# Design principles from student perspective

The first set of principles concerns the ins- and outs of the scientific research or design process the students will complete. Students working through open inquiry:

1. Work in an authentic setting, which implies:
   - Real stakeholder or person/problem/object
   - (Authentic) Research setting – work like a researcher
   - Both failure and success are possible acceptable (learning) outcomes.
2. Follow expert ways of working, such as the ways of a:
   - Scientific researcher
   - Designer
   - Professional (company)
   - Iterative steps of design- and research processes
   - Includes a safe working environment or practice.
3. Formulate a design problem or research question and hypothesis, which includes:
   - Design problem and possible (multiple) solutions or plans
   - (quantitative) Research question and hypothesis
     - Hypothesis is testable
   - Formulate when their design or research is successful (or not) and how they know.
4. Consciously and critically look for information from:
   - Experts (teaching assistants, researchers, teachers, students from previous years, content people)
   - Books, the web, literature
   - Other students
   - Interpreting, questioning, reflecting on the information and advice from others
   - Dealing with conflicting information and simplifications.
5. Concisely (re)formulate design criteria or a hypothesis, which means:
   - A description of an acceptable means to arrive at a quantifiable, measurable answer to the research question or design problem
   - Returning to the description to reformulate in iterative manner.
6. (re) Design a prototype or set-up an experiment, which means:
   - Make choices
   - Check on safety
   - Iterative
7. Construct a prototype and/or run the experiment, which includes:
   - Repetition
   - Quick test results,
   - Calibrations,
   - Feasibility,
   - Uncertainty,
   - Pilot studies
   - Having alternative plans.
8. Interpret results, these include:
   - Relate to design and hypothesis
   - Reliability, Error
   - Reproducibility
   - Validity
   - Iterative -when possible in view of time, materials etc..
9. Report on results in various ways:
   - Present their results to others in:
     - Presentation
     - Report
     - Article
   - Defend results and choices and decision made
   - What the results mean to others, implications
   - Successes and failures.
10. Draw conclusions, where they
    - Describe their conclusions to the research question
    - What the conclusion means to others; implications.