In this article, Hoadley explains what design-based research is, why it is particularly applicable in educational research, and gives an example from his own work with computer-mediated discussion tools.
Unlike scientific research that occurs in controlled lab settings, design-based research is all about context. Hoadley suggests that the context of the study and the history/experience of the participants must be continuously considered, evaluated, and incorporated in the evolution of the research. He identifies 4 important factors in design-based research: 1) the participants & implementers have a close relationship, which "blurs" objectivity; 2) tentative generalizations don't imply universality; 3) start with planned comparisons, but be prepared to follow where the research leads; and 4) researchers document design, rationale, and the changes in both over time.
Design-based research is strong at helping connect interventions to outcomes through mechanisms and can lead to better alignment between theory, treatments, and measurement than experimental research in complex realistic settings like the classroom.
Rather than measurement validity, Hoadley states that systemic validity is the real goal of design-based research. We want to create research that leads to inferences which "inform the questions that motivated the research in the first place." And because the classroom is not a lab, that research must consider the context of outside culture, participant history & interaction, and be willing to change tactics or follow developments where they lead.
As an example, Hoadley describes research done with a computer-based discussion tool, used within the context of a middle school science classroom. When they started out, the internet was new and just beginning to be widely used. Research began with a tool called Multimedia Forum Kiosk that was bound to a single machine. After a time they switched to a tool called SpeakEasy that performed the same functions online. Hoadley details how the tool was implemented, how the teacher used the tool in the classroom, and strategies that were developed to encourage or discourage patterns of use. Over time, use of the tool led to new questions, such as the motivation behind anonymous postings. By altering the tool's settings and polling participants they were able to make discoveries about that motivation that not only would have taken longer in another setting, but might not even have emerged as a phenomenon to be considered.
The design of this research included both technical and social elements, both of which Hoadley sees as crucial to the questions being examined. Instead of being an objective controller, the researcher must be involved in those contexts in order to observe interaction between design and enactment. Tentative generalizations aren't considered universal, but rather inspiration for further iterations that may lead to more universal understanding.
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