soa+d research manual - School of Architecture and Design, KMUTT

it is hardly worth doing. Research implies originality, discovery
and an encounter with the unknown. broadly speaking, the
outcome of scholarly research is ‘knowledge’. Research projects
produce, enhance or critique knowledge and, by doing so, may
serve a number of purposes. for example, knowledge may be applied
or transferred to address real world problems or opportunities.
Knowledge arising from research may make a contribution
to discourse or practical understanding within a field or subject.
Knowledge may even be created with no immediate application
in mind but in response to the curiosity of a particular researcher
or research team. Whichever the case, and whatever its final
form, the knowledge that results from academic research is
published in an appropriate forum and
scrutinized by academic peers.
TYPES OF RESEARCH?
At the risk of oversimplification, the major types of research
relevant to art, architecture and design are as follows:
Basic Research
basic research is also known as fundamental or pure
research. it is motivated by curiosity rather than a desire to create
some new application or innovation. for example, speculative
and open-ended inquiries into forms, structures, materials,
processes, representations might be seen as basic research in
our fields. Whilst knowledge is acquired for its own sake, practical
applications and innovations frequently emerge from insights
gained through basic research.
Applied research
Applied research is driven by the desire to solve practical problems
and meet human needs in some way. much conventional
architectural and design research is ‘applied’ in this sense. for
example, ergonomic, psychological and socio-cultural design
research, are—each in their own ways—directed towards
enhancing existing spaces, products and systems, or developing
innovations that fit actual or potential human needs.
Action research
Action research aims to facilitate organizational, social or
cultural change. for our purposes, participatory approaches to
design and community development or research that revolves
around teaching and learning, might be seen as exemplars of
action research in the fields of architecture, art and design.
Practice-based research
in practice-based research, the materials to be studied are
REsEARch iN ARchiTEcTuRE, ART & DEsigN
created by the practitioner during the course of the project.
Practice-based research is a form of inquiry into, through
or about creative practice/ production. Whilst it is usually
associated with the fine arts, its origins are in medicine, and
it is increasingly used in fields as diverse as creative writing,
software engineering and law.
Theory and criticism
Research in theory and criticism investigates the philosophical,
historical and socio-cultural contexts of architecture, art and
design. such research plays an important role in the intellectual
life and dynamics of the creative disciplines.
WHY RESEARCH MATTERS
Research is now a crucial aspect of academic life. it serves as
one of a series of measures of quality and performance at institutional
and individual levels. At an institutional level, research
output is taken as a measure of quality and is used to judge and
rank the university and school nationally. At an individual level,
your own research is one of a number of scholarly activities that
contribute to career progression and academic status. in the
broader sense, of course, research matters through the various
important contributions it makes to social and cultural development
and the growth of knowledge.
07