Resources

Check this out — It’s the Research as Design resource packet (May 2013 version). And check back often – this is a working document we are iterating after each of our workshops.

This compilation is intended as an active toolkit to support your research process by introducing the design thinking elements. The guide is not just to read – go out in the world and try these tools yourself. The packet first outlines each mode of a human-centered design process, and then describes some specific methods that can be introduced in your research process. These process modes and methods provide a tangible toolkit which support the seven mindsets that are vital attitudes for a design thinker to hold. At the end you will find several worksheets used during the Research as Design workshops. The resource packet is roughly based on the d.school bootleg document, which captures some of the teaching from the “design thinking bootcamp,” the d.school’s foundation course. We have also added some elements that are specific to the research process to help you enrich your research journey.

The methods presented in this guide are culled from a wide range of people and organizations who have helped us build the content we use to impart design thinking. We thank all the people who have contributed to the methods collected in this guide. This resource is free for you to use and share – and we hope you do. We only ask that you respect the Creative Commons license (attribution, non-commercial use). The work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

We want to hear your reactions to this guide! Please share the stories of how you use it in your own research. Let us know what you find useful, and what methods you have created yourself to make you a better scientist and scholar.