DIFFERENT METHODS OF RESEARCH AS APPLIED TO ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES

INTRODUCTION
Architecture is primarily concerned with the development of the physical environment (built and natural) for most
advantageous used by man. It is defined as the art and science building which is concerned with individual houses, large
composite building complexes, and even a whole city. Eventually the art and science of organizing spaces for use by man.
Research is simply the process of arriving at dependable solutions to problems through the planned and systematic
collection, analysis, and interpretation of knowledge of his environment, to accomplish his purpose and to resolve his
conflicts.
Architectural researches in other countries geared towards improving the quality of architectural products in the
country and in achieving there is a need to focus on areas having such defects in qualitative architecture within the country.
The sampling methods are used for proper navigation and focus on areas needing improvement. Sampling is the process of
selecting units from population of interest so that by studying the sample we may fairly generalize our results back to the
population from which they were chosen.
In research work, sampling has become very important because of the extreme difficulty involved in listing, observing
and reaching every element in the population about which every opinion is to be expressed. It is the process of selecting
representative elements from a given population. The process is such that enables an investigator to choose elements which

in number and character sufficiently reflects the relevant features of the population from which they are drawn. The purpose
of this process is to provide a realistic basis upon which generalizations about the population may be drawn from sample
characteristics.

BODY OF REPORT
First, lets have an objective that this course provides an examination of modes of inquiry used to conduct research in
architecture. The modes of inquiry will survey empirical (quantitative and qualitative research), interpretive and critical
science orientations. All will be examined conceptually and methodologically according to the following frames of reference:

To increase the student's understanding of the role of research in architecture.

To increase the student's abilities to interpret and evaluate research.

To increase the student's abilities to conduct architecture research.

To know the different types of research methods in architectural studies and its functions.

To increase the student's abilities to present research results.

To increase the student's understanding of data, information, and knowledge.

Educational goals of research methods

Understand the place of the person in the research process.

Understand the architect as consumer and producer of research.

Distinguish among competing assumptions in various modes of inquiry (interpreting research)

Critically evaluate research conducted from alternative perspectives according to appropriate criteria.

Identify methods of inquiry appropriate for investigations in the different contexts of architecture (develop ability to conduct
research).

Differentiate research producer and research consumer points of view.

Synthesize from the readings a perspective on research that is consistent with your beliefs and practice regarding your future in
design.

Differentiate key terms including: values/bias, context, theory, phenomenon, validity, and so forth

The potential impact of the research

Finally, the third dimension of contextual purposes in research is its imagine impact. One way to put the issue of
impact in direct terms for each researcher is to pose the question: what do I hope to accomplish by doing the research? And

more particularly: Or will people be more inclined to take action regarding a particular situation? Perhaps with respect to a
design process, or designed environment? As the next chapter addresses, the likely outcomes of a proposed research design
should be envisioned from the very beginning. It is one factor affecting the research framework itself. We now turn attention
to this framework.
Purpose of the research project
To begin, the answer to the question what s the purpose of this research project? will necessarily be influenced by
the context in which the study is being conducted. For instance, a student in either a research studio or research methods
course may well be asked to conduct an individual study or group research project. Or, in the context of a professional
practice, a designer may be responsible for pursuing a research question entailed in some aspect of a specific design project,
and/or at the best of a client. All of these circumstances define some sort of practical mandate that dictates or constrains the
topic or scope of the research.
However, some researchers may be situated in context where it is possible, perhaps encouraged, to pursue a topic of
strong personal interest. For many students in either research masters or doctoral programs, this may well be the case. And
many, perhaps most, academic faculty are deeply motivated to pursue areas of inquiry that are of significant personal
interest, often supported by either university or external funding. Similarly, depending on the particular nature of some
design firms, an increasing number of professionals maintain research units within or in association with their design firms.
Often these endeavours enable the practitioners to pursue research that will enhance the knowledge base for specific
building types, lead to product patents, or identify innovative uses of emerging technologies.

In other words, the reason for taking on any given research project may be either highly personal or very practical. In
many cases, however, the purposes of a particular study may incorporate both personal and practical concerns, either equal
measure or perhaps with more emphasis on one versus the other.

Architectural research characteristics

Judged by a notion of classical positivist science emphasizing objectivity, internal and external validity, the normative
stance that characterizes most architectural discourse and theory is questionable, disqualified by its inherent bias. In this
understanding architecture belongs to the arts, and does not qualify to the high status of science. On the other hand, viewed
from a position in the arts, science is sometimes seen as less creative than the arts including architecture, dealing only with
found facts.
But is it really possible to distinguish so sharply between science and art? It depends on what is understood by the
terms, and in that respect the subliminal weight that the recent history of the dominant positivist scientific paradigm and the
avant-garde in the arts carries in the collective imagination should be realized. Now the traditional dichotomies of arts and
sciences are in a process of transformation:
As Kwinter points out, applying a purely positivist notion of science to architectural research would be an extremely
difficult position to maintain now. Instead Kwinters notion of science is shifting towards a general idea of knowledge:

Science is about model building, not facts. Every experiment is a model, a form imposed on a piece of world to produce an
effect, isolate a behaviour, generate a fact that can be transposed to another milieu. Any practice which approaches this
place and world with something other than a superstitious and magical attitude, is fundamentally science. 6In Kwinters view
it is the model-building capacity of architecture understood as gedanken-experimente, the creation of ideas, narratives and
physical reality that makes it scientific. But can we equate science with qualified knowledge? How should that knowledge be
qualified?
If the introductory hypothesis that architectural research is besieged by other research approaches is justified, assuming that for a moment What are then the characteristics of architectural research per se? A closer look at the
beginnings of architectural theory may surprisingly act to confirm a radical contemporary position like Kwinters.
The opening phrases of Vitruvius first book of architecture remind us of the fundamentally multidisciplinary
understanding required by the architect which is not only necessary in basic architectural education as Vitruvius argues, but
is imperative in architectural research education too, a point which will be argued in this paper. A remarkable aspect of the
Latin original is the connotations surrounding the concepts of science/knowledge, theory, practice and arts. It is hard for a
contemporary reader mentally to dissociate the words science and art from the particular 20th century meanings ascribed to
them, which arose from the antithetical positions of positivist science and the avant-garde in the arts, and we may not fully
understand how the terms were understood then either. The role of the architect has changed too. The city planning, temple
constructing designer of water-clocks and war-machines has fragmented into a wide variety of contemporary professions
counting architects, engineers, industrial designers and more.

But the core of the discipline as described by Vitruvius surprisingly similar today: The architect should be equipped
with knowledge of many branches of study and varied kinds of learning, for it is by his judgement that all work done by the
other arts is put to test. This knowledge is the child of practice and theory.
Scientia is here translated generally as knowledge, while arts are associated with fabrication and practical skill. The
relation to technology is obvious, the Greek roots of the word techno art, craft or making, and the suffix logia, meaning
study or theory10. But what is particularly revealing in a contemporary interpretation is the term that is translated with
theory. Ratiocination means not only theory but is also a particular figure used in rhetoric, referring to a process of reflective
reasoning: One makes a statement, questions it, and answers the question, to achieve rhetorical effect. What is important
here is the emphasis on reflection and rhetoric purpose, a point which seems to have been unnoticed in previous readings.
ARCHITECTURE always asks Why? Why does the height from the finished floor line up to the window seal shall be
at least 0.9 meters?, Why does thicker walls are needed to be applied to a toilet and bath?, Why does architects follow a
certain building code?, and so on and so forth. The questions people always ask are based from what has been observed. In
the same way, what the architects or designers see in their surrounding must be of purpose. As a fundamental attitude a
scientist shall acquire, curiosity, will always lead to new discoveries or if time will allow the greatest serendipity to be found.
Architecture is not just about drawing blueprints, designing, or doing whatever is pleasing to a persons eye. Going back to
the basic definition of architecture, architecture is the art and science of building a structure; architects also assure the
functionality of a particular form. It must not be just by the looks, it must be the beauty each one can get from seeing it on
the elaborate deign of the exterior up to the effective extremities of the interior. However, considering that architecture is a
science, therefore, it must follow a certain system of methods before diving into achieving the success for a new discovery

which will sooner or later help an architect in his architectural studies. To fully understand, shown below are some of the
dominant research methods that may be applied to an architectural study. Before understanding the methodologies, the
researcher must know the primary steps needed to be accomplished accordingly:
1. Define the problem (contextualize the need for the research).
2. Define the research question(s) (relate to the problem).
3. Select a methodology for its ability to answer the research question(s).
4. Select methods for their ability to gather data relevant to answering the research question.
The crucial part in conducting research studies is to be able to identify the research method applicable to the chosen field of
study. A method is the tool with which data is collected; every method is associated with at least one methodology. As with
any tool, methods must be chosen for their ability to answer a research question or questions.
Research Methods
1. Interpretive-Historical Method
The strategy of history research s one of narrating an account of a past event or situation; it depends upon
gathering as much empirical and deductive facts as can be identified. These are used as fixed points around which to
weave, or emplot, the narrative. This kind of research is greatly
beneficial to work in historic restoration.

Manila Metropolitan Theater is considered as the "Grand Old Dame" of Manila's theater. It was inaugurated on
December 10, 1931. Renowned architect Juan Arellano designed this art deco building, the same architect
responsible for designing the Manila Central Post Office and the nearby Jones Bridge. Because of the notable and
exquisite architecture of this place, the theater was once featured in Philippine postage stamps that were issued in
2003. The theater has a capacity of 1670 (846 orchestra, 116 in loge, and 708 in balcony).During the battle for
liberation of Manila in 1945 , the theatre was severely damaged, losing some of its roofing and destroying some of
the walls. After reconstruction by the Americans it gradually fell into disuse in the 1960s. The city of Manila, with
the help of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) recently finished a plan to rehabilitate the
theater.
2. Qualitative Method
This strategy seeks to piece together an in-depth account of a social context by means of a variety of tactics.
[Qualitative research is] research using methods such as participant observation or case studies which result in a
narrative, descriptive account of a setting or practice. Sociologists using these methods typically reject positivism and
adopt a form of interpretive sociology. (Parkinson & Drislane, 2011)
The Philippine Arena is the worlds largest mixed-use indoor theatre. Construction
was completed in time for the Churchs Centennial Celebration in 2014. The
buildings capacity is its challenge. Situated on a green field site north of Manila, at
Ciudad de Victoria, the arena enables 50,000 people to gather inside the building
and a further 50,000 to gather at a live site outside to share in major events. The
buildings capacity pushes the boundary of Arena design. The form uses geometry

to create an elegant appearance while also giving the venue a powerful presence within its setting. Innovative solutions to
the technical challenges of size and scale have also moved arena design forward.
One of the most common methods for qualitative data collection, participant observation is also one of the most
demanding. It requires that the researcher become a participant in the culture or context being observed. The literature on
participant observation discusses how to enter the context, the role of the researcher as a participant, the collection and
storage of field notes, and the analysis of field data. Participant observation often requires months or years of intensive work
because the researcher needs to become accepted as a natural part of the culture in order to assure that the observations
are of the natural phenomenon.

3. Experimental Method
Examples of the laboratory testing materials and construction assemblies abound. These affect the writing of codes
and regulations for the construction industry, which in turn affect the design of built forms. Much of this research is
experimental.
Unlike a descriptive study, an experiment is a study in which a
treatment, procedure, or program is intentionally introduced and a
result or outcome is observed.

Annealed glass is the basic flat glass product that is the first result of the float process. It is common glass that tends
to break into large, jagged shards. It is used in some end products and often in double-glazed windows. It is also the
starting material used to produce more advanced products through further processing such as laminating, toughening,
coating, etc. Annealed glass is often compared to tempered glass; tempering and annealing are manufacturing
methods for adding strength to glass. The cycle of heating and cooling used during the manufacturing process is the
difference between tempered and annealed glass. A third type of glass -- heat-treated -- lies somewhere between the
other two in terms of strength. Typically, the hotter the ovens during manufacturing, the stronger the final product.

4. Case Study and Multimethod Approaches to Research

Designers often use mixed-method research approaches without explicitly calling these approaches mixedmethod, or considering what they are doing research. One example is the work of Dr. Liu Jiaping, professor of
architecture at the Xian University of Architecture and Technology n Xian China. Since 1996, Dr. Liu and his graduate
students at the Green Architecture Research Center have been involved in designing sustainable cave dwellings in the
village of Zao Yuan, in the north-central China. The cave dwelling is a vernacular housing tradition that dates back to
the Qia Dynasty (220 B.C.). Today, millions of rural Chinese still live in cave dwellings scattered over six provinces The
older dwellings, being simply tunnels dug into the sides of hillsides, tend to be damp, have no ventilation, and have
very primitive sanitation systems. Dr. Lius goal is to design and build new cave dwelling units that are sustainable
while being sensitive to the cultural tradition of this Chinese building type.

To collect their data, Dr. Liu and his students use a multmethod research approach that includes, at the tactical
level, ethnographic, survey, participant design, and experimental
methods. For instance, during the design phase, Dr. Liu and his team
live right in the cave dwellings of Zao Yuan Village for periods of more
than a week at a time; they make note of their everyday experiences
and gather to discuss their impressions. They conduct surveys in one
survey of 40 families, they found that over 70% of the townspeople
were bothered by the humidity and dust inside the dwellings, but were
quite content with the diffuse daylight that the arched opening allowed
into the interior. During participant design exercises, the townspeople have the right to alter design proposals, and
even reject them. Finally, the experimental tactics used by the team involve the predesign collection of a wide range of
environmental data ranging from indoor/outdoor air temperature to noise level, humidity, and natural light levels in the
interior. The team then projects what these measures would be for the new units, using mathematical models. (Groat
and Wang, 2001)
New cave dwelling units designed by the Center for Green architecture at the Xian University of Architecture
and Technology in Xian China. The design team used ethnographic, survey, participant design and experimental
tactics. To arrive at this design.
5. LOGICAL ARGUMENTATIION
Logical argumentation is embedded in all modes of systematic inquiry; the logical construction is what makes an
inquiry systematic in the first place.

Logics and logical argumentation may be among the most common terms in the area of human knowledge. The
nature of these notions, which places them in the focal point of the shaping factors of all human knowledge, can
well justify this fact. In the broad context of hum an knowledge, it is possible to find many areas in which gaining
or attaining knowledge in a particular way is based on the strength of logics and logical argumentation in order
to shape a justifiable explanation system. In other words, we-should consider logical argumentation as the only
research method in the mentioned areas of intellectual knowledge. The author tries to examine the status of
logical argumentation as a research method and strategy especially in architectural research. Here we also
outline the specifications of a research with the use of such a strategy.

CONCLUSION
I therefore conclude that research can be conducted in a variety of sub disciplines, including building technology,
environment-behaviour studies, and history of architecture and computing technology. In each area of architectural research,
certain presuppositions and fundamental beliefs guide and determine the appropriate focus and method of inquiry, as well as
the significance and merit of each research project. While the parameters of these research approaches vary, there are some
common characteristics among them:

Architectural research efforts are those that have clearly identifiable goals at the outset of the research, where the
project is directed to respond to a question. In pursuing that question, one follows a credible, systematic method or mode of
inquiry, relevant and acceptable to the research paradigm under which one is operating, this process results in significant
results (and in a thorough, documented manner which reflects a solution or enhances understanding/knowledge within the
research domain) it should be noted that design can be a form of research inquiry if it incorporated the three characteristics
listed above.

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