Design-oriented research in HCI and approaches to evaluating this type of research
Abstract
Introduction: This study investigates design-oriented research (also known as Research through Design and/or constructive design research) in Human-Computer Interaction - HCI, a theme aligned with some of the Grand Challenges for HCI research in Brazil. The objective is to explore the specificities and quality assessment criteria of this type of research approach, in which the design process of the artifact serves as a means for knowledge generation. After situating the research paradigms on which design-oriented research can be based, the study explores different sets of criteria for evaluating the quality of its contributions. These criteria are being applied to the development of the RedePro platform, which seeks to promote sustainable design practices.
Keywords:
Design-oriented research, Research through Design, research methodology, interaction design, HCI
References
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Rittel, H. e Webber, M. (1973). Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning. Policy Sciences, v. 4, n. 2.
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Sanders, E. e Stappers, E. (2008). Co-creation and the new landscapes of design. CoDesign, v. 4, n. 1.
Sanders, E. e Stappers, E. (2014). Probes, toolkits and prototypes: three approaches to making in codesigning. CoDesign, v. 10, n. 1.
STAPPERS, P.; GIACCARDI, E. Research through Design. In: The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction. 2. ed. Aarhus: Interaction Design Foundation, 2014. Disponível em: [link]. Acesso em: ago. 2025.
Teal, G. e French, T. (2020). Spaces for Participatory Design Innovation. In: PDC '20, Vol. 1. Manizales, Colombia.
Zimmerman, J., Forlizzi, J. e Evenson, S. (2007). Research through design as a method for interaction design research in HCI. In: CHI '07. San Jose, CA, USA: ACM, p. 493-502.
Blackler, A., Zelenko, O., Chamorro-Koc, M., Rittenbruch, M., Sade, G. (2018). Design research: methodological innovation through messiness. In: Filimowicz, M., Tzankova, V. (eds.). New directions in third wave human-computer interaction: vol. 2 methodologies. Cham: Springer (Human–Computer Interaction Series).
Brandt, E. e Binder, T. (2007). Experimental Design Research: Genealogy, Intervention, Argument. In International Association of Societies of Design Research. Hong Kong.
Brandt, E., Binder, T, Sanders, E. (2013). Tools and techniques: ways to engage telling, making and enacting. In: Routledge International Handbook of Participatory Design. New York: Routledge.
Da Silva Junior, D., Alves, D. et al. (2024). GranDIHC-BR 2025-2035 GC1: New Theoretical and Methodological Approaches in HCI. In Anais do XXIII Simpósio Brasileiro sobre Fatores Humanos em Sistemas Computacionais (IHC). Brasília/DF. Porto Alegre: SBC, p. 939-968.
De Oliveira, L., Amaral, M. et al. (2024). GranDIHC-BR 2025-2035 GC3: Plurality and Decoloniality in HCI. In Anais do XXIII IHC. Brasília/DF. Porto Alegre: SBC, p. 1067-1085.
Dorst, K.; Cross, N. (2001). Creativity in the design process: co-evolution of problem-solution. In: Design Studies, v. 22, n. 5.
Dune, A. e Raby, F. (2013). Speculative Everything: design, fiction and social dreaming. Cambridge, London: MIT Press.
Epp, F., Rosén, A., Salovaara, A., Sanchez, C. (2024). Uncertainties as Generative Resources in Research through Design: Three Dynamics for Moving in a Design Space. ACM TOCHI, v. 31, n. 6, art. 70, p. 1-31.
Fallman, D. (2007). Why Research-Oriented Design Isn’t Design-Oriented Research. Knowledge, Technology & Policy, v. 20, p. 193-200. [link]
Filimowicz, M. e Tzankova, V. (eds) (2018). New directions in third wave HCI. Vol. 2 Methodologies. Cham: Springer.
Frayling, C. (1993). Research in Art and Design. Royal College of Arts Research Papers, v. 1, n. 1.
Gaver, W., Beaver, J., Benford, S. (2003). Ambiguity as a resource for design. In: CHI '03. New York: ACM, p. 233–240.
Gaver, W. (2012). What Should We Expect from Research through Design? In: CHI '12. New York: ACM, p. 937–946.
Giaccardi, E., Murray-Rost, D., Redström, J., Caramiaux, B. (2024). Prototyping with Uncertainties: Data, Algorithms, and Research through Design. ACM TOCHI, v. 31, n. 6, art. 68, p. 1-21.
Glanville, R. (1999). Researching Design and Designing Research. Design Issues, v. 15, n. 2, p. 80–91.
Glanville, R. (2006). Construction and design. Constructivist Foundations, v. 1, n. 3, p. 103–110.
Guba, E. e Lincoln, Y. (1994). Competing paradigms in qualitative research. In: Denzin, N. e Lincoln, Y. (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research, p. 105–117. Sage.
Höök, K. e Löwgren, J. (2012). Strong Concepts: Intermediate-level Knowledge in Interaction Design Research. ACM TOCHI, v. 19, n. 3, art. 23.
Jonas, W. (2007). Research through design through research. Kybernetes, v. 36, n. 9/10. Emerald. [link]
Koskinen, I., Zimmerman, J., Binder, T., Redstrom, J., Wensveeen, S. (2011). Design Research Through Practice. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann.
LADERA, T. Fab City Whitepaper: locally productive, globally connected self-sufficient cities. 2014. Disponível em: [link]. Acesso em: ago. 2025.
Lawson, B. (2005). How Designers Think. Burlington: Elsevier.
Maher, M., Poon, J., Boulanger, S. (1996). Formalising Design Exploration as Co-Evolution. In: Gero, J., Sudweeks, F. (Eds.). Advances in Formal Design Methods for CAD. Boston: Springer, p. 1-20.
ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION. O que é a economia circular? [s.d.]. Disponível em: [link]. Acesso em: ago. 2025.
McDonough, W. e Braungart, M. (2002). Cradle to Cradle. New York: North Point Press.
Meadows, D. (1999). Leverage points: Places to intervene in a system. Hartland: The Sustainability Institute.
Nelson, H. e Stolterman, E. (2012). The Design Way. MIT Press.
Neris, V., Rosa, J. et al. (2024). GranDIHC-BR 2025-2035 GC4: Sociocultural Aspects in HCI. In Anais do XXIII IHC. Brasília/DF. Porto Alegre: SBC, p. 988-1002.
Oogjes, D. e Desjardins, A. (2024). A temporal vocabulary of Design Events for Research through Design. In: CHI '24. New York: ACM. Art. 224, p. 1–12.
Papert, S. (1990). Computer Criticism vs. Technocentric Thinking. MIT Media Lab Epistemology and Learning Memo No. 1.
Pereira, R., Darin, T. e Silveira, M. (2024). GranDIHC-BR: Grand Research Challenges in HCI in Brazil for 2025-2035. In Anais do XXIII IHC. Brasília/DF. Porto Alegre: SBC, p. 915-938.
Prochner I. e Godin, D. (2022). Quality in Research Through Design Projects: Recommendations for Evaluation and Enhancement. Design Studies, v. 78.
Rittel, H. e Webber, M. (1973). Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning. Policy Sciences, v. 4, n. 2.
Rodrigues, K., Carvalho, L. et al. (2024). GranDIHC-BR 2025-2035 GC2: Ethics and Responsibility in HCI Research. In Anais do XXIII IHC. Brasília/DF. Porto Alegre: SBC, p. 969-987.
Sanders, E. e Stappers, E. (2008). Co-creation and the new landscapes of design. CoDesign, v. 4, n. 1.
Sanders, E. e Stappers, E. (2014). Probes, toolkits and prototypes: three approaches to making in codesigning. CoDesign, v. 10, n. 1.
STAPPERS, P.; GIACCARDI, E. Research through Design. In: The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction. 2. ed. Aarhus: Interaction Design Foundation, 2014. Disponível em: [link]. Acesso em: ago. 2025.
Teal, G. e French, T. (2020). Spaces for Participatory Design Innovation. In: PDC '20, Vol. 1. Manizales, Colombia.
Zimmerman, J., Forlizzi, J. e Evenson, S. (2007). Research through design as a method for interaction design research in HCI. In: CHI '07. San Jose, CA, USA: ACM, p. 493-502.
Published
2025-09-08
How to Cite
GIL, Adeline Gabriela Silva; RODRIGUES, Kamila Rios da Hora.
Design-oriented research in HCI and approaches to evaluating this type of research. In: POSITION PAPERS - GRANDIHCBR 2025-2035 - BRAZILIAN SYMPOSIUM ON HUMAN FACTORS IN COMPUTATIONAL SYSTEMS (IHC), 24. , 2025, Belo Horizonte/MG.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2025
.
p. 253-261.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/ihc_estendido.2025.15683.
