Design-based research in higher education: A systematic literature review between 2019 and 2023

Abstract

Design-based research is a methodological approach that has been applied in the field of educational technology since the beginning of this century. The main aim of this article was to explore its use in the field of educational research, specifically in the context of higher education during the 5-year period from 2019 to 2023, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic and the technological efforts made in response to it. In the current work, 180 documents were analysed after a PRISMA selection procedure. Although the analysis covered documents from a variety of continents, Europe (n = 73) and America (n = 45) are the geographical areas that appear most frequently. Likewise, Social and Legal Science (n = 87) are the knowledge areas in which design-based research is most widely used, followed by Engineering and Architecture (n = 28) and Health Sciences (n = 21). In more qualitative terms, the findings of this work provide important information about the diverse use of this research approach, the data collection processes used and the quality criteria and design principles that appear explicitly in the documents analysed.

Implications for practice or policy:

• Instructional designers can observe examples of educational designs in different content areas.
• Researchers can find a theoretical basis for building research projects aimed at designing educational artefacts in a wide range of scientific areas.
• Policymakers can identify successful practices in other institutions to improve the management of their resources.
• Researchers can access emerging trends and best practices in higher education, helping to update teachers’ skills.