Design Science in TEL in the context of the European Conference on Technology-Enhanced Learning (ECTEL)'s doctoral consortium.

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Design Science
Research for TEL
ECTEL 2021 - Doctoral Consortium
Thanks for inviting me here everyone, especially
Mikhail Fominykh!

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Research Methods - Teaser
It’s not an introduction. It’s not even a 101. Let’s call it a teaser.
Recommended readings:
● An Introduction to Research and Research Methods, University of Bradford, School of Management,
2020.
● Ways of Thinking in Informatics

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Research =
Answer questions systematically
● Emphasizes that method must fit the question - not only quality of
question and of answer, but quality of how answer was reached is
important
● Typically some aspect of novelty is demanded: New question, new
method, new answer
○ Other side of the same coin: Building on prior knowledge is
appreciated. Research is a social and communicative system!

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Different types of research questions
● How is the state of things (explorative, descriptive)?
● Which factors/events are related, why are things happening
(analytical)?
● If x is the case, then what will happen? (predictive)?
● How could we design for a given goal (interventionist,
design-oriented)?
● How can internal (typically human) states be understood and
expressed (creative expression and arts)?
● How should the state of things be (normative, typically related to
human behaviour)?

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Different types of research questions...
● How is the state of things (explorative, descriptive)?
● Which factors/events are related, why are things happening
(analytical)?
● If x is the case, then what will happen? (predictive)?
● How can we design for a given goal (interventionist,
design-oriented)?
● How can internal (typically human) states be understood and
expressed (creative expression and arts)?
● How should the state of things be (normative, typically related to
human behaviour)?
… Necessitate different research methods.

6. to describe
to compare
to evaluate
to explain or
to predict
to design
and develop
what is the achievement of Chinese
grade 8 pupils in mathematics?
what is the achievement in mathematics
of Chinese grade 8 pupils as compared
to that in certain other countries?
what are the strengths and
weaknesses of a certain approach?
what are the causes of poor
performance in mathematics?
what are the characteristics of an effective
teaching and learning strategy aimed at
acquiring certain learning outcomes?
research
function
research question
Plomp, T.
(2013).
Educational
Design
Research: an
Introduction. In
T. Plomp & N.
Nieveen (Eds.),
An introduction
to Educational
Design
Research (pp.
11–50).
Taken with
gratitutde from
Lorena Sousa
out of the
context of the
DETEL DBR
Webinar
https://tinyurl.co
m/26cauk2z

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Back to Design Science
Research

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Design Science Research
● Aims to solve a real-world problem though design.
● Asks a design-oriented research question
● … but could in the process of answering this, also
ask and answer other types of research questions!

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Who does Design Science Research?
● Typical approach in Engineering disciplines,
education, arts.
● Similar words, overlapping but not completely the
same directions of thought and practice:
Design-based research, design-oriented research,
design thinking

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Hevner (2007). A Three Cycle View of Design Science Research. Scandinavian Journal
of Information Systems, Vol. 19, No. 2.

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Design-oriented research: Key elements
Goals: Solve problem of practical relevance, contribute to scientific body
of knowledge
Steps:
● Understanding a problem/question of relevance
● Understanding existing knowledge that is
relevant for solving the problem/answering the question
● Designing an artefact
○ that solves the problem
○ using existing knowledge
○ evaluating this artefact using acknowledged
research methods

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Design-oriented research: Key elements
Goals: Solve problem of practical relevance, contribute to scientific body
of knowledge
Steps:
● Understanding a problem/question of relevance
● Understanding existing knowledge that is
relevant for solving the problem/answering the question
● Designing an artefact
○ that solves the problem
○ using existing knowledge
○ evaluating this artefact using acknowledged
research methods
to describe,
compare,
evaluate,
predict
Systematic literature
review - describe,
compare, evaluate
(meta-studies…)
Analytical,
experimental,
in the field;
quant./qual.

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Where is your research in this?

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My personal 5 cents
Educational (technology) research is, as a whole,
design-oriented. We want better (tools for) learning and
education!
-> Going into the “design cycle” is necessary for the research
field as a whole
Education and learning doesn’t, ultimately, happen in the lab.
-> Starting from the field, and going into the field in the
“design cycle” is necessary for the research field as a whole

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Resources

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DETEL DBR Webinar: More on the design-oriented research questions, and field
studies. https://moodle.tech4comp.dbis.rwth-aachen.de/course/view.php?id=22
Field studies as evaluation method for socio-technical interventions in TEL:
https://www.slideshare.net/ViktoriaPammer/2019-0603-field-studies-in-tel
(workshop held at JTELSS 2019)
Hevner (2007). A Three Cycle View of Design Science Research. Scandinavian
Journal of Information Systems, Vol. 19, No. 2.