new design principles which might be generalized (McKenney and Reeves, 2012). I chose to use a path design for my concept map because the literature is very clear about the steps involved in the DBR process. The two studies that I reviewed both followed the process outlined by the authors of each of our textbooks. Also, the studies presented in in the VoiceThreads of my classmates followed the same basic steps. Upcoming readings in our texts will dive deeper into each of the phases of DBR. But for now, I am feeling good about my level of understanding of this methodology.

My learning really focused on the iterative process of design, trial, feedback, revision, and more trials. I fear that I have overlooked that phase too frequently in my career so far. The impact of this module will be a change in my approach to my next professional development design project. I intend to highlight an iterative process that I think will lead to a higher quality product than I would have gotten otherwise.

McKenney, S. E., & Reeves, T. C. (2012). Conducting educational design research. New York: Routledge.