Faculty perceptions regarding research: Are we on the right track?

Abstract

Although research has been a topic of discussion for the past few decades within the academy, how interior design educators view research has not been examined. The purpose of this investigation was to survey interior design faculty who are members of the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) to determine (1) their definitions of research and programming, (2) their perceived value of research in interior design practice and education, (3) their perceptions of who should conduct research, (4) the degree to which they are engaging in research, and (5) how they are incorporating research into the classroom. Sixty-five faculty members responded to the online survey that consisted of three open-ended questions, 20 questions using a Likert Scale, and questions documenting demographic information. The results indicated that the faculty who responded did not have a working definition of research or programming, and a number of faculty members did not clearly understand the difference between the two. Although 27% of the sample responded that research involved discovery or moved the field forward, another 20% defined research solely as information gathering. The educators in this study valued research, and 80% believed that research findings provide useful information to the profession. Yet, many of the subjects in this study were unclear on whether interior design educators, practitioners, or specialists in other fields should be conducting interior design research. The majority of subjects valued what research could bring to the student during the design process, yet there was hesitation on whether undergraduate students should be taking research-related coursework. © 2009, Interior Design Educators Council.