Design-Based Research

The Common Processes of DBR

DBR begins with the exploration, analysis, and subsequent identification of a practical problem that is to be addressed by a designed intervention (i.e., intervention or design intervention). Thus, the problem is defined and subsequently addressed within the context of its occurrence. A discrepancy between the intended and actualized state of an educational system defines that problem. For example, consider the situation in which an implemented policy is to promote equity among students in mathematics, yet a curriculum has been adopted and is being used that prioritizes the interests and ways of knowing for one population over another. Such a situation is a prime example of a problem for DBR. Through the processes of exploration and analysis, the sociocultural context of the problem is detailed; the needs of people who are potentially impacted by the problem are assessed; and relevant, published, and authoritative reference material related to the issue and context is explored. The outcome of this process is a clearer understanding of the dimensions of the problem and their likely causes. This level of understanding is essential for designing a responsive intervention.

The problem is defined as an emergent phenomenon, emanating from the sociocultural context from which it is situated. The sociocultural context includes the people, ideas, tools, information, language, history, stories, and documents of a community in a certain place and time. To gain a better understanding of the problem, design researchers often collaborate with multiple stakeholders. Collaboration can take on many forms from more traditional roles for the researchers and participants to an intensive collaboration in which stakeholders are intimately involved in all aspects of the research and development process. The level of collaboration depends upon contextual demands, available resources, and ultimate aims. However, the main argument for use of collaboration in DBR is to ensure that the design intervention is constructed as a plausible solution to a legitimate problem identified by the stakeholders and supported through the published literature. Understanding and addressing the situated nature of the problem generates the ecological validity that is attributed to DBR. With its focus on empirical and theoretical grounding, the phase of problem definition is viewed as the first descriptive and theory-generating process of DBR.

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