Researcher
Research funding
DFG – Project number 567782600
Research focus
The evaluation of design methods is a crucial yet challenging aspect of design research (DR). The quality criteria of objectivity, reliability and validity are used as measures of quality. Whilst validity and, more frequently, objectivity are taken into account in empirical studies within DR, reliability has so far received little attention. However, reliability (the robustness of study results) is a prerequisite for validity. This issue is known in disciplines such as psychology or medicine as the ‘replication crisis’, and solutions are being developed. In the field of DR, there is a lack of insights and potential solutions.
The problem is that there is a lack of knowledge regarding whether and how studies in DR can be replicated. This means that it is not entirely clear which aspects of the study design need to be published in order to enable the replication of studies.
Goal
The aim of this research project is therefore to improve the reliability of empirical studies in DR. To this end, a modelling approach designed to provide an adequate description of participant studies is to be developed and validated.
Cooperation
The DFG-funded project is being carried out in collaboration with the Chair of Machine Design and Machine Elements at the IPEK Institute for Product Development at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.