This term we are studying research methods (who know there were so many) and systems thinking. Both very interesting areas that have changed the way I think about my work. I never considered myself a researcher. I always imagined that role as something that only resides in an academic setting. Someone with a doctorate in something obscure who never left their office.
In fact, the researchers I have met in the last couple of years are nothing at all like that. Not that they aren't rigorous or well educated. No, I have come to understand that there's a whole host of people who do applied research. Research that has a direct impact on something or a direct output. Designers do a lot of research before designing something - that's just as true for product designers as it is for policy makers.
To be honest more of the research we are looking at this is design research, therefore more applied. That's way more fun than literature reviews.
The other course is an intro to systems thinking. Fascinating, really. And something everyone should study at some level. Definitely something my public servant friends should know more about.
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