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Browse by Research Method
Browse by Research Method
The PPS Group is characterised by the diversity of research methods used by its members in their scholarship. This Index not only showcases the many types of scholarship outputs produced by the group, but also the wide range of research methods they employ.
As a discipline, architecture sits at the intersection of multiple disciplines - science, social science, humanities, and design - meaning that architectural research represents an enormous range of possible inquiries. This is reflected in the wide range of research methodologies and methods employed in the diverse interests and specialisms of the PPS Group.
This page draws attention to the research methods that are especially useful to scholarship that is connected to our practice and pedagogy; design research, co-research, critical pedagogy and case-study research. These research methods are not mutually exclusive and you will find that our scholarship activities often use a synthesis of several. Research methods are the processes by which data or evidence is gathered for analysis, in order to understand a topic, discover information, or synthesise new theories. Research methods are many and varied, with different types of research utilising methods best suited to the desired outcomes.
Featured Research Methods
Featured Research Methods
Design research
Design research
Design is used as a research method to reveal knowledge, ask critical questions, engage with imaginaries and speculate about possible futures. Design methods can range from drawings, to scale models, to 1:1 builds. Design can be digital or analogue, or a hybrid of the two. We often use co-design in our participatory activities with communities. Our use of design often expands beyond the spatial realm - our scholarship can involve the design of projects, relationships, networks, systems and events.
Co-research
Co-research
As a social School of Architecture and Landscape we value ‘liveness’ in much of our scholarship. This is a form of co-research where our teaching and practice is produced in collaboration with local community groups and city stakeholders, situated in real world contexts and sites, and with people who are usually marginalised and underserved within architecture and urban design.
Critical pedagogy
Critical pedagogy
Our scholarship supports the development of our teaching through the methodology of critical pedagogy. This approach questions and explores alternative ways of teaching and practicing architecture through critical reflection and reflective learning. Critical pedagogy encourages teachers and students to take different positions, and to become active learners. This helps to break down the hegemony of teacher and student, moving to a more democratic learning environment.
Further Reading
Further Reading
An analytical framework for research
An analytical framework for research
In Architectural Research Methods, Groat and Wang set out a framework by which research can be analysed. This encompasses scales from Systems of Inquiry to Tactics, wherein “The methodological practices of strategies and tactics are framed by broader systems of inquiry and schools of thought.” This framework can be used to create structured comparisons of different research outputs that differ in scale and approach.
For further reading, see:
Groat, Linda N., and David Wang, Architectural Research Methods (John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013)
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