UnitLevel 4Postgraduate

TAD4523 Design research methods and seminar

Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture

TAD4523 Design research methods and seminar is a level 4, 6-credit-point, postgraduate unit from the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, offered in 2023 in Semester 1 and Semester 2 at Caulfield. It has no prerequisites.

Credit points
6
Offered in 2023
Semester 1, Semester 2
Caulfield
Assessment
No exam
3 tasks

This is the 2023 handbook entry. See the 2024 entry.

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Requisites

Before TAD4523

Corequisites

Pass these before, or take them in the same semester.

After TAD4523

No unit lists TAD4523 as a prerequisite in the 2023 handbook.

Enrolment rules

Prohibitions: TAD4521, TAD4522

Overview

The unit examines methodological approaches to design research, from the scientifically oriented to the phenomenological, the discursive and the poetic. Attention is given to the way in which the terms of an investigation inevitably shape the material which is discovered. The range of topics may include techniques in information gathering and efficient management of bibliographic resources, postmodern theory, difference studies, post-structural writing and deconstruction. The unit ponders the relationship of studio research (i.e. designing innovative objects or spaces or interfaces) to conventional research.

Offerings in 2023

Teaching periodCampusMode
First semesterCaulfieldOn campus
Second semesterCaulfieldOn campus

Assessment

  • Project 1
    20%
  • Project 2
    40%
  • Project 3
    40%

Learning outcomes

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

  1. 1

    Demonstrate awareness of current discourses in a range of disciplines which bear on contemporary design;

  2. 2

    Pursue critical arguments with a sense of their relativity;

  3. 3

    Assess the bias of an investigative method, considering gender, class and ethnicity;

  4. 4

    Understand methodology as a critique of method and be able to practice criticism in your chosen field;

  5. 5

    Explain the basis of designs or art or craft objects not merely as the outcome of practical constraints but the expression of cultural values.

Workload and teaching

  • Tutorials24 hours
  • Teaching approachActive learning
  • Teaching approachProblem-based learning
  • Teaching approachResearch activities
  • Teaching approachPeer assisted learning
  • Teaching approachCase-based teaching

12 hours per week including 2 contact hours plus 10 hours of independent study.

assigned readings, independent research, ongoing written summaries, literature review, and class discussions .

informal reviews will be held during seminar throughout semester to gauge progress and identify problems.

students will be introduced to a range of research methods to apply to their studio-based work.

students will be expected to discuss their individual projects and progress, and engage in critical discussion.

Contacts

Chief Examiners
Dr Jess Berry
Unit Coordinators
Dr Vincent Dziekan

Common questions

What are the prerequisites for TAD4523?

None, but you must take OHS1000 before or alongside it.

When is TAD4523 offered?

In 2023, TAD4523 runs in Semester 1 and Semester 2 at Caulfield.

Does TAD4523 have an exam?

No. TAD4523 has 3 assessment tasks and no exam.

More details

Credit points
6
Level
4
Study level
Postgraduate
Faculty
Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture
Organisational unit
Department of Design
Type
Coursework
EFTSL
0.125
Student contribution
SCA Band 4
Study abroad
Available
Handbook years
20202021202220232024