Research Projects
A research project is essentially a formal and systematic approach to the discovery of new knowledge or insights.
In general a research project will include the following steps:
- Identification of research problem or question.
- Literature review, prior work investigation, identification of state of the art.
- Specification of purpose of research.
- Determination of specific research questions, hypotheses or objectives.
- Definition of measuring, observation or testing conditions or protocol.
- Data Production, Collection, Preparation
- Analysis and interpretation of data
- Reporting & evaluating research results
- Communicating, presenting the research resutls and possible future recommendations or work.
Industrial Design
In the context of Industrial Design, research projects should be either about the validation of some new design theory/ideas or the evaluation of an existing one.
Conducting research in design is essential, in my opinion, if one want to be reflective about design and adopt a methodical approach to innovation and success.
Engineering
In the context of engineering, research projects are about the validation of some desgin specifications in terms of clear metrics and parameters. It can also be about creating a new system and demonstrating its validity