Design Research Methods and Implementation

How do insights drive impact? This undergraduate course explores how design research supports the implementation of ideas within real-world systems such as organizations, communities, and services. Students learn human-centered research approaches including ethnographic research, co-design, and participatory design methods to understand peoples experiences and needs in context, and work collaboratively to translate insights into ideas that can be tested, adapted, and implemented in practice. Emphasis is placed on qualitative research, shared inquiry, and reflective practice, and on how systems, constraints, and coordination shape feasibility, ethics, and impact across education, healthcare, technology, policy, and community settings.