UnitLevel 4Undergraduate

TDN4101 Design research methods

Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture

TDN4101 Design research methods is a level 4, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, offered in 2023 in Semester 1 at Caulfield. It has no prerequisites and unlocks 2 units, leading on to 3 units in all.

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

The 2027 handbook has no page for TDN4101. This is its 2023 entry, the latest one.

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Requisites

Before TDN4101

Corequisites

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

Enrolment rules

Prerequisite: You must be enrolled in the Bachelor of Design (Honours) (F3703)

Prohibitions: TAD4523, 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 semesterCaulfieldBlock on

Assessment

  • Literature Review
    30%
  • Research Proposal
    70%

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 approachResearch activities
  • Teaching approachIndustry-based learning

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

Contacts

Unit Coordinators
Mr Dion Tuckwell
Chief Examiners
Mr Dion Tuckwell

Common questions

What are the prerequisites for TDN4101?

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

What can I take after TDN4101?

TDN4101 is a prerequisite or corequisite for 2 units, including DGN4111 and TDN4102. Those lead on to 3 units in all.

When is TDN4101 offered?

In 2023, TDN4101 runs in Semester 1 at Caulfield.

Does TDN4101 have an exam?

No. TDN4101 has 2 assessment tasks and no exam.

More details

Credit points
6
Level
4
Study level
Undergraduate
Faculty
Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture
Organisational unit
Department of Design
Type
Coursework
EFTSL
0.125
Student contribution
SCA Band 2
Study abroad
Available
Handbook years
2020202120222023