Perspectives on the nature of academic design research: a qualitative case study of identity in research communitties of practice

Debate continues on the nature of design research, particularly in its institutionalized form as academic research in higher education. Within the competing discourses about design research as a new and emergent discipline is the debate about the distinctive academic character of research and knowledge in design in relation to consultancy and practice. Is academic design research distinct from industry practice or is it some hybrid form of research practice and knowledge more suited to the field? Existing statements in the literature pay insufficient attention to contextualized design research definitions by individual designer educatiors within design research communities of practice. From a larger study of fifty two design educators this paper examines the responses of eleven design educators to the nature of design research and postgraduate training. The study sees the responses of participants within the theory of participation in research communities of practice (Lave & Wenger 1991). The study suggests that proposals for a hybrid scholarship and practice of academic design are alive and well while competing with more conventional proposals.