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11.2 The Concept of Design-Based Research 181
The solutions that result from educational design research can be educational
products (e.g., a multi-user virtual world learning game), processes (e.g., a strategy
for scaffolding student learning in online courses), programs (e.g., a series of
workshops intended to help teachers develop more effective questioning strategies),
or policies (e.g., year-round schooling). Researchers attempt to solve significant
real-world problems while at the same time they seek to discover new knowledge
that can inform the work of others facing similar problems (Spector & Yuen, 2016).
Within design-based research methodology, interventions are conceptualized
and then implemented iteratively in natural settings to test the ecological validity of
the dominant theory and to generate new theories and frameworks for conceptu-
alizing learning, instruction, design processes, and educational reform.

11.3 Key Characteristics of DBR

Design-based research exhibits the following characteristics: pragmatic, grounded,
interventionist, iterative, collaborative, adaptive, and theory-oriented (Cobb et al.,
2003).

Pragmatic: it is concerned with generating usable knowledge and usable solu-
tions to problems in practice.
Grounded: it uses theory, empirical findings, and craft wisdom to guide the
work.
Interventionist: it is undertaken to make a change in a particular educational
context.
Iterative: it evolves through multiple cycles of design, development, testing, and
revision.
Collaborative: it requires the expertise of multi-disciplinary partnerships,
including researchers and practitioners, but also often others (e.g., subject matter
specialists, software programmers, or facilitators).
Adaptive: the intervention design and sometimes also the research design are
often modified in accordance with emerging insights.
Theory-oriented: it uses theory to ground design, and the design and develop-
ment work is undertaken to contribute to a broader scientific understanding.

11.4 The Process of Design-Based Research

The design-based research process has been described as iterative, as well as
flexible (Kelly et al., 2008). While multiple cycles of activity are clearly present
across most models and frameworks, flexibility is present in all models. Figure 11.1