Re: Who is in favour of empirical research approach?

The debate about empirical research rather easily descends into a  
fight between "it's just your opinion" (scientists about designers)  
and "you don't understand the real world" (designers about scientists).

A version of this debate has been going on as long as I can remember,  
and before.

 From 1965: ‘Before scientific research, printers and type designers  
were concerned mainly with the esthetic appearance of the printed  
page. This preoccupation with esthetics, together with considerations  
of economy and tradition, dominated all typography until about 1920.  
As a result of these obstructive emphases, a scientific typography has  
been slow in developing. Indeed, the printing industry continues to  
resist procedural changes suggested by experimental findings.’ Miles  
Tinker (1965) Bases for Effective Reading, University of Minneapolis  
Press, page 115.

 From 1982: ‘[the technology of text] exists as a counterpoint to the  
artistic and unsystematic approach to text design and layout that has  
prevailed since petroglyphs were first inscribed on walls’. David  
Jonassen (1982) The Technology of Text, Englewood Cliffs, NJ:  
Educational Technology Publications, page x.


On the other hand...

 From 1931: ‘[the univariate research design] is good experimental  
technique. It is an article of faith among investigators. Yet it won’t  
work in the way it has been applied to typography unless one is  
prepared to go to very unusual lengths with it.’ Buckingham BR (1931)  
‘New data on the typography of textbooks’ , Yearbook of the National  
Society for the Study of Education, 30, page 104.

 From 1975: ‘No one, in our opinion, can possibly predict all the  
variables that might interact with the one chosen for experimentation.  
And even if a comprehensive list of variables could (by some magic) be  
drawn up, the permutations would generate millions of experiments –  
far more than could ever be executed… The same mental set that  
predisposes researchers to choose problems that can be neatly handled  
in a laboratory also inhibits them from going outside their circle to  
see the problems that typographers face in practice.’ Macdonald-Ross M  
& Waller RHW (1975) Criticisms, alternatives and tests: a framework  
for improving typography, Programmed Learning & Educational  
Technology, 12, page 76

__________________________________


Rob Waller
Department of Typography & Graphic Communication
University of Reading
T +44 (0) 118 378 6411
M +44 (0) 7850 665933

On 5 Mar 2010, at 20:00, Jose Marconi Bezerra de Souza wrote:

> Dear Jorge,
>
> I will try to make myself clear:
>
> I am developing a list of arguments in favour of (or against, if you  
> like) empirical research.
> But, I am focused on empirical research that involves statistical  
> analyses only.
>
> I am not looking for examples of design practice informed by  
> empirical research.
> I agree with you in relation to the "Information Design Journal".
> I made a contribution myself.
>
> How about now? Any specific sugestion?
>
> Many thanks for asking.
>
> José.

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