Page 190 - Educational Technology A Primer for the 21st Century

11.4 The Process of Design-Based Research 183
From the theoretical perspective, this phase produces a descriptive and analytical
understanding of the given class of problems, as manifested in this case within a
particular context.

11.4.2 Design and Construction

The second phase is design and construction, which is a coherent process followed
and documented to arrive at a (tentative) solution to the problem. Unlike the other
two main phases which follow empirical cycles based on a research chain of
reasoning, the microcycle of design and construction resembles that of creating (not
testing) a conceptual model.
Design refers to generate potential solutions to the problem, develop draft
principles to guide the design of the intervention. Construction refers to the process
of taking design ideas and applying them to actually manufacture the solution. This
generally takes place through a prototyping approach, where successive approxi-
mations of the desired solution are (re-)created.
The results of this phase are a research proposal, which includes details of the
methodology of the intervention, implementation, and evaluation of the proposed
solution, as it largely constitutes the data collection and analysis stages of the study.
From the practical perspective, the intervention is conceived and assembled.
From a theoretical perspective, the frameworks underpinning design as well as the
justification for design decisions are articulated.

11.4.3 Evaluation and Reflection

The third phase is evaluation and reflection. Evaluation refers to the empirical
testing that is done with a design or a constructed intervention (that is, the
embodiments of design in the initial, partial, or final form).
Reflection involves active and thoughtful consideration of what has come
together in both research and development (including theoretical inputs, empirical
findings, and subjective reactions) with the aim of producing theoretical under-
standing. Reflection is benefited most when approached through a combination of
systematic and organic techniques.
The results of empirical findings, as well as critical reflection are then used to
accept, refine, or refute the conjectures, frameworks, or principles that are portrayed
in design documents (e.g., design frameworks) or embodied in actual (prototypes
of) interventions. McKenney and Reeves (2012) depicted the elements and outcome
of three phases of DBR in Table 11.1.