Analyzing methodological alternatives for educational research: Design Science Research (DSR)
Issue
Section
Keywords:
Design Science Research, Design-Based Research, educational research, research methods
Published
Abstract
Educational research requires robust methodologies that aid in the design of new pedagogical practices. In this context, Design Science Research (DSR) presents itself as a solid alternative to Design-Based Research (DBR). The main objective of this article is to present DSR as a methodological tool for educational research, highlighting its foundations, variants, and practical applications. Throughout the article, we will conduct a detailed analysis of DSR and its variants through examples of the development of educational technologies, pedagogical innovations, and the evaluation of educational programs. The most notable results show that DSR, with its cyclical structure that includes the relevance cycle, the design and construction cycle, and the rigor cycle, has been successfully applied in the development of online learning platforms, formative assessment tools, and pedagogical models. In comparison, DBR is characterized by its collaborative approach and methodological flexibility, although it presents challenges in replicating results and selecting control groups. The conclusions indicate that DSR offers a structured and rigorous methodology that can improve educational research through the creation and evaluation of resulting products, ensuring greater replicability. On the other hand, DBR is valuable for its practical and collaborative approach; the choice between DSR and DBR will depend on the specific nature of the research and the available resources, suggesting that integrating both methodologies could offer a more comprehensive and effective solution to address educational challenges.
Supporting agencias
NoLicense
Copyright (c) 2025 Los/Las autores/autoras
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors publishing in this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant in the journal the right of first publication of the work, registered under a Creative Commons acknowledgement licence (CC BY-NC-SA), which allows dissemination with acknowledgement of authorship and first publication in this journal.
- Authors may independently enter into other contractual arrangements to allow publication of the version published in this journal in other media (e.g., in an institutional repository or in a book), with acknowledgement of initial publication in this journal.
- Authors have permission to publish their work online and are encouraged to do so (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) before and during the submission process, because it can produce good results and lead to the published work receiving more citations (see The Effect of Open Access).
PRIVACY STATEMENT
Names and email addresses on the journal website will only be used for the uses indicated in this journal and will not be made available for any other use or to third parties.
Downloads
References
Anderson, T., & Shattuck, J. (2012). Design-Based Research: A Decade of Progress in Education Research?. Educational Researcher, 41(1), 16-25. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x11428813
Baskerville, R., & Pries-Heje, J. (2010). Explanatory design theory. Business & Information Systems Engineering, 2(5), 271-282. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-010-0118-4
Baskerville, R., Pries-Heje, J., & Venable, J. (2009). Soft design science methodology. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1145/1555619.1555631
Barab, S., & Squire, K. (2004). Design-Based Research: Putting a Stake in the Ground. Journal Of The Learning Sciences, 13(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327809jls1301_1
Calderón, M.L. (2010). The Design Research Methodology as a framework for the development of a tool for Engineering Design Education. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 928-303. https://www.designsociety.org/publication/30186/The+Design+Research+Methodology+as+a+Framework+for+the+Development+of+a+Tool+for+Engineering+Design+Education
Christensen, K. D. N., & West, R. E. (2018). The Development of Design-Based Research. Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology: Historical Roots and Current Trends. https://edtechbooks.org/lidtfoundations/development_of_design-based_research
Cobb, P., Confrey, J., diSessa, A., Lehrer, R., & Schauble, L. (2003). Design Experiments in Educational Research. Educational Researcher, 32(1), 9-13. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x032001009
Cochrane, T., Galvin, K., Buskes, G., Lam, L., Rajagopal, V., Glasser, S., Osborne, M., Loveridge, B., Davey, C., John, S., Townsin, L., & Moss, T. (2023). Design-Based research. ASCILITE Publications, 351-356. https://doi.org/10.14742/apubs.2023.489
De Lima, D. G. (2024). Desmitificando el uso de neuromitos en la educación. Cuaderno de Pedagogía Universitaria, 21(42), 152-169. https://doi.org/10.29197/cpu.v21i42.611
Design-Based Research Collective (2003) Design-Based Research: An Emerging Paradigm for Educational Inquiry. Educational Researcher, 32(1), 5-8. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x032001005
Easterday, M. W., Lewis, D. R., & Gerber, E. M. (2014). Design-based research process: Problems, phases, and applications. Proceedings of International Conference of the Learning Sciences, ICLS, 1(January), 317-324. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288434629_Design-based_research_process_Problems_phases_and_applications
Fahd, K., Miah, S. J., Ahmed, K., Venkatraman, S., & Miao, Y. (2021). Integrating Design Science Research and Design Based Research frameworks for developing education support systems. Education and Information Technologies, 26, 4027–4048. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10442-1
Fernández, J. G. (2022). Educar en la complejidad: para tomar decisiones desde el conocimiento. (1ª ed.). Plataforma Actual.
Ford, C., McNally, D., & Ford, K. (2017). Using Design-Based Research in Higher Education Innovation. Online Learning, 21(3). https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v21i3.1232
Gregor, S., & Hevner, A. R. (2013). Positioning and Presenting Design Science Research for Maximum Impact. MIS Quarterly, 37(2), 337-355. https://doi.org/10.25300/misq/2013/37.2.01
Hall, T. (2021). Bridging practice and theory: The emerging potential of design-based research. Educational Research and Practice Journal, 47(1), 45-60 https://www.erpjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/07_ERPV47_Hall_1.pdf
Hartikainen, A., Ahola, M. J., & Sutinen, E. (2024). Enhancing Teacher Training for Online Immigrant Integration Programs: A Design Science Approach. International Journal Of Technology In Education, 7(3), 493-512. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijte.690
Hevner, R., March, N., Park, N., & Ram, N. (2004). Design Science in Information Systems Research. MIS Quarterly, 28(1), 75. https://doi.org/10.2307/25148625
Hevner, R. (2007). The Three Cycle View of Design Science. Scand. J. Inf. Syst., 19, 4. https://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=sjis
Hoadley, C., & Campos, F. C. (2022). Design-based research: What it is and why it matters to studying online learning. Educational Psychologist, 57(3), 207-220. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2022.2079128
Jong, M. S., Chen, G., Tam, V., Hue, M., & Chen, M. (2022). Design-Based Research on Teacher Facilitation in a Pedagogic Integration of Flipped Learning and Social Enquiry Learning. Sustainability, 14(2), 996. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14020996
Martín, H. R. (2020). ¿Cómo aprendemos?: una aproximación científica al aprendizaje y la enseñanza. (1ª ed.) Graó.
Mayer, R.E. (2020). Aplicando la Ciencia del aprendizaje. (1ª ed.) Graó.
Nguyen, N. B. C., Lithander, M., Östlund, C. M., Karunaratne, T., & Jobe, W. (2024). TEADASH: Implementing and Evaluating a Teacher-Facing Dashboard Using Design Science Research. Informatics, 11(3), 61. https://doi.org/10.3390/informatics11030061
Nunamaker, J. F., Chen, M. & Purdin, T. D. M. (1990). Systems development in information systems research. Journal of Management Information Systems, 7(3), 89-106. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.1990.11517898
Palau, R. & Santiago, R. (2022). Las metodologías activas enriquecidas con tecnología. Universitas Tarraconensis Revista de Ciències de L Educació, 5-16. https://doi.org/10.17345/ute.2021.1.3269
Palau, R., Fuentes, M., Mogas, J., & Cebrián, G. (2021). Analysis of the implementation of teaching and learning processes at Catalan schools during the Covid-19 lockdown. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 30(1), 183–199. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2020.1863855
Pastor, O., Segooa, M. A. & Panach, J. I. (2024). Teaching Design Science as a Method for Effective Research Development. arXiv (Cornell University). https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2407.09844
Peffers, K., Tuunanen, T., Rothenberger, M. A. & Chatterjee, S. (2007). A Design Science Research Methodology for Information Systems Research. Journal of Management Information Systems, 24(3), 45-77. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284503626_A_design_science_research_methodology_for_information_systems_research
Ruiz-Chaves, W., Evelyn, E., & García-Martínez, J. A. (2021). La inclusión en la educación: una revisión de literatura para la gestión educativa. Innovaciones Educativas, 23(35), 211-233. https://doi.org/10.22458/ie.v23i35.3834
Scott, E. E., Wenderoth, M. P., & Doherty, J. H. (2020). Design-Based Research: A Methodology to Extend and Enrich Biology Education Research. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 19(3), es11. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.19-11-0245
Sein, N., Henfridsson, N., Purao, N., Rossi, N., & Lindgren, N. (2011). Action Design Research. MIS Quarterly, 35(1), 37. https://doi.org/10.2307/23043488
Steinherr, V. M., Brehmer, M., Stöckl, R., & Reinelt, R. (2024). Design Science Research as a Guide for Innovative Higher Education Teaching: Towards an Application-Oriented Extension of the Proficiency Model. En Lecture notes in computer science (pp. 213-228). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-61175-9_15
Tokuhama-Espinosa, T. (2018). Neuromyths: Learning about Teaching by Debunking False Ideas about the Brain. National Geographic Books.
Vaishnavi, V. & Kuechler, W. (2004). Design Science Research in Information Systems. MIS Quarterly, 28(1), 75-105. http://desrist.org/design-research-in-information-systems/
Vaishnavi, V. & Kuechler, W. J. (2007). Design Science Research Methods and Patterns. En Auerbach Publications eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781420059335
Vaishnavi, V. K., Vaishnavi, V. K., & Kuechler, W. (2015). Design Science Research Methods and Patterns. En CRC Press eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1201/b18448
Venable, J. R., Pries-Heje, J., & Baskerville, R. L. (2017). Choosing a Design Science Research Methodology. ACIS 2017 Proceedings. https://aisel.aisnet.org/acis2017/112/
Wang, F., & Hannafin, M. J. (2005). Design-based research and technology-enhanced learning environments. Educational Technology Research And Development, 53(4), 5-23. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02504682
Zheng, L. (2015). A systematic literature review of design-based research from 2004 to 2013. Journal Of Computers In Education, 2(4), 399-420. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40692-015-0036-z
