Complete thesis - Murdoch University

a configuration that will produce an artefact with the intended problem solving functionality.This virtually demands a natural-science-like belief in a single, fixed grounding reality:an artefact is constructed and its behaviour the result of interactions between components.To the degree the artefact behaves predictably, its meaning is precisely the functionality itenables in the composite system (artefact and user). The design researcher is therefore a pragmatist.Bunge (1984) implies that Design Research is most effective when its practitionersshift between pragmatic and critical realist perspectives, guided by a pragmatic assessmentof progress in the design cycle.Within Action Research there is an explicit acknowledgement that the change is not purely theresult of the intervention – change is an ongoing occurrence in the phenomenon under scrutinyand the scrutiny itself a trigger for change (hence the inappropriateness of ‘experimentation’).In addition, the value of Action Research is based on the clear picture of the place of theresearcher as participant and influence on the environment. The researcher is not just simplyobserving interactions but is interventionist within the environment.Consequently, Action Research becomes the strategy of choice for this research into educationfor SE:• it takes place in the natural setting and does not treat the classroom as a laboratory• the researcher’s involvement in the experiences of the participants is explicit• it uses multiple methods that seek to build rapport with participants and enable themto be involved in the data collection and analysis• it is emergent rather than tightly predefined• it is inherently interpretive – the data is filtered through a personal lens situated in aspecific moment• it views social phenomena holistically• it assumes reflexivity• the reasoning, largely inductive, is based on a cyclic process between data collectionand analysis and problem identification/re-formulation.These characteristics align well with the characteristics of the domain, where:• Requirements Engineering takes place in an organisational setting• the RE’s involvement is explicit195